Classroom Questions

Questions for ‘Did builders of Egypt’s first pyramid use a water-powered elevator?’

Egyptian King Djoser's pyramid rises above a sandy landscape, while sun-tinged clouds cast a golden glow on the scene.

Egyptian King Djoser’s pyramid, shown here, is nearly 4,700 years old. A new study suggests a water-powered elevator inside this structure helped lift the heavy blocks used to build it.

Anton Petrus/Moment/Getty Images

By Science News Explores

To accompany ‘Did builders of Egypt’s first pyramid use a water-powered elevator?’

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

  1. A claim is an assertion of something as a fact. It actually may or may not be supported by evidence. Describe one example of a claim someone might make in daily life. Your example can be real or fictional and about any topic. Give an example of evidence that could lend support to this claim.
  2. Claims often serve as answers to questions. What question might this person’s claim attempt to answer?

During Reading:

  1. How old is the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara?
  2. How tall in meters is this pyramid?
  3. Describe the engineering field of knowledge known as hydraulics.
  4. A walled enclosure lies several hundred meters from the pyramid. Describe the role of this enclosure in this proposed hydraulic system.
  5. This article describes the possible role of two excavated shafts inside the Step pyramid. Granite chambers with “stone plugs” lie at the bottom of both shafts. Describe the role of these chambers, according to scientists’ claims.
  6. Why does the proposed setup require two shafts rather than just one?
  7. Some scientists are skeptical of the claims made in this article. Why does archaeologist Oren Siegel consider this claim an “unlikely scenario”?

After Reading:

  1. What is one scientific claim made by the scientists as described in this article?
  2. What scientific question does the scientists’ claim attempt to answer? What evidence do they provide to support their claim?
  3. Reasoning is the explanation of why evidence supports some claim. How do the scientists in the article explain why the evidence supports their claim?