science

Leader head

Leader head is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Leader head rather than just read about it. In short: Leader heads or conductor heads are funnel-shaped components of a roof drainage system connected in most cases to a gutter and to a downspout. The system conveys water from the roof that is collected in the gutters to the ground or into a storm water management system.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Leader heads or conductor heads are funnel-shaped components of a roof drainage system connected in most cases to a gutter and to a downspout. The system conveys water from the roof that is collected in the gutters to the ground or into a storm water management system.

Purpose

The purpose of a leader head is to help transfer excess water from the roof onto downspouts, thus preventing the gutters from overflowing and water washing over the walls, which is a common occurrence in areas susceptible to heavy rain cycles. The use of leader heads also offers other benefits to the drainage system. Because the top of the funnel is open, air is constantly introduced into the system and water flows faster through the downspouts. Additionally, some leader heads are designed to receive more than one downspout, or in some cases more than one gutter converge onto a single leader head. Leader heads have historically provided an opportunity to incorporate a decorative element within their design. These elements, as are the other roof drainage system components, gutters, scuppers or downspouts, have to be sized to perform well, according to the amount of precipitation that they are intended to help alleviate. Leader heads can also receive water from scuppers, which are used predominantly through flat roofs’ parapets. In those cases, the leader head provides the transition from scupper to downspout. Leader heads can be incorporated into a rain water harvesting system, by helping direct the water into collection cisterns. This way, the harvested natural resource, rainwater, can be redistributed as best fits the needs. Whether the leader head fits directly into the collecting tank, or is connected to a down pipe first, contaminants and debris such as such as leaves, twigs from trees, and bird and other animal droppings among others, must be kept out of the tanks. For this purpose leaf guards or leaf diverters are very useful, since they are simple angled screens installed in such manner as to deflect leaves and debris while allowing water to pass through. In Australia a leader head is known as a Rainhead.

History Leader heads have their origin in the gargoyles of Romanesque and Gothic buildings. Over time they have been redesigned to fit stylistic building trends, their function has always remained a constant. Today, leader heads are typically made of sheet metal materials such as copper, steel, aluminum, zinc or brass, or cast materials such as aluminum; historically they were made of lead, copper, or cast iron. Leader heads are also made in different sizes and shapes such as square, round, hexagonal, etc.

Codes (U.S.) 2018 International Plumbing Code | CHAPTER 11 Section 1106 Size of Conductors, Leaders and Storm Drains

1106.2 Size of Storm Drain Piping 1106.3 Vertical Leader Sizing 1106.4 Vertical Walls 1106.5 Parapet wall scupper location 1106.6 Size of Roof Gutters (See associates tables 1106.3 & 1106.6 included in the respective sub-sections) 2018 International Building Code | SECTION 1502 ROOF DRAINAGE

1502.1 General 1502.3 Parapet wall roof drainage scupper and overflow scupper location 1502.4 Gutters ASTM STANDARDS

B101 Standard Specification for Lead-Coated Copper Sheet and Strip for Building Construction B32 Solder A924 Standard Specification for General Requirements for Steel Sheet, Metallic-Coated by the Hot-Dip Process

See also Gargoyle Downspout Wiktionary:Leader (line 10)

References

External links Leader Head images What are Flat Roof Scuppers?

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leader head

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leader head 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 Leader head 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 Leader head 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 Leader head

In research: Leader head 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 Leader head 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: Leader head is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Roofs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Leader head 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.

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How to study Leader head in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Leader head 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 Leader head out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leader head in simple terms?

Why does Leader head 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 Leader head?

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 Leader head.