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BEACH PROFILES STUDY
Most people come to a beach to relax but few actually think about how
a beach forms. Do you know where sand comes from or better still how
a beach changes in slope.
Purpose:
The purpose ofthis project is to investigate the slope of the beach.
The aims of this project are to:
(a) have you collect data so that you can draw a beach profile
(b) suggest some hypothesis about the ways beaches form and change
Research Methods:
The range pole:-
This is a device that determines the slope of the beach. A weight is tied to the end of a metre stick by a piece
of string a metre long. A level is constructed with a glass tube, some tape and coloured water so that when
the rule is level, the coloured water will be level at each end.
Level
Coloured water
Metre rule
String
The string is then used with the level to measure the drop in height from one point to another exactly at one
metre intervals. Place your ruler so that the water is level.
Mark one end with the stick with a stick and let the weight drop down to touch the sand. Lets call this height
(h) Now measure the length of the string against the ruler. Lets call this length (d).
Now
d
will equal
h,
so we have a measure of the drop in height over a metre. We can use this principle to
draw a beach profile.
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