1. To: Prime Minister Gladki From: Minister Brovko Catastrophe Performance task Tunnel SS1 Email from minister for transport The coast of this area is made up of sandstone. I have drawn a diagram that shows you how the crust under the sea will look and where we should build the tunnel. SS1 Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original It is non-porous, which means the tunnel walls will not let the seawater pass through. Sandstone rock is a soft rock that is easy to carve a tunnel out of.

2. Catastrophe Performance task Tunnel Core sampling SS2 12345678 What to do Use your straw to drill a core from the corresponding place on the model. Draw in the layers of your group’s core sample in the correct column. Now work with other groups and draw in their core samples in order to build up an idea of the rock layers (strata) beneath the Beznev Channel. Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original

3. Catastrophe Performance task Tunnel Collaboration task 1 SS3 Using core sampling to work out the rock layers (strata) underneath the Beznev Channel. Explain how the class sharing results helped you in this task. Collaboration task 2 Collaborating with different scientists to work out the best place to build the tunnel. Why did the engineering company need to hire other scientists (the geologist and the palaeontologist) to help in this task? Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original Will these results be enough to help you work out where to build the tunnel? Explain your answer.

4. Catastrophe Performance task Tunnel Structural engineer information sheet SS4 Each rock from the core samples was then examined. Results Grey rock. No shiny bits. Contained lots of large sparkly bits of different colours. No shiny bits. White rock. Cream coloured. Contains small sparkly bits. Black rock. Small sparkly bits. Made up of grains of sand stuck together. General notes The tunnel will be built by using massive drilling machines to bore a hole through the rock under the sea. Different techniques were used to build up a picture of the rock layers beneath the channel. Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original The harder the rock you are drilling through, the longer it will take. Any sections of the tunnel in porous rock must have a coating of concrete to prevent leaks. This is expensive and time-consuming. The deeper the tunnel goes, the higher the pressure on the tunnel walls. The materials to build the tunnel are expensive so the shorter the tunnel is, the cheaper it will be to build. Extra materials can be used to reinforce the tunnel walls and make them stronger, but this costs money. Paying people to work on the project is expensive so the quicker it is built, the cheaper it will be.

5. Catastrophe Performance task Tunnel Palaeontologist information sheet SS5 The university you work for is studying tiny fossils of animals that lived in shallow seas over 500 million years ago. The opportunity to study fossils produced this early on in the Earth’s life is rare but the tunnel building project may be able to help. The university will give a substantial amount of money towards the tunnel project if it can find and excavate some rock containing these important fossils. The more fossils that are found, the more money the project will receive. You have been asked to advise whereabouts in the rock layers these fossils are most likely to be found. Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original 1 mm

6. Catastrophe Performance task Tunnel Geologist information sheet SS6 Rock is made up of… Grains don’t look like sand Crystals are small (< 5 mm) Grains Rock is a dark colour Rock is a pale colour Rock is greyRock is white Crystals are large (≥ 5 mm) Sandstone LimestoneChalk Granite Basalt Marble There are gaps between the grains The gaps between the grains are filled up with minerals that form a natural cement. The grains are held together much more strongly in the limestone sample than in the chalk. These rocks are made up of crystals of different minerals that are tightly interlocked. Crystals Pictures are images of the rock samples from the core magnified ten times. Rock identification key Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original Grains look like sand

7. Catastrophe Performance task TunnelSS7 Key to show names of rock We have drawn on where we think the tunnel should be built Team number: Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original It will be cheap to build because: It will be safe because: Tunnel proposal

8. Catastrophe Performance task Tunnel The pitches SS8 TeamCheapness (mark out of 5)Safety (mark out of 5)Overall (mark out of 10) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cheapness: a short tunnel that goes through soft rock will be cheapest. Did they use any extra materials? Concrete lining on the tunnel would be expensive. Did they limit the use of this? Did they plan to drill through a large section of the oldest layer of sedimentary rock in order to find the fossils for the university? Did they have any other ideas for funding the project? Activity from the Catastrophe unit © upd8 wikid, built by cracking science 2009 This page may have been changed from the original Safety: did they plan to use the concrete lining on the porous rocks? Did they explain why they needed this? Did they mention how to strengthen the tunnel walls and why this might be needed? Did they discuss any other safety features?

9. Picture Slide Credit Microfossils SS 4 commons.wikimedia.org Picture credits 9