ACSF Assessment tasks

Background of concrete
Target core skills
This task covers ASCF Reading and Writing at Level 3.
Please note: some Level 4 evidence may be demonstrated by candidates who provide more complex
response to the tasks and are able to work independently.

Target audience
This task has been developed for workers in the Construction industry, but could also be used for
candidates who have completed concreting-type tasks around the home.

Content coverage
The task includes reading and writing activities that ask the candidate to interpret and summarise
information in the informative text and then to reproduce it in a different text format, a timeline.
Question 2 requires the candidate to demonstrate knowledge of reading performance features
including text navigation. Demonstration of understanding will be enhanced by their ability to draw
on prior knowledge and integrate it with existing knowledge.

Instructions to assessor
This task requires the candidate to:
 read the text and demonstrate understanding by reproducing the main points in a time line
 identify a specific paragraph and summarise it in the candidate’s own words.
The assessor will need to check that the candidate has an understanding of what a timeline is.
This task is aimed at eliciting evident at ACSF Level 3 and possibly Level 4. It is important that the
candidate works independently to complete the activities. The candidate should be able to
independently use a dictionary to check unknown words.
For a comprehensive assessment this task can be used in combination with the task Mixing Concrete.

ACSF mapping
Question ACSF skill level indicator Domain of Communication
1 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 Workplace and employment and/or
Possibly some evidence of 4.05 Education and training
4.06
2 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06
Possibly some evidence of 4.05
4.06

© Commonwealth of Australia, 2013

Background of concrete downloaded from www.precisionconsultancy.com.au/acs_framework
Background of concrete
Concrete is a material used in building construction, consisting of a hard, chemically inert particulate
substance, known as an aggregate (usually made from different types of sand and gravel), that is
bonded together by cement and water.

Concrete technology was known by the Ancient Romans, and many significant buildings of the
Roman Empire were constructed using a type of concrete as the primary structural material.
However, Roman concrete was very different to modern concrete that uses Portland cement. A
number of buildings including the Pantheon used brick faced concrete construction for walls and
vaults. The Pantheon with its dome was created in the second century A.D. and is seen as a structural
masterpiece. It is very sophisticated in that the builders knew to use very heavy aggregates at the
ground level and aggregates of decreasing density high up in the walls and in the dome itself in order
to reduce the weight to be carried. However, mostly the dominant construction material used in the
world’s significant buildings for many centuries was stone and brick masonry.
During the mid 18th century concrete started to appear again. For example Francois Cointeraux a
mason in Lyon France, used a cementitious mortar in combination with rammed earth for
construction. In 1793 the British engineer John Smeaton pioneered the use of hydraulic lime in
concrete, using pebbles and powdered brick as aggregate. This enabled him to use the concrete in
water.

However, Roman concrete was very different to modern concrete that uses Portland cement. In 1824
Joseph Aspdin of England patented Portland cement which is the most common type of cement in
general usage. It was named because of its similarity in colour to Portland limestone, quarried from
the English Isle of Portland and used extensively in London architecture. It consists of a mixture of
oxides of calcium, silicon and aluminium. Portland cement and similar materials are made by heating
limestone (a source of calcium) with clay and grinding this product (called clinker) with a source of
sulphate (most commonly gypsum). The first widespread use of Portland cement concrete in
buildings occurred under the direction of French builder Francois Coignet who built several large
houses of concrete in England and France in the period 1850-1880.

The use of reinforcing appeared somewhere around 1860 when a French gardener, Joseph Monier,
patented some reinforced garden tubs. Concrete is strong in compression, as the aggregate
efficiently carries the compression load. However, it is weak in tension as the cement holding the
aggregate in place can crack, allowing the structure to fail. Reinforced concrete solves these
problems by adding either steel reinforcing bars, steel fibres, glass fibre, or plastic fibre to carry
tensile loads. Thereafter the concrete is reinforced to withstand the tensile loads upon it. The first
important building constructed in reinforced concrete was built in New York in 1871-1875 by
American, William Ward. Ward conducted all the tests himself and handled all technical and
construction issues. Reinforced concrete constructions were also being erected in France, Germany
and Austria in the late 19th century.

Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam were the first concrete dams, built in 1936 and still in existence
today. Other key reinforced concrete buildings include the Guggenheim Museum, the Union Plaza in
Washington and the Petronas Twin Towers which stand at 452 metres and were the tallest buildings
in the world from 1998-2004.

Name: _______________________________________________ Date: ______________________

© Commonwealth of Australia, 2013 1

Background of concrete downloaded from www.precisionconsultancy.com.au/acs_framework
In order to achieve the best results for strength and harness, care needs to be taken to properly cure
concrete after it has been placed. Cement requires a moist, controlled environment to gain strength
and harden fully. Hydration and hardening of concrete during the first three days is critical.
Abnormally fast drying and shrinkage due to factors such as evaporation from wind during placement
may lead to increased tensile stresses at a time when it has not yet gained sufficient strength,
resulting in greater shrinkage cracking. The early strength of the concrete can be increased if it is kept
damp during the curing process. Minimising stress prior to curing minimizes cracking. High-early-
strength concrete is designed to hydrate faster, often by increased use of cement that increases
shrinkage and cracking. The strength of concrete changes (increases) for up to three years. Properly
curing concrete leads to increased strength and lower permeability and avoids cracking where the
surface dries out prematurely. Care must also be taken to avoid freezing, or overheating due to the
exothermic setting of cement. Improper curing can cause scaling, reduced strength, poor abrasion
resistance and cracking.

(Text based on information viewed on 05.09.12 at www.ce.memphis.edu/1101/notes/concrete/section_2_history.html;

matse1.matse.illinois.edu/concrete/hist.html and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete.)

Use the information provided in the text to complete the following questions.

1. Make a timeline that depicts a history of concrete.

Name: _______________________________________________ Date: ______________________

© Commonwealth of Australia, 2013 2

Background of concrete downloaded from www.precisionconsultancy.com.au/acs_framework
2. Identify the paragraph that refers to the curing process. Summarise this paragraph in about 50
words.

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Name: _______________________________________________ Date: ______________________

© Commonwealth of Australia, 2013 3

Background of concrete downloaded from www.precisionconsultancy.com.au/acs_framework