Which structure was the largest concrete structure in 1941?

Which structure was the largest concrete structure in 1941?

• A. Hoover Dam
• B. Aswan Dam
• C. Grand Coulee Dam
• D. Three Gorges Dam

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is comparing how much concrete different dams used to determine which was the largest at that time. Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington was under construction in the 1930s and finished in the early 1940s. Its total volume of poured concrete far exceeded that of Hoover Dam (which was completed earlier in 1936) and dwarfed other options. Because it used on the order of tens of millions of cubic yards of concrete, it stood as the largest concrete structure in the world by 1941. The other dams listed either were built later (Aswan High Dam in the 1960s; Three Gorges Dam completed in 2012) or, in Hoover Dam’s case, were smaller. So Grand Coulee Dam is the correct choice because its mass of concrete defined it as the largest at that time.

The main idea here is comparing how much concrete different dams used to determine which was the largest at that time. Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington was under construction in the 1930s and finished in the early 1940s. Its total volume of poured concrete far exceeded that of Hoover Dam (which was completed earlier in 1936) and dwarfed other options. Because it used on the order of tens of millions of cubic yards of concrete, it stood as the largest concrete structure in the world by 1941. The other dams listed either were built later (Aswan High Dam in the 1960s; Three Gorges Dam completed in 2012) or, in Hoover Dam’s case, were smaller. So Grand Coulee Dam is the correct choice because its mass of concrete defined it as the largest at that time.