Systems
What is a system?
A group of parts that work together.
What part connects the parts of an electrical system?
Wires
What is energy?
The ability to make things move or change.
What type of energy is transferred through wires?
Electrical energy.
What happens during a blackout?
The electrical power in a city or area goes out.
What is a function?
What something can do or what it is used for.
What part sends energy into the simple electrical system?
The solar panel.
What is the main energy output of an LED?
Light energy.
What is an electrical device?
A machine that converts electrical energy into another form of energy.
What is evidence?
Information that helps answer a question.
Why can one missing part stop an entire system from working?
The parts interact and depend on each other to perform the system’s function.
What part sends energy into a large electrical system?
The power plant.
What are the main energy outputs of a fan and a buzzer?
A fan produces motion energy, and a buzzer produces sound energy.
What energy input do an LED, fan, and buzzer all use?
Electrical energy.
What is a claim?
A proposed answer to a question.
A loose wire causes a fan to stop spinning. Why does the loose wire affect the whole system?
The wire cannot transfer electrical energy between the parts.
Name two ways a simple electrical system and a large electrical system are alike.
Both have a part that sends energy and wires that connect the parts.
What observable energy output does a toaster produce?
Thermal or heat energy.
A device plugs into an outlet. What does this tell you about the device?
It uses electrical energy from the electrical system.
Ergstown’s devices stopped working at the same time and worked again when energy returned. Which claim is best supported?
Something went wrong with the electrical system.
A simple electrical system has a working lamp, solar panel, wire, and motor. The fan does not spin. What should a systems engineer investigate, and why?
The engineer should check whether every part is connected correctly because a loose or disconnected part can stop electrical energy from reaching the motor.
Explain the functions of the lamp, solar panel, wire, and motor with a fan in a simple electrical system.
The lamp provides light energy, the solar panel sends energy into the system, the wire connects the parts and transfers electrical energy, and the motor makes the fan spin.
A hair dryer produces moving air, heat, and sound. Name its energy input and three energy outputs.
The input is electrical energy. The outputs are motion, thermal, and sound energy.
How does an electrical device change energy? Give one example.
It converts electrical energy into another energy form. For example, an LED converts electrical energy into light energy.
During the Ergstown blackout, many different electrical devices stopped working at the same time. Later, some of the same devices worked when electrical energy returned. Explain why this evidence does not support the claim that all the devices broke.
If all the devices had broken, they would not work again simply because electrical energy returned. The evidence shows that the electrical system temporarily stopped delivering energy to the devices.