Grieve

Key takeaways

Grieve belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Grieve to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Grieve from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Grieve was a Peruvian automobile that was built in 1908 by Juan Alberto Grieve, a Peruvian engineer with extensive knowledge in combustion engines. The vehicle became the first automobile designed and built in South America. A pioneer in the automobile industry, Grieve decided to build a car that would be powerful enough to overcome the bad roads and difficult terrain of Peru. The car was developed at Grieve's workshop in Lima, and the only imported elements of the vehicle were the tires from Michelin, the Bosch starter and the carburetor. The car had five seats, two in front and three at the back. Those at the back were removable, leaving an area for haulage. The vehicle had four cylinders, and the motor had a power of 20HP with 1800 revolutions per minute. Thanks to the elasticity of the engine, this was able to be reduced to 200 revolutions. The cost of the car was 300 pounds, half of what a European car of equal power cost. The car was called "Grieve" after its owner, and the plans were patented. The idea was to commercialize the enterprise and build a fleet of 20 more cars. Grieve decided to speak with President Augusto B. Leguía to, under the sponsorship of the Government, construct three vehicles for the post office, and three more for the city council. The answer from the president was: "We need the products of advanced countries and not experiments with Peruvian products.“

Background Lima in the early 1900s was a rapidly developing city that was overcoming the destructions made by Chile during the War of the Pacific and the series of different government and social problems that followed the end of the war. The automobile was making a slow introduction into the lives of the city-dwellers by the beginning of the new century. The first automobiles in Peru came from Europe, mainly France and Italy, but there was also a minor role of cars from the United States. However, only the wealthy were able to buy the cars.

Juan Alberto Grieve The Grieve family came to Peru through George Grieve, an engineer from Scotland that was hired to help construct the Tacna-Arica Railroad. His son, Crisóstomo Grieve Downing, was also an engineer and was hired to design and build the Ferrocarril Central Andino. This was the family of Juan Alberto Grieve, who also became an engineer following in the footsteps of his ancestors. Juan Alberto Grieve proved to be a person who focused more on the mechanics and electrical engineering of the early 20th century. In 1905, Grieve was already making history by creating the first internal combustion engine of South America. In 1906, Grieve founded the "Automobile Club" of Lima and began to experiment with automobiles and, in 1907, decided to make a vehicle that would fit perfectly with Peruvian roads throughout the country (not just the capital).

Construction Grieve focused on making the car have a stronger motor that could produce more power. This led him to plan and construct a highly complex motor. The only imported materials he used were the Michelin tires of France and the Bosch starter of Germany. The rest of the equipment was Peruvian, and once completed the automobile was both efficient and cheaper than the important European and North American cars. The automobile was named after its creator, and soon the Grieve received attention from the media thanks to one of Grieve's friends who was the owner of a magazine publisher company. The Grieve car was presented as affordable and useful for travel throughout Peru. The vehicle had five seats, two in front and three in the back, for a family. However, the three seats in the back could be removed so as to serve as a means of carrying materials. The automobile was revolutionary not only because it was the first South American automobile, but also because it was affordable for all of Peru's economic classes. Grieve planned on creating more vehicles, but needed more funding.

Leguia's rejection The only economically feasible funding available at that time was the government, and so Grieve decided to directly consult Peru's President Augusto B. Leguia for funding to his vehicles. Grieve even proposed to build Leguia a presidential car and also a couple of extra automobiles for usage of the government. The automobile industry in Peru was apparently going to have a fast bloom. Yet, as quickly as the hopes started, they were shattered even faster by the simple rejection of President Leguia, who claimed that a Peruvian car was a useless idea in comparison to the automobiles of more developed countries. The automobile industry in Peru never again had a chance at developing.

References http://enperublog.com/2009/05/07/the-first-peruvian-car/ https://grieveg.blogspot.com/2009/03/el-grieve-1907-20-cv-heredero-de-una.html http://blog.pucp.edu.pe/item/24976

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Grieve

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Grieve claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Grieve before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Grieve ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Grieve

In research: Grieve appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Grieve in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Grieve is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1900s cars, 1908 establishments in Peru, Peruvian inventions, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Grieve outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Grieve in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Grieve means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Grieve out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Grieve in simple terms?

The Grieve was a Peruvian automobile that was built in 1908 by Juan Alberto Grieve, a Peruvian engineer with extensive knowledge in combustion engines. The vehicle became the first automobile designed and built in South America.

Why does Grieve matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Grieve?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Grieve.