Transcript Slide 1

• This Power Point presentation was
presented at the NSTA regional
conference in Seattle, December 9, 2011
• Images without permission for distribution
have been removed, with italicized notes
of what was shown. Feel free to add in
your own creative systems!
What is a System?
Created by:
Ken Brager (Amistad Elementary, formerly of
Highlands Middle School, Kennewick, WA)
Martha Mather (Highlands Middle School, Kennewick,
WA)
Vicky Smoot (Horse Heaven Hills Middle School,
Kennewick, WA)
Today’s Purpose
Our purpose today is to answer the questions:
1. What is a system?
2.Can students identify systems around
them?
What is a system?
This is a system
This is a system
This is a system
This is a system
So, what makes a system a
system?
What is our definition of a system?
• Two or more individual parts that
work together to perform a single
function (job) and combine to
form a whole.
What was that again?
• Two or more individual parts
that work together to perform a
single function
And combine to form a whole.
Let us look at a sprinkler system
Working sprinklers on grass
A sprinkler system
has many parts.
Some parts are
above ground.
Underground view of sprinkler system
Some parts are below ground.
Sprinkler control valves and control box
Some parts control what happens.
Two photos of malfunctioning sprinklers—showing
bubbling/spraying high
Sometimes parts do not always
work right.
Labeled diagram of sprinkler
Soda bottle drip
system.
Some sprinkler systems are simple
(have few parts).
Full diagram of sprinkler system in a field—complex set up
Some are much more complex.
Up close picture of grass
… to water plants.
But all
sprinkler
systems
have the
same
purpose
…
Remember our definition of a
system?
• Two or more individual parts that
work together to perform a single
function and combine to form a
whole.
Let’s look at the parts, the whole,
and the purpose
Is this a system?
Yes!
The
skateboard
has separate
parts that
combine to
form a whole
to perform a
single function
Yes!
Has two or more
parts that work
together to perform
a single function.
System?
Yes!
It has
____________
that work
together to
____________
And combine
to
____________
Why is knowing about systems
important?
• Human beings live in a universe made up
of systems.
• Your body is made up of systems
• Your lives are affected by systems
• You buy systems
• You sleep on systems
• You eat systems
• Everything you do involves systems.
Are there systems in this room?
With your team list at least four systems that
are in this room.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Classroom Management System
Computer System
Heating and Cooling System
The Pencil Sharpener
The Clock
The plumbing system
And lots more.
Inputs and Outputs
• Every system has an INPUT
and OUTPUT. Its OUTPUT is
the function (job) that it does
or the result of its job. What is
its INPUT?
Inputs can be….
• ENERGY—in some form.
• MATTER—some kind of “stuff” so
it can do its job
• INFORMATION
Practice with these systems:
Find the Parts, the Input, and the Output
Practice
• Find the PARTS, the INPUT, and THE
OUTPUT
Practice
• Find the PARTS, the INPUT, and THE
OUTPUT
Systems Continued
Inputs, Outputs, Boundaries and
Subsystems
What we know:
• A system is two or more individual parts
working together for a common function
(purpose) that combine to form a whole.
Inputs and Outputs
• Systems have inputs - things that get put
in to make the system function.
• Systems have outputs – what they do, and
sometimes other things.
Inputs
• In order to carry out their purpose,
systems need an input of some kind of
energy. Sometimes they need other inputs
of matter (stuff) or information too.
• OUR DEFINITIION: An input is something
that enters the system. It can be matter
(stuff), information, or energy
Forms of Energy Input
• There are lots of kinds of energy. Some common
kinds are:
• Electrical
• Thermal (heat)
• Mechanical (movement)
• Nuclear
• Chemical (food is one example; a battery is
another)
• Sound
• Light
What kind of energy input is
needed by these systems?
Output
• Outputs from a system can include what
they do, energy, information, and any
other matter (stuff) that comes out.
• OUR DEFINITION: An output is something
that leaves the system. It can be matter
(stuff), information, or energy
What kind of energy output is
produced by these systems?
Outputs can become inputs.
• Sometimes the output from one system
can become the input for another system.
Practice
• Name the inputs and outputs for a dairy
cow.
Practice
• Name the inputs and outputs for broccoli.
Practice
• Name the inputs and outputs for a toaster.
Boundary
• The boundary is the outside border of the
system. Depending on where we draw the
boundary, we can look at a system or a
subsystem as a system.
Sometimes systems are too large
to study so they are broken down
into smaller subsystems.
A subsystem is a
system within a
system
Subsystems
Cooling system of an engine.
Why?
• Because we look at things systematically
to understand them. Sometimes we look
at the larger system, and sometimes we
look at the smaller system that is a
subsystem of the larger system.
Systems can be Open or
Closed
• Open systems allow matter, energy and
information to enter and leave.
• Closed systems don’t allow matter to enter
and leave, but energy and information can
still enter and leave. Example: The water
cycle of the earth will not gain more water
(matter) however, it will gain sunlight
(energy).
Systems can be Open or
Closed
• Closed systems can become open
systems when a gap or hole is created in
the actual physical boundary.
• Example: When you open a bottle of water
by taking off the lid, a gap or hole is
created in the physical boundary.
Closed can become open; open
can become closed.
• Plants are open systems. Photosynthesis
helps them grow by taking in energy from
the sun and matter from their
surroundings.
• They create matter in the form of oxygen.
• When planted in a closed bottle, a plant
becomes part of a closed system where
matter can’t enter or leave, but energy, in
the form of light and heat, can.
Systems Can Change
• Systems can change when their boundary
changes.
• Boundaries can sometimes change, like
when the boundaries of a lake change due
to rising water levels.
Systems and Boundaries
• Boundaries can be drawn to fit what needs
to be studied. Scientists may decide to
study a single tree rather than the whole
forest. They would change the boundaries
of the system to fit that study.
• We can change boundaries when studying
different parts of a system.