Questions:

  1. Mason, a civil engineer, needed to determine the maximum discharge for a particular dam. He knew that the length of the spillway was 50 feet and that its depth was 5 feet. Based on this information, what is the maximum discharge before the water breaches its abutments?

    Answer

  2. Mason then decided to do the calculations on another dam, where L = 40 feet and H = 6 feet. Compare this dam to the one in the above problem. Which has a larger maximum discharge and by how much?

    Answer

  3. In designing a new dam, the decision is that the maximum discharge should be 3000 ft3./sec. and the length of the spillway will be 60 feet. What does the depth of the spillway need to be?

    Answer

  4. A second dam is being designed where the maximum discharge will be 3500 ft3./sec. and the length of the spillway will be 50 feet. Which dam, this one or the one in problem #3 above, will have the greatest depth of spillway?

    Answer

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