3
Choose the right tool
ICT P4 Term 1, Theme 1: pp. 8–13
GoalChoose the right tool for a job and plan a short expedition.
New words
expedition · a planned journey to explore or search a placeengineer · a person who plans and builds things that solve problemschoose · to pick the best one after thinking
Explanation
Every tool has its own job, so a good explorer asks questions before choosing. Is the thing buried or not? Is it made of metal? Do I need to see a big area, or find one place? The questions on the chart lead you to a tool. Explorers also use other skills: engineers know how machines work, and archaeologists know about the past. A good plan puts the tools in order: first a wide survey, then GPS to mark the spot, then the magnetometer or radar, and only then the digging.
Worked examples
Seif lost a metal toy car in a sand pit. It is buried and it is metal, so he follows the chart to the magnetometer.
A school trip needs to find a village far away. The place is not buried and the class wants one place, not a big area. The chart gives GPS.
Farmers think old clay pipes may lie under a field. Pipes are buried, but clay is not metal. The chart gives ground-penetrating radar.
Class activity
Plan an expedition. Imagine you want to find a lost city under a desert. On paper, write the plan in four steps, using these words in order: survey, GPS, radar, dig. For each step, write one sentence saying why you need it. Then read your plan to a partner.
Practice
1
A team wants to see a whole oasis from above before they go there. Which tool should they use?
Photos from a satellite or a drone.
2
A clay pot is buried in the ground. Should the team use a magnetometer or radar? Why?
Radar, because clay is not metal.
3
Put the four steps in the right order: dig, GPS, survey, radar.
Survey, GPS, radar, dig.
4
Why do explorers need engineers as well as archaeologists?
Engineers know how machines and tools work, and archaeologists know about the past.