A Clean Break

A clean break
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how to investigate breaks
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A clean break
Sometimes, what looks like an accident turns out not to be. It may be vandalism,
insurance fraud or even murder. Accident investigators need to establish whether an
incident happened accidentally, or was caused deliberately. For instance, did
something break through wear and tear, or was it tampered with? In this project,
you will study various materials that have been broken in various ways. Your
objective is to find ways of distinguishing between the various causes by studying
the broken pieces.
Getting Started Things to think about
How many ways of breaking (not You could investigate the effect of:
cutting) solid materials can you think
of? Devise and carry out experiments Sudden impact, for example, dropping
to see which types of materials break a mass onto the material
under various conditions.
Gradually increasing the load or the
Gradually increasing tension: Hold bend angle. Hold the material in a vice
strips of the material in a clamp and and hang a mass on one end, gradually
hang a mass so it pulls down on the add extra masses so the material
material. Gradually add more masses bends.
until it stretches or breaks. It might be
wise to design these experiments Flexing backwards and forwards
yourself but ask a trained adult to help Sudden tension, for example, if
you carry them out. If something someone is attached to a climbing
needs a really large mass to break it, rope and they fall there will be a
then just make a note of the fact – sudden tension pulling on the rope.
don’t keep increasing the mass until it How can a test ‘mimic’ this?
does break! Examine and compare the
broken edges.
Useful Resources
Working at the cutting edge of
science: Try cutting and sawing the Why not see if you can get in touch
same materials. Examine the cut/sawn with real-life accident investigators
edges carefully, looking for tell-
tale marks or patterns that indicate the
separation method. Compare cut and
sawn samples, and also compare them
with the samples above. Investigate
whether the type of blade or saw
affects the results.
Getting to know the ropes: Ropes are
designed to be very flexible, so impact
or bending won’t break them. They are Investigating a claim:
also designed to withstand tension, so
snapping would need more force than Imagine that you are insurance claim
you could safely apply. Think up a way investigators. You have been given
to scale down the experiment so that
you can snap the fibres. A rope might
two pieces of rope and you need to
decide how the end of the rope
also wear away by rubbing against a became separated from the rest. Use
hard and/or rough surface. Think up a the knowledge you gained above to
way of simulating this, to obtain examine the rope end and draw
samples that have worn through. conclusions. Present your findings to
Examine the fibres of cut, sawn, the claims assessor with supporting
snapped and worn ropes. Look for tell- evidence. Explain how the evidence
tale differences. Try both natural and supports your conclusions.
synthetic fibre ropes. To see the effect
of weathering, test string (for example, .
garden twine) that has been left out in
the open air over winter. Compare it
with new string of the same kind.
Health and Safety Remember!
Science isn’t just about data. The
Science project work is both
most successful projects will
dynamic and exciting but can also
demonstrate good communication
carry some risk. To avoid any
skills and show original ideas that
accidents, make sure you stick to
address a real-world problem.
the following health and safety
guidelines before getting started: Look at the world around you and
consider all the innovative ways
▪ find out if any of the materials,
that you could address the
equipment or methods are
challenge. Even if things go wrong,
hazardous;
use this to show what you have
▪ assess the risks (think about
learned. Don’t forget to use the
what could go wrong and how
student profile form to help
serious it might be);
structure your project.
▪ decide what you need to do to
reduce any risks (such as
wearing personal protective
equipment, knowing how to deal
with emergencies and so on);
▪ make sure your teacher agrees
with your plan and risk
assessment.
If you’re going to test things like

ceramic tiles or glass (which could
shatter when they break) or wires
(which can whip around when they
snap) make sure you are properly
supervised and take extra
precaution.
If you’re sawing materials, make
sure you hold them in a vice. When
you use a knife to cut, make sure
you use a safety rule to cut
against.

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A clean break

Getting Started Things to think about

If you’re going to test things like

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