ST1: Lesson 4 Structural Health Monitoring in Skyscrapers

How do skyscrapers detect danger without ever sounding an alarm?

Students step into the role of system analysts. In this KS3 / lower secondary computing lesson they explore how skyscraper readings are logged, how the memory system separates live vs. permanent data, and how engineers use these outputs to detect slow but critical changes. Learners engage with diagrams, data logs, and simulated memory maps to model how structural health is monitored.

This lesson builds on ST1_3 by shifting focus from fast-changing conveyor data to slow memory-based systems, introducing the need for long-term data logging and separation of volatile and non-volatile memory.

Through this, students uncover:

• How RAM stores and clears short-term data used in ongoing system calculations
• What ROM does to hold fixed rules and memory layouts that do not change
• How data logging supports ongoing safety assessments
• The concept of non-reactive memory systems that observe over time rather than trigger alarms
• Why output design and memory flow matter in quietly intelligent systems

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