Lock (water navigation)

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lock-water-navigation

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the earliest documented system?China, Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), with notable advancements attributed to Qiao Weiyue
2. What is the modern applications?Essential for inland navigation, water resource management, flood control, and recreational waterways
3. What is a lock and how does it help boats travel on rivers?A lock is like a water elevator that lifts or lowers boats by filling or emptying a chamber with water. It lets boats move up or down when the river level changes.
4. Where did the first locks appear and when?The earliest locks were built in China during the Song Dynasty, about the 11th century. Engineers like Qiao Weiyue made special chambers called pound locks.

Pound Lock: A lock chamber with two sets of gates, allowing vessels to be raised or lowered by filling or emptying the chamber.
Culvert/Sluice: An underground pipe or channel, or a gate controlling water flow, used to fill or empty the lock chamber.
Mitre Gates: Pairs of lock gates that meet at an angle in the center, bracing against the water pressure from both sides.