Iowa DOT's
policy is to be
sensitive to the environment
and foster and enhance
environmental stewardship.
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Presents
ROCKS AND ROADS
Unit 3: Why isn't the highway straight?
G. Unit 3 Activities
Plan
a Road Dice Game
Why
isn't the road straight?
Multiple choice worksheet
Why
isn't the road straight?
True or false worksheet
Word
Jumbles
Plan
a Road Dice Game
Introduction -
This activity will let students see how the obstacles affect the planning
of a roadway. The road designers see the start and the finish of the road.
However, between these points there are obstacles that affect the design.
Materials Needed - graph paper, pen or pencil, and die
Directions - This activity can be done as a large or small group setting or individually.
The teacher should provide the following step-by-step instructions to the students to prepare the graph paper to use as the playing board(s).
A. Playing Board Preparation
1. Take the graph paper and fold it lengthwise in half.
2. At the top center point of the graph paper make a box and label it START.
3. At the bottom center point of the graph paper make a box and label it FINISH.
B. When each
group or student finishes the steps in section A, the teacher will roll
the die. The number on the die will be used as the number
of squares to be marked or "X" by the players.
The following are the instructions for play:
Dice
Roll |
Obstruction Wetland Nothing Unique Wetland Nothing Native American Burial Mounds Mountainous Terrain |
Player
Moves |
C, When the players have reached the bottom of the graph paper,
the teacher should discuss the following:
Why isn’t the highway straight? Multiple choice worksheetDirect the students to the planned START and FINSH points of the graph paper. Ask the students to think about the planning or design process they went through while they prepared the graph paper for use as a playing board. They had a plan on where to start the road and to end or finish it. Would it have been faster and easier to go in a straight line from start to finish? Of course, but the road had to be moved around the environmentally sensitive areas.
Directions: Check the box next to the correct answer to the questions below.
1. A transportation network consists of:
___ railroads
___ airplanes and boats
___ cars
___ all of the above2. How many roadway miles are in Iowa?
___ 10,000
___ 80,000
___ 100,000
___ 112,9043. What design factors must be considered when designing highways?
___ cost
___ endangered plants and animals
___ wetlands
___ all of the above4. An archaeologist is a scientist who studies:
___ past human life and activities
___ how buildings are built
___ how roads are built
___ prehistoric animals5. Wetlands are areas containing:
___ cactus
___ standing water
___ too little water
___ swimming pools
Go to the multiple choice answer sheet.
Why isn’t the highway
straight?
True or false worksheet
Introduction - The following quiz will allow students to reinforce the material covered in Unit 3.
Directions - In this activity students are to place an "X" in the appropriate column.
| TRUE |
FALSE |
QUESTION |
|
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1. Interstate highways are the largest and longest highways in the United States. |
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2. The Iowa Department of Transportation works with many groups to decide where it should build new highways. |
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3. Highways always go in a straight line. |
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4. Topography is not considered when planning a highway design. |
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5. A highway bypass is used to direct high-speed traffic around a town. |
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6. Mitigation is a process that creates new wetlands. |
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7. Gravel roads are only found along rivers. |
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8. Cities take care of snow removal on Iowa’s interstate highways. |
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9. Paved roads must have fresh gravel placed on them. |
Go to the True or False answer sheet
Word Jumbles
Only four of the words listed below are used in the word jumbles.
| ALIGNMENT BYPASS DISPLACE EARTHWORK ENDANGERED |
HABITAT HIGHWAY MITIGATION OVERPASS TOPOGRAPHY |
Unscramble these four jumbles, one letter to each blank line to form the word.
S O P V S E A R
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
W E T O K A R H R
__ __ __
__ __ __ __
__ __
I W H A G Y H
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
B S Y P S A
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
