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L&W Home > Education > Teachers > Materials > Lesson Plans > 3D

top view of model with mapside view of wire modeltop view of map

3D Model of Lake Benthos

Grades: 6 and up

Group Size: Any

Maine Learning Results:

Guiding Principle A CLEAR AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - COMMUNICATION

Middle Grades: Make and use scale drawing, maps and three-dimensional models to represent real locations and describe relationships.

Secondary Grades: Make and use appropriate scale drawings and models to represent and simplify real-life situations and to solve problems

Critique models, stating how they do and do not effectively represent the real phenomenon.

Duration: 2+ hours to demonstrate the procedure and have students create their own models. Time could be longer for larger lakes or artistic labeling.

Location: Inside Classroom

Summary: Starting with a two-dimensional depth map of a Maine lake, participants create a three-dimensional model as a tool to convey information about the lake and to encourage stewardship of the resource.

Materials

Depth map of lake (Available on the Pearl Database http://pearl.maine.edu/ or from Maine Department of Environmental Protection or Inland Fish and Wildlife.)
Steel wire about 24 gauge, black coated
Copper wire about 14 gauge, coated blue
Wire cutter
10-20 small nails or brads
Hammer
Cork board or bulletin board
Wooden dowel about ¼ inch diameter
Drill and bit same size as dowel
Piece of wood slightly larger than lake outline, 1 - 2 inch thick
Saw
Glue gun or other fast drying glue
Electrical tape
Graph paper
Ruler
Pen, pencil and marker
Paint or other materials to decorate and label the base of the model

Procedure

The teacher may want to demonstrate the procedure first then break the class into groups to create several models to maximize the hands on participation by the students. The woodworking part could be completed in shop class and the rest could be done in a geography, math or science class.

  1. Establish the scale by enlarging map to a useful size. It may be necessary to give students some background on map scales if they have not worked with this subject before. If doing a series of nearby lakes consider using the same scale to facilitate comparison.
  2. To create the perimeter of the shoreline get a piece of wood bigger than the map. Place the map on the wood. Using the thicker copper wire, lay the wire on the map. This could be demonstrated using a copy of the lake map on an overhead. Starting at a straight section of the shoreline, bend the wire so that it is congruent to the shoreline on the map. Hammer in a small nail or brad at each turn in the shoreline. Upon completing the outline of the shoreline, overlap the wire about one inch. Tape the overlap with electrical tape so that a portion of the overlapping wire is exposed. Secure this exposed section with glue. A glue gun is a good method but teacher supervision is needed as the glue can burn. This glue dries fast and clear. After the glue is dry, remove the tape and glue the rest of the over lapping section.
  3. Lay the shoreline wire over the map once more to make sure that the shoreline wire is flat and congruent with the shoreline. Using a marker, place a dot on the wire each place the rows of depth numbers intersect the shoreline. These dots are where the depth profile wires will be attached to the shoreline wire in a latter step.
  4. To determine the size of the base for the model, measure the maximum dimensions of the lake shoreline and consider what information you want to put on the base of the model (name of lake, orientation, scale, type of fish in lake, outlet, dam, etc.). Leaving extra room for this information, cut or find a piece of wood about one to two inches thick. Lay the wire on the wood and mark at least four places that will support the wire. Drill holes the same diameter as the dowels for the supports. Make sure to drill perpendicular to the surface of the base. Try not to drill all the way through the wood base.
  5. Determine the vertical/depth scale that will be used. Choose a scale that will make the deepest section of the lake be 3 - 6 inches. Consider the type of graph paper being used. Choose a convenient scale: 1 square equals 1 foot, or 1 square equals 2 feet, etc. This step is worth some discussion about modeling the real world. If the depth scale selected is the same as the shoreline scale, the depth differences would be imperceptible. In geography it is permissible at times to use vertical exaggeration in order to emphasize small differences. If the class is making several models of the same lake, students could be encouraged to use different vertical exaggeration scales and discuss the effect of the different scales. Cut the dowels to be about one inch longer than the deepest spot in the lake and add on the depth of the holes. For example, if the deepest part of the lake is five inches and the drilled holes are one inch, add on an additional inch so the depth profile does not hit the base of the model, so the dowels would be seven inches long.
  6. Check that the shoreline wire is congruent and lays flat on the map. Place the dowels in the holes. Lay the wire on top of the dowels. If everything lines up glue the dowels in place. Add a large drop of glue to the top of each dowel. Quickly place the wire on the top of the dowel before the glue sets. Then add more glue on top to secure the wire firmly to the dowels.
  7. The following three steps could be demonstrated on an overhead projector. Using graph paper with the depth scale starting from 0 on the very top of the page, number down to the deepest reading. Line up the top of the graph paper with the line of numbers at one end of the lake. Place a dot on the graph paper directly below and down the appropriate number of units according to the depth on the map. Do this for each depth reading for the entire transect (line) of numbers on the map. Connect the dots to see the depth profile across the lake. Label the graph.
  8. Using the thin steel wire, replicate the depth profile. It may help to mount the graph on a corkboard and place a small nail or brad at each dot on the graph and bend the wire around the nails. Leave at least ½ inch of extra wire at each end to be used to wrap around the shoreline wire.
  9. Attach the steel wire to the shoreline wire at the first set of dots so that the profile hangs down. Double check the location of this depth profile on the map to be sure it is at the correct location on the model.
  10. Repeat steps 7, 8 and 9 for each transect (line of numbers) on the map.
  11. Write or paint on the information about the lake such as area, maximum depth, inlet, outlet, dam, public beach, boat launch, species of fish in the lake, etc. Be sure to include the scale. The lake depth map could be glued on to the base directly below the model. To make this interactive, each lake data item could be covered with a flap of paper with a question mark. The viewer would be challenged to guess the area, maximum depth etc. Try covering the depth wires carefully with aluminum foil to fill in the bottom of the lake. Be creative!

Extensions

The model has many possible uses and serves as tool for further discussion and research.

  1. Lake water temperature. Use several models of the same lake to describe changes in stratification of water. Where would you catch certain types of fish? If data for temperature is available, a horizontal colored pipe cleaner secured at the appropriate depth could mark the thermocline. Try painting the wires red for warmer water and blue for colder water. This would delineate the habitat for the cold water fish and lead into a discussion of dissolved oxygen problems.
  2. Flow of water. What would be the natural flow of water through the lake? How are other water bodies connected to the lake? How might this effect the deposition of sediments? Pollutants such as industrial wastes, domestic waste, phosphorus?
  3. Land use. With a topographic map of the area, find all tributaries and outlets. With the towns zoning map, show the types of zoning around the lake and its tributaries. How does land use and zoning in different parts of the watershed affect lake water quality?
  4. Lake data.  Review the monitoring data for the lake and be creative about representing that data in conjunction with the model. Lake data is available on the PEARL web site -http://pearl.spatial.maine.edu/
  5. Aquatic plants.  Survey the shallow areas of the lake that support the growth of rooted plants. Indicate these areas on the model with green pipe cleaners. Discuss how these areas provide habitats for animals living in the lake. Learn about invasive aquatic plants and how to prevent their spread into Maine lakes.
  6. Effectiveness of models. They are a simplification of the real world. If there were more transects of the depth profile, how would this model look? How many transects would be the best considering the time and money to get the data? How might someone develop a misunderstanding about the depth of the lake with this type of model and the scale chosen for the depth?
  7. History of the lake.  Do some research on the history of the lake, its uses by humans, history of land use in the watershed. How has this affected water quality and the fishery? How does water quality in the lake affect the economy of the community?
  8. Public outreach. Team together with a lake association to host a Family Lake Day or other public education event. For more information see http://www.state.me.us/dep/blwq/lake.htm Use the models as suggested above to teach others about your lake.