Intro to Networks
What do transportation systems do?
Transportation systems move things from one place to another.
What is the pushing force on a liquid that causes it to move through a tube or pipe?
Pressure
What does efficiency mean?
Efficiency means doing a job while using the least amount of time, energy, or materials
What is it called when one small problem causes a chain reaction that affects many other systems?
Domino Effect
A network has several different paths to reach the same destination. Engineers add these extra paths to make the system more ______.
Reliable (or resilient)
Do arteries move blood towards the heart or away from the heart?
Arteries move blood AWAY from the heart.
Why does a wide pipe let water flow faster than a narrow pipe?
Why do bottlenecks happen in a piping system?
Bottlenecks happens because too many things are trying to move through one narrow pathway.
What's the difference between Capacity and Demand?
Capacity is the maximum amount a system can carry or handle.
Demand is how much people want or need from the system.
What body organ acts like a city's water pump by pushing fluid through a network?
The heart
In the correct order, what blood vessels does blood always travel through in a circulatory system loop?
Heart → Arteries → Capillaries → Veins → Heart
A city's water pressure suddenly drops, and faucets throughout the neighborhood become weaker. What problem inside the pipes could be causing this?
A partial blockage
An engineer is comparing two network designs. Besides cost, what is one question they should ask to decide which design is better?
Which design reaches every destination? Which uses the fewest materials? Which is easiest to build? Which is easiest to repair? Which keeps working if one path is blocked? Or, which allows the fastest movement?
When you start running, your muscles need more oxygen. What does your circulatory system do to meet this increased demand?
The heart beats faster to pump more blood through the body.
In a city water system, service pipes deliver water to homes. What type of small blood vessels perform a similar job in the circulatory system?
Capillaries
What is the meaning of drainage?
Drainage is the process of removing waste water or other liquids from a specific area.
Why are water towers built so tall?
Their height creates pressure that pushes water through pipes.
What are two disadvantages of this pipe design?
Disadvantages: it doesn't reach all the destinations, it has no backup routes, it's harder to repair, issues with the main pipe would affect everything else, etc.
What is an example of biomimicry?
Water systems use branching patterns like blood vessels.
One-way plumbing valves work like heart valves.
A delivery truck reaches a road that suddenly stops and cannot continue to its destination. What kind of road is this?
A dead end
Why is branching important in BOTH a city water pipe system and the circulatory system?
In a city water pipe system, engineers split the water into many smaller pipes so every house can get water.
In our bodies, branching allows blood to reach every muscle, organ, finger, and toe.
How can you tell if a pipe has a major leak vs a partial blockage?
Both cause low water pressure but major leaks leave wet spots, while partial blockages do not.
An engineer must choose between a simple, low-cost design and a more expensive design with backup routes. What is this type of decision called?
A tradeoff
What kind of data do doctors collect? What kind of data do engineers collect? Give one example for both.
Doctors: heart rate, blood pressure, etc.
Engineers: water pressure, traffic speed, etc.
Pipe system A has ten leaks spread throughout the network. Pipe system B has one complete blockage near the pump. Which system is more likely to stop delivering water to many destinations?
System B (The system with the complete blockage near the pump)