Water Education Poster - Navigation

Navigation Poster for Elementary School Students

Introduction

Transportation of domestic cargo by barge is relatively slow, but it is efficient and cost effective for moving large amounts of goods from one place to another. A comparison of the cargo capacities of a barge, jumbo hopper rail car, and large semitrailer truck is shown below.

Objective -- Students will:

Compare cargo capacities of barges, trains, and trucks.

Materials

1. 174 small objects such as blocks, marbles, or beads that can be carried easily by students.
2. Shoe box.

Teacher Preparation

1. Display the poster "Navigation: Traveling the Water Highways" several days before conducting this activity.
2. Divide the small objects into three groups of 58 each. Place one group of 58 objects in the shoe box for easy carrying. The shoe box represents the carrying capacity of a barge. Each object represents 26 tons of coal.

Procedure

1. Place the two groups of 58 objects and the shoe box (containing 58 objects) separately at one end of a room. Select three students for participation in this activity. One student will represent a barge, the second student a jumbo hopper rail car, and the third student a large semitrailer truck. These students will carry the objects from one side of the room to the other.
2. Explain to the students that the barge, rail car, and truck will carry different numbers of objects across the room, depending on how much cargo each is able to carry on one trip. The student who represents the truck will carry only one object on each trip across the room. The student who represents the rail car will carry four objects per trip across the room. The student representing the barge will carry the shoe box containing all 58 objects in one trip. Each of the three students (representing different modes of transportation) should cross the room as many times as necessary to carry all 58 objects from one end of the room to the other.

Interpretive Questions

1. How many times did the truck have to cross the room to move all 58 objects? (Answer: 58); the rail car? (Answer: 15); the barge? (Answer: 1).
2. Does the barge, rail car, or truck carry the most cargo? (Answer: barge).