Worksheet+2

a. Comparison and contrast Brick compares favorably with stone as a structural material for its fire-and-weather resisting qualities and for the ease of production, tranportation, and laying.

b. Description Standard modern types provide a ratio of width to length of slightly less than 1:2

c. Exemplification For example, wedge-shaped bricks are sometimes employed in arch construction and bricks with rounded faces in columns.

d. Cause/Effect Bricks may be used in construction only in conjunction with mortar, since the unit is too small, too light, and too irregular to be stabilized by weight. Each course must be laid on an ample mortar bed with mortar filling the vertical joints.

e. Chronology Brick which has been used since the 4th millennium BC, was the chief building material in the ancient Near East. Employed throughout the middle ages, brick grained greater popularity from the 16th. Century on, particularly in northern Europe. It is widely used in the 20th Century, often for nonbearing walls in steel frame constructions.