The Tsunami Tests
In four different trials, set up the buildings made by each group of students, and the brass buildings made by the teacher. Have students predict the outcome of the activity before it is performed. Before hitting each village with a wave, ask the students they think is going to happen to the village. Students should start to realize that the buildings made from the lighter and more water absorbent materials are more susceptible to tsunami damage. The heavier buildings and those built up and away from the water are most likely to survive. Have the students rank the houses from lightest to heaviest materials in their summary observations.
I. Tissue Paper test. First, have the students who constructed their model buildings from tissue paper place them scattered across on the beach to create a paper model village (see Figure 6). Before the tsunami, have students predict what will happen to the village.
A tsunami hits! Using the metal plate, create a wave that swamps most of the land. Create several more waves and remind the students that there is usually more than one wave associated with a tsunami. Expect the waves to destroy most of the tissue paper buildings.