TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS• What is a System?

• A system is a group of parts that work together to achieve a goal. These parts are:

1. Inputs

2. Processes

3. Outputs

4. Feedback

WHAT IS AN INPUT? An Input includes anything that is put into the

system, and comes from the system’s resources.

A Resource is anything that provides support or supplies for the system.

There are seven types of resources that provide input for all technological systems:

1. People

2. Information

3. Materials

4. Tools and Machines

5. Energy

6. Capital

7. Time

PEOPLE People are the most important resource. Without people, technologies wouldn’t even begin

to exist. People decide that problems exist and use the

problem-solving process to develop workable solutions.

For example: People who wanted to download and listen to music

without having to buy the whole CD spurred on the invention of MP3 players. If people had not created this demand, the product would never have been invented.

People created the demand for this product, and it also took people to figure out how to make a product that would provide a solution for this demand.

INFORMATION Information is needed in order for people to design

and make what is needed to solve a problem. In Chapter 1, we learned how technologists need to

use information from math, science, social studies, and language arts when they solve problems.

To develop MP3 players, technologists used information from digital audio and computing technologies to come up with a new form of recording system that allowed people to download and listen to music of their choice in a compact, light, and easy to carry device.

Manufacturing workers need information, such as: Quantities Sizes and Shapes Types of parts Assembly information in order to put the MP3 players

together

MATERIALS Materials are all the things that make up a

product. Materials are either natural or synthetic.

Natural materials are those that are found in nature, such as wood, metal, and petroleum.

All natural materials are either renewable or non-renewable.

Renewable: means that new amounts can be produced (like wood – new trees can be grown to replace the ones that are cut down and used for various things).

Non-Renewable: means that the item cannot be replaced. We have only a limited supply, and once that supply is exhausted, it cannot be replaced. Petroleum is an example.

Synthetic materials are human made.

MATERIALS (continued) Synthetic materials cannot be found in a mine or

growing on a tree. However, they are made from materials that came from nature.

Examples are plastics (made from petroleum), ceramics, and composites.

Raw and Industrial Materials

Raw materials are natural materials that have not been processed; they are obtained by harvesting, mining, or drilling.

Examples are trees, cotton, crude oil

Industrial Materials are raw materials that have been changed to a usable form and are then made into a finished product.

Examples are sheet metal, sheets of plywood, fabric, gasoline

MATERIALS (continued) Raw and Industrial Materials

Primary Processes are the processes used to convert raw materials into industrial materials.

Example: Removing bark from a tree and cutting the log into boards or sheets

Secondary Processes are the processes used to convert industrial materials into finished products.

Example: Taking the wood board or sheet and using it to make furniture

TOOLS AND MACHINES Tool and machines are used to make materials take

on the size and form needed to make the product. Tools and machines are also used to transport

materials, parts, and the final product. Tools and machines can be classified into

categories: Measuring Tools: used to find out the size and shape of an

item

Layout Tools: used to make lines, angles, circles on material to show how the material needs to be cut

Separating Tools and Machines: used to cut material to a certain size or shape

Forming Tools and Machines: used to change the shape of materials

Combining Tools and Machines: used to join parts

ENERGY Energy: defined as the ability to do work. Three sources of energy:

Inexhaustible Sources: those sources that can never be used up by human action. We can use the sun’s energy (directly) for solar

heating; the sun’s energy also creates wind and influences tides, which can be used as energy sources for technology

Renewable Energy Sources: those sources that can be replenished or re-supplied Human and animal energy; trees and plants

Non-renewable Energy Sources: those sources that cannot be replenished by human action Fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas)

ENERGY (continued) Energy comes in several forms;

Heat -- Light Sound -- Chemical Nuclear -- Mechanical Electrical

Energy cannot be destroyed and it can only be created in a nuclear reaction; however, energy can be converted (changed) from one form to another and it can be transmitted (moved) from one place to another Lamps: the electrical energy is changed to light and heat

energy Elec. energy was transmitted to the house from a power

station Elec. energy might have started out as heat energy produced

by burning a fossil fuel The heat produced steam, which turned the blades of a

turbine, which converted the mechanical energy to electrical energy

CAPITAL Capital includes the money, land, and equipment

needed to set up the technological system. Without capital, most technological ideas would

remain just that – an “idea” and not an actual technology.

TIME Whenever a company decides to make a

technological product, it invests time in that particular system.

Time is one factor used to determine productivity. Productivity: the amount of goods or services compared

to the amount of resources that produced them. The more goods or services a worker can produce in an hour, the higher the productivity.

WHAT IS A PROCESS? A Process includes all the activities that need to take place for the

system to give the expected result.

Includes all of the following:

Research and Development

Management

Marketing

Quality Assurance

Accounting and Finance

WHAT IS AN OUTPUT? An Output includes everything that results when the input and

process parts of the system go into effect.

Outputs may be intended or unintended

Intended: the output that was expected to result from the inputs and processes (such as the MP3 player)

Unintended: outputs that occurred as a result of the inputs and processes that weren’t expected (such as waste, pollution, changes in society)

WHAT IS FEEDBACK? Feedback is information about output that is sent

back to the system to help determine whether the system is doing what it is supposed to do.

Feedback is critical because systems must be watched to be sure it is solving the problem(s) it was created to solve.

Feedback can come from: Internal error-checking features

From customers

From suppliers

Feedback is used to make improvements in systems or can be used to create new systems.