Titanic Activity - answer key

pzl-pcs.gif (2364 bytes) Raising a Legend - The Titanic - Answer key
A Web Activity for Grades 5-8

Author: E. Bergstresser, middle school Gifted Education teacher, PA

Time needed : one 40 to 45 minute class period.

You are about to take part in one of the most haunting archeological expeditions of this century. Joining a team of experts, you will scrutinize the world’s most notorious maritime disaster two and a half miles beneath the cold, hostile waters of the North Atlantic. Your expedition, combining archeology, forensic science, metallurgy, microbiology, and solar imaging, is about to begin...

1. Please access the web site: Raising the Titanic.

2. When the Titanic page appears, click Board Here.

3. Welcome aboard! Here you will find some fascinating information about the expedition.

Where are you located? Give the coordinates.

41degrees 44 minutes North latitude, 49 degrees 55 minutes West longitude

*Now click on "wreck depth" to see how far away the Titanic actually is.

The Titanic was a huge ship - 885 feet. Take a look at how Titanic’s size compares to a variety of modern vehicles. Click "ship length."

*Scroll to the end of this page and click on "Crew."

4. You are now on the bridge where you will meet members of the expedition crew. Which man has spent more time on the Titanic than the actual captain of the ship?

Captain Paul-Henri Norgeolet

What jobs did the microbial ecologist and the naval architects perform?

Microbial ecologist: confirm existence of bacterial life on Titanic and determine rate at which the hull is being recycled into the ocean floor.
: Naval architect: resolve the mystery of the liner’s break-up

*Scroll to the end of this page and click on "Gear."

5. Welcome to the engine room of the mother ship Nadir where you will see a lot of high-tech machinery necessary for probing the wreck. The Nadir is a taxi and garage for the deep-diving submersible Nautile.

*Take a look at the Nautile’s high tech features by clicking on the icon.

How long does it take scientists in the submersible to reach Titanic at a speed of 100 feet per minute?

2 hours

What is the diameter of the Nautile, and how many crew members can it carry?

7 feet in diameter, 2 crew members and one passenger

What role did Jules and Jim have in this particular expedition?

These mini-submersibles were used to get video footage of the Nautile.

Titanic’s resting place is black as a cave. How did the expedition deal with this problem?

"Edison" lighting towers - 6,000 watts of light each - provide at least one hour per charge.

*Click on icons showing the sonar display, the plotter, and the 3-D computer generated model of the Titanic with Nautile. Pretty neat, huh?

*Scroll to the end of the page and click on "Exclusive Photos."

6. You are now standing on the boat deck where pictures and videos of the wreck are revealed to the world.

*Please DO NOT click any of the movies!!!! They take too long to load.

*Take a look at what still exists amid the debris – remnants of lives, hopes, and dreams, silenced forever. Click on the icons located along the right margin of this page. What did you find to be the most memorable, haunting, or fascinating scene you viewed and WHY?

(Answers vary)

*When you are finished exploring, scroll to the end of the page and click "Unsinkable."

7. Here, on the Grand Staircase, you will begin to explore the history of this disaster.

Why does there appear to be an absence of human remains at the wreck site?

Very few people went down with the ship.

Did many people actually drown as a result of the disaster? Explain.

No. 330 bodies were found, buoyed by flotation belts. Most died quickly and painlessly of hypothermia in 28 degree water.

In what year were objects first removed from the wreck? What legal stipulation must be followed concerning this salvage operation?

1987. None of the objects may be sold for profit.

Now take a look at some of the photos. Click on the icons in the right margin to answer the remainder of the questions in this section.

In what year were the remains of a woman’s show photographed?

1991

Where did hearses and coffins await recovered bodies in April, 1912?

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Where and when was Titanic built? When did it leave on its fateful voyage?

Belfast at the shipyard of Harland and Wolff, 1910

*click on the "Virtual Titanic" at the bottom of this page.

8. Using blueprints, historical photos, and descriptions, historians have pieced together what various areas of the Titanic actually looked like.

*Click on the FLAT representations of the "unsinkable ship" to view them. Please do not click on the "bubble" or any of the movies!! - These files take too long to download during this class.

9. As time remains in this class period, or as you have time on your own, take a moment to explore the additional web sites listed on the "Weblinks" page. The best sites available for true Titanic buffs are described here.

Thank you for joining us on this expedition!

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