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Roof Choices for a Desert Mail Station worksheet preview

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Roof Choices for a Desert Mail Station

Compare model roof designs for a desert mail station. Use wind-test results and supply limits to recommend protection from strong winds.

Grade 3ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to3-ESS3-1

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 NGSS standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 13 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 3
Subject
Science
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students compare wind-test evidence to judge designs that reduce roof damage.
  • Students evaluate roof designs using damage goals and supply limits.
  • Students support a design recommendation with test results and identify a model's limits.

How to use

Read the passage together and explain that the graph combines three tests per design. Have students compare damage and supply use before recommending a roof design.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

3-ESS3-1

Judge a design that reduces the damage from a weather hazard such as floods, strong winds or lightning.

Preview

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Name Date

Roof Choices for a Desert Mail Station

Use wind-test evidence to judge roof designs.

A Windy-Day Problem

Read the report. Use the model-test details to answer the questions.

Testing Roof Connections

In a desert town, workers sort letters inside a small mail station. During a strong windstorm, several roof panels pulled loose. Wind entered through the openings and scattered letters. The workers wanted a roof design that would reduce this damage.

A class built small cardboard models of the station. Each model had ten paper roof panels of the same size. The class changed how the panels joined the walls. Design A used folded paper tabs. Design B used two tape straps on each panel. Design C used four tape straps on each panel. Each tape strap joined a roof panel to a wall.

A teacher operated a guarded fan. Students stayed back while it ran. For each test, the teacher placed a model one meter from the fan and used the same fan speed for 30 seconds. The class kept the wall shape and panel size the same. Each test began with ten fresh, matching panels attached to matching walls.

The class tested each design three times and counted the panels that came off. The graph combines the counts from those three tests. The fan blew steadily from one side. Desert storm gusts can change speed and direction. Real station walls and roof panels are also much heavier than the paper models. A builder would need to review a full-size design before workers changed the station.

1.
Which problem should the roof design solve?
  • A. Letters take too long to sort inside the station.
  • B. Strong winds loosen roof panels and expose letters.
  • C. Roof panels let too little daylight into the station.
  • D. The station needs more space for sorting letters.
2.
How are the tape straps meant to reduce wind damage?
  • A. They slow the moving air before it reaches the model.
  • B. They fasten the model's walls directly to the table.
  • C. They block the fan's air by covering the wall openings.
  • D. They help hold the roof panels against the model's walls.

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