Introduction
This topic uses the context of rail travel to provide a range of learning activities. The first part starts with the
historical setting and asks pupils to imagine what different types of travel were like. It then goes on to look at
uses that electric motors are put to, presenting ideas about how technology affects people’s lives. Finally it looks
at the challenges of running a good service using limited resources; pupils use mathematical understanding and
logical thinking to develop and evaluate solutions
Overall learning objectives / Overall learning outcomes•To learn how scientific and technological
developments have been used to improve the
quality of life
•To identifythe advantages and disadvantagesof differenttechnologies
•To understandhowelectrical systemscanbeused toreducepollution in areasofhighpopulation density
•To understandhowrail systemsaredesignedand managedtoprovide a servicewhilstmaximisingthe useofresources / •To explainhowelectrictractionofferedan attractiveoptioninterms of travel
•To explainthe useofelectricmotorsinarange ofcontexts
•To evaluatealternativesolutionstotheprovision ofaneffectiveservice
Curriculum learning objectives:
Clean silent trains will support the following national curriculum learning objectives at KS2.
Maths:
•Teachers shoulddeveloppupils’numeracyandmathematicalreasoninginall subjectssothattheyunderstand andappreciatetheimportanceof mathematics.
•Pupils shouldbetaughttoapply arithmeticfluentlytoproblems,understandand use measures,makeestimates and sense checktheirwork.They shouldbetaughttoapplytheirmathematicstobothroutineandnon-routine problems,includingbreakingdownmorecomplexproblemsinto a series of simpler steps.
Science:
•Pupils shouldbetaughttoidentifycommon appliances thatrunonelectricity
Technology:
•Pupils shouldbetaughttounderstandhowkeyeventsandindividualsindesignandtechnologyhavehelped shape theworld
Geography:
•Pupils should describeandunderstand key aspectsofhumangeography,includingthedistributionofnatural resourcesincludingenergy,food,mineralsandwater
Links toCurriculum for ExcellenceandNorthernIrelandCurriculumare also available at:
Episode 1
The powerof steam
Resources required:
oPicture of Volks Electric Railway
oPicture ofBrightonBelle
Learning objectives
•To use evidence to understandhowpeopletravelledinthelate19thcentury
•To evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of technology used in transport systems
Learning activities
1.Show pupils a picture of a steam train headed for Brighton in the 1880s.
Explain that:
•Atthistimetherailwayswerestillfairlynewand newlineswerestillbeingopened.There wereno cars–the nearestanyonehadtothatwasahorse drawn carriage.The only buseswerehorse drawn aswell.Powered flightwasyet tobeinvented.
•Railways wereexciting.They offeredpeoplethe chance totravelthecountryandopenedupareas thatonlythewealthycouldpreviouslyhave visited. Cheap excursions were offeredandpeople flockedtotakethemup. Thousands of people wouldtravelfrom the cities to the coastfordays outandholidays.Coastal townsgrewiftheywere ontherailwaysystem.
•Yet railway travel wasn’t always a happy experience. The enginesthatpulledthetrainsweresteam enginesandthoughtheywereexcitingtowatchtheyproducedlargeamountsofsmoke,sootand ash.Ifyoulivedbyarailwayline,it wasn’tagoodideatohangwashingouttodry–ifyoudidyou foundthatwhite sheets or shirtswerenolongerwhite.The firstundergroundtrainsweresteam powered–imaginethat.
•Steam wasn’t theonlywayofpoweringtrainsthough.Itwaspowerfulandlotsofstaffknewhow
tomaketheenginesworkwell.Howeversomepeoplewerestartingtoexperimentwithotherways ofmovingpeople.
Episode 1,cont’d
The powerof steam
Learning activities
2.Show a picture of VolksElectric Railway.
Explain that:
•This istheworld’soldestelectric railway.
Itrunsalong theseafrontatBrighton.
•Each coach has an electricmotorwhich powersitalong.
Ask pupilstocomparethiswiththesteamtrain;
theyshould suggestsimilaritiesanddifferences.
Their responsesmightinclude:
Similarities: / Differences:- Run on rails
- Carry people
- Takes them to a destination
- Passengers sitincarriages / - Electric trainissmaller,lighterandslower
- Electric train cancarryfewerpeopleatonce
- Electric train gives offnosmoke, ashorsoot (thoughtheelectricity hastobegenerated somewhere)
3.Askpupils to produce a poster, divided into two parts. One sideistopresenttheadvantages ofthesteamtrainsthattookpeopleto places like Brighton;theother explains the advantages of havingaseafrontrailwaypoweredbyelectricity.
4.Afterwards show pupils a picture of the Brighton Belle (an electric train) andexplainthat forty years later,manyofthetrainsfromLondonto Brightonwereelectric.
Outcomes
•To beabletoexplaintheroleofsteamandelectricpower
•To identify advantages ofeach
•To present ideasabouttechnologicalchange effectively.
Episode 2
The impact of electric motors
Resources required:
oHair drier
oBattery(ormainspowered)fan
oFood mixer
oDrill
(Observe reasonable precautionswhenbringing domestic appliancesintoschool)
Learning objectives
•To understandtherangeofapplicationsofelectricmotors
•To identify advantagesandlimitationstheyoffer asapracticalsolution
Learning activities
1.Start by showing pupils a couple of devices that have electric motors in them.
Good examples mightinclude:
•Hairdrier
•Battery(ormainspowered)fan
•Food mixer
•Drill
Ask themtosuggest:
•Whattheyallhaveinthemtomakethemmove
•Whatthe device needs to besuppliedwithto makeitmove
•Whatwe getfromthedevice
Drawoutthattheyallhavemotors,thatmotorsneedelectricity(whetherfrombatteriesorfromthe mains)andthatthemotor producesmovement.Pupils may also, quiterightly,suggest thattheytend toproduce heatandsound.
2.Show a picture of a car, and askfor suggestions as to where there are electric motors.
Pointoutthattheengine isn’telectric(unless it’s
anelectriccarorahybrid)butthere aremanyother featuresthatare.
Take feedback – ideas mightinclude:
•Starter motor
•Windscreen wipers
•Screen demister/heater
•Door locks(ifremotecontrol)
•Aerial(if retractable)
•Windscreen washerjets
Episode 2,cont’d
The impact of electric motors
Learning activities
3.Now askpupils to come up with examples of domestic devices that have motors in them.
They couldworkinpairstocomeupwith ideas thatcanthenbe shared.Notalldevices dobut motorsareinasurprisingrange,including:
•Cooker (iffan assisted)
•Refrigerator (pumpingcoolant around)
•Shower(ifwaterispumpedbyshowerunit)
•Computer(coolingfan and CDdrive)
•Printer(drivingpaperthrough)
There aremanyotherobvious examplesthattheyshouldcomeupwith.
4.Now show picture of VolksElectric Railway train and explainthat eachofthesehadamotor
inthemtodrivethetrainalong.
Show picture of train,comparedwithhorsedrawncarriage, steamtrainandpedestrian.Ask pupils to suggestwhythe ideaofanelectrictrainwasaveryinterestingonewhenit first came out. Lotsofpeoplewantedtorideontherailway – ask for suggestions as to why.
Now show a picture of a modern electric train beingused totransportpeoplethroughacity andexplainthatthese days it’smuchmorecommon.Compare themoderntrainwiththe Volks train and ask for suggestions as to how it’s improved.
5.Show picture of an electric car andexplainthat althoughelectrictrainsarecommoninmanypartsof thecountry,electric cars are lessfamiliar,eveninurban areas. Ask pupils to discuss and suggest answers to these questions:
•Whymightanelectriccarbeagoodidea?
•What mightsomeoftheproblemsbewithit?
•Whydoyouthinkthatthere arelotsofelectrictrainsin theworldbutnotmany electric cars?
6.Finally askpupils to suggest what might be powered by motors in a ‘house of the future’?
Take and display ideas;thesemightinclude:
•Powered curtains
•Powered garage door
•Powered windowwashers
•Powered doors
Outcomes
•To identifyhowandwhymotorsare used inarangeofappliances
•To suggest otherapplications
Episode 3
Operating the railway
Resources required:
oExample bus timetableoCalculations, 1 for eachpupiloActivity sheets6-9
Learning objectives
•To apply ideas about distance, time and speed to thecontextofarailway
•To explorehowinformationandestimationcanbe used to solveproblems
•To devise alternativesolutionsandevaluatethem
Learning activities
1.Show pupils a bus departure board.Explain thatsomebody has hadtoworkoutwhenthe buseswillbearrivingata particularly stop.Atimetable hasbeenwritten(showanexample).
Askwhatthetimetableshows,andtake ideas.Then ask what determineshowlongit takesthebustogetfromonestopto another.Drawoutarangeof ideas,including:
•The distance
•The amountoftraffic
•Howfastthebuscango
•Howlongit needs to spend at a stop, allowing passengerstogetoffandon. Ask whichoftheseisfixedandwhichwillvaryaccordingtothetimeofday.
2.Explain that we can workout the speed if we knowthe distance and the time.
Abustravelling30mileseveryhouristravellingat30mph.
Slide 24 showshowwe cancalculatethe speedofatrainon the Volks Electric Railway. Thisinvolvespupilsinextracting data,performingcalculations(forwhichtheywillprobably needacalculator)andcommentingontheresults.This slide issupportedbyActivity sheet 1.
Solution - from slide 24
•The railwayis1620mlong
•It takes 12 minutestogetfromoneendtotheother
•The speed is1620/12=135metresperminute
•This is135/60,or2.25metrespersecond
•Compared withabriskwalking pace of1.5metresper second it is clear this isn’t very fast.
3.Now askpupils to compare organising a bus timetable with organising a railway timetable for a simple system such as the VolksElectric Railway (show picture and draw attention to single track – using Lesson Plan Support PPT).Askifitwouldbe easierto makeabustimetableorarailwaytimetableworkreliably.Drawout thatarailway has adedicatedroutewhichit doesn’t need to share –it’slikehavingaprivate road.However,it’sonlysingletrack–trains
goingonewayhaveto sharethetrackwiththosegoingtheotherway.
Episode 3,cont’d
Operating the railway
Learning activities
There arenowvarioussolutionsthatpupilsare asked tothinkthroughaboutrunningatrainservice. These aredesignedtodevelopcriticalthinkingandproblemsolvingskills.
Part1:SingleTrack
(Slide 26 and Activity sheet 2, Answer A)
Pupils are presentedwithasimple systemandasked
toworkoutatimetableforonetraingoingupanddown. It takes 12minutestotravelthelengthofthelineand
3minutestounload andreloadwithpassengers.
Solution - from Slide 26 notes:
•Itwillmakefoursinglejourneysinanhour
•Itcancarry120 passengersinthehour.
Part2:Sidings
(Slides 27 & 28 and Activity sheet 2, Answer B)
Inthissolutionthere arethreetrains.Sidingsatthestationsallowonetrain
todepart as soon as another hasarrived.There’s stillonlyonetrainmovingat once,buttrainscanunload andreloadwhilstanothertrainisonthemove.
Solution - from Slide 28:
•There willnowbefivejourneys eachhour(60/12)
•150 passengerscanbecarriedperhour
•More passengersarebeingcarried,butthe serviceuses threetrainsinsteadofone.There’s always a trainwaiting ina(terminus)stationwhichisgoodforattracting passengers but eachtrainisrunningfor12minutesand standingforthenext24minutes.
Part3:PassingLoop
(Slides 29 & 30 and Activity sheet 2, Answer C)
This is analternativesolution,using a passing loopinthecentreinsteadof sidings atthestations. Twotrainsnow leavefromeitherendsimultaneouslyand passinthemiddle.
Solution - from Slide 30:
•Each trainwillnowmakefoursinglejourneysanhour
(12minutestotraveland3 toreload)
•Withtwotrainsthere willnowbeeightjourneysanhour
•This means that240 passengerscanbecarried
•This isbetterthantheprevioussolutioninthatmore passengersperhourcanbecarriedandwithfewer trains. It means that twotrainsaremovingatonce,sosafetyismoreof an issue(thoughnotthatmuchatthese speeds). It alsomeans thatthere isadeparturefrom eachterminusevery5minutes insteadofevery24minutes.
Episode 3,cont’d
Operating the railway
Learning activities
Part4:SingleTrackandtwocoaches
(Slide 31 and Activity sheet 2, Answer D)
This solutionsimplyinvolvesrunningonetrainwith two coaches.Noadditionaltrackworkisneeded.
Solution - from Slide 31:
•Itwillmakefoursinglejourneysinanhour
•The traincancarry60passengers
•As each trainnow carries 60 passengersitcan carry240perhour
This isclearlyaneffectivesolution as it carries up to 240 passengersperhourwithonlyonedriver andnocomplicatedtrackworkorriskofcollision.Howeverthere isnowonlyonedepartureevery halfhourfrom eachterminussosome businessmaybelost as passengerscanwalk the distance in lessthan30minutes.
Slide 32 isanextensionactivity.It challengespupilstothinkofsolutionsnotsimplyintermsofhow many passengerscanbecarriedbut alsofrequencyof service.Ifdeparturesaretoofarapart,business willbelost.Pupils cango backovertheirsolutionsandidentifyhowfrequentlytrainsare departing fromaterminus station.
The answers are:
Solution 1 / Onesinglecarriage / Every30minutesSolution 2 / Three single carriagesandsidings / Every24minutes
Solution 3 / Twosingle carriages and a passingloop / Every15minutes
Solution 4 / Onedouble carriage / Every30minutes
Outcomes
•To beabletocalculateandcommentuponthe speed ofthetrain
•To beabletoevaluatesolutionstothechallengeoforganisinganeffectiveservice
Episode 3,cont’d
Operating the railway
Learning activities
AnswersfromActivitysheet2
A-Single track, onecoach
Train departsAquarium Station at: / 10.00 / 10.30 / 11.00 / 11.30 / 12.00
Train departs BlackRock
Station at: / 10.15 / 10.45 / 11.15 / 11.45 / 12.15
C-Sidings
Train departsAquarium Station at: / Train departs
Station A at: / 10.00 / 10.24 / 10.48 / 11.12 / 11.36
Train departs Black
RockStation at: / Train departs
Station B at: / 10.12 / 10.36 / 11.00 / 11.24 / 11.48
C-Passing loop
Train departsAquarium Station at: / Train departs
Station A at: / 10.00 / 10.15 / 10.30 / 10.45 / 11.00
Train departs Black
RockStation at: / Train departs
Station B at: / 10.00 / 10.15 / 10.30 / 10.45 / 11.00
D–Single track,twocoaches
Train departsAquarium Station at: / Train departs
Station A at: / 10.00 / 10.30 / 11.00 / 11.30 / 12.00
Train departs Black
RockStation at: / Train departs
Station B at: / 10.15 / 10.45 / 11.15 / 11.45 / 12.15