Systems in Action
Systems in Action
Systems in Action
B
UNIT
Systems in
Action
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Unit Overview
Fundamental Concepts
In Science and Technology for grades 7 and 8, six
fundamental concepts occur throughout. This unit
addresses the following two:
• Systems and Interactions
Big Ideas
As you work through this unit, you will develop a deeper
understanding of the following big ideas:
Overall Expectations
By the end of this unit, you will be expected to:
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Exploring
Robotic Surgery
One recent addition to our health-care system is robotic
surgery, the use of robots to perform surgery. Laparoscopic
devices, such as fibre optic cables, miniature cameras, and
surgical instruments, are inserted into the body through small
incisions. These are controlled by the surgeon at a special
console. This type of robotic surgery is called minimally
invasive surgery (MIS). MIS surgery means less trauma and
pain for the patient, who recovers more quickly.
Robotic surgery has now progressed to the point where a
machine, instead of a surgeon, operates on a patient. The
surgeon sits at a console and manipulates the robot’s four arms.
One robotic arm controls the camera while three arms
manipulate the instruments. With this machine, surgeons have Dr. Anvari keeps an eye on the
better precision and dexterity as well as full stereoscopic vision. monitor while operating robotically.
Remote Surgery
With these new systems, surgery can now be done remotely, with
the surgeon and the patient in different locations. In February
2003, Dr. Mehran Anvari of Hamilton, Ontario, operated on a
patient in North Bay, over 400 km away. This was the first
remote surgery (telesurgery) in Canada. The Canadian military
may use remote surgery for injured soldiers in distant combat
zones.
In the future, automatic surgery may be possible. The
The robotic instruments are closing
techniques of expert surgeons, stored in computers, will allow the wound.
robot systems to perform surgery without direct human input.
Society has to decide if this is an ethical and acceptable
addition to our medical system. Part of our responsibility as
…MORE TO EXPLORE
citizens is to assess each system’s impact on society and on our
environment.
Exploring 91
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B1 Quick Lab
2008
D
O
R
L L A
Components of a System
Systems are made up of individual components Consider This
that work together to perform a task or function.
3. What task does this system perform?
What to Do 4. Choose one component of the system
1. Choose one of the systems listed below. from your list. Suppose that component
• health care system • legal system was removed from the system. Describe
• school system • respiratory system how this would affect the system.
• Aboriginal clan system 5. Describe the long-term effects of
• waste management system removing the component from the
2. List the components of this system. system. Include any societal, technological,
and environmental impacts.
UNIT
B Contents
4.0 Mechanical systems use forces to transfer
energy.
4.1 Force
4.2 Work and Energy DI
Unit Task
In your Unit Task, you will design, construct, and
test a mechanical system that uses only the
energy stored in a spring-bar mousetrap to
perform a function other than catching Getting Ready to Read
mice. You will use skills that you learn in
this unit to efficiently transfer the energy
Creating a Word Wall
Scan the unit and identify 10 key words
stored in the mousetrap. Your
whose meaning is unknown to you. Make a
investigations on forces, work, mechanical
class list of unknown words. Arrange these
advantage, and efficiency will help you
words alphabetically and make them into a
develop your mechanical system.
word wall. With your group, discuss possible
Essential Question meanings of each word. Think of related
How does a mousetrap work, and how words to help you, then use the Glossary that
does each component contribute to the starts on page 405 to verify your meanings. In
system’s desired function? your own words, record the meanings of your
10 unknown words in your notes.
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In the circus, an acrobat jumps on one end of the teeter-totter to launch another acrobat into the air.
Before Reading
Activating Prior Knowledge
Chapter 4 focuses on four main topics:
mechanical systems, force, work and energy,
and mechanical advantage. Draw a mind
map to record what you already know about
each topic from earlier science classes, as
well as from your daily life. Revisit your mind
map as you read the chapter, and add and
modify meanings and connections.
Key Terms
• work • mechanical system
• force • energy
• friction • gravity
• mass • mechanical advantage
• weight • ideal mechanical advantage
Figure 4.3 The smaller acrobat is able to move the larger acrobat by changing location.
B3 Quick Lab
Lift This
The human body is also a mechanical system. Procedure
Muscles, bones, and joints work together to 1. Make a loop from the piece of string. Hang
perform various tasks. Imagine that you have a ball the mass from the string.
in your hand. By controlling all the parts that make
up your human mechanical system, you can move 2. Stand up. Hold your forearm horizontally, with
the ball in a circle or throw it in a straight line. your elbow tight against the side of your body.
Depending on how much effort you exert and the Loop the string over your hand (Figure 4.4).
technique you use to throw the ball, you can 3. Keeping your elbow stationary, lift your arm
control how fast the ball travels. slowly. Make mental notes of how much effort
you need to lift the object and of the distance
Purpose you were able to raise the object.
To examine how the amount of effort required to
4. Move the loop of string to your wrist and
lift a mass can vary depending on where the mass
repeat step 3.
is located
5. Move the loop of string to your forearm and
repeat step 3.
Materials & Equipment
■ piece of string, 50 cm long Questions
■ 1- to 2-kg mass
6. At which string location did you need the least
effort to lift the object?
4.1 Force
Here is a summary of what you will learn in this section:
• A force is a push or a pull that acts on an object.
• Forces can be classified as either contact forces or action-at-a-distance forces.
• Mass is the amount of matter in an object.
• Weight is the force of gravity acting on an object.
• For an object on Earth, the force of gravity, in newtons, is the product of the object’s mass,
in kilograms, and the gravitational field 9.8 N/kg.
“May the Force be with you” is a popular line from the Star
Wars movies. The use of the word “force” in the movie is
different from force in a science classroom. In science, force is
a push or a pull that acts on an object.
Identifying Forces
Any object that is being pushed or pulled is experiencing a force. Looking at
Figure 4.5, we could say, “The leash applies a force on the dog.” With a
partner, make a list of the forces that you can find in Figure 4.5.
Figure 4.5
B5 During Reading
Making Connections
Making connections is an important strategy for As you read the next section, record the
readers. This ongoing process of interacting with following in a three-column chart:
the text helps readers connect with their prior
1. key words that spark a meaningful
experience and knowledge. This helps them
connection
visualize, infer, and remember what they have
read better. 2. your connection as a reader
3. how this connection helps you better
understand the text
Mass
Once we have identified the type of force, we often need to
measure the amount of force. Before we do this, we must
understand the difference between mass and weight. Mass is
the amount of matter in an object. The mass of a bowling ball
is greater than the mass of a tennis ball because it contains
more matter. The metric unit for measuring mass is the
kilogram (kg). For example, the mass of 1 L of water is 1 kg.
Smaller masses are often measured in grams (g). There are
1000 g in 1 kg, so we could say that the mass of 1 L of water
is 1000 g.
Since mass is the amount of matter in an object, the object’s
Figure 4.9 If you were an astronaut,
your mass would be the same on
mass does not change as a result of gravity. If you have a mass
both Earth and the Moon. Your of 50 kg on Earth, your mass on the Moon, where gravity is
weight would be less on the one-sixth Earth’s gravity, is still 50 kg (Figure 4.9). This is
Moon, however, because the Moon
has less gravity. because the amount of matter in your body has not changed on
your trip to the Moon.
Measuring Force
Most meters that measure force contain a spring or elastic
component that stretches or compresses when a force is
applied. The most common force meter is called a Newton
gauge or spring scale, as shown in Figure 4.10. A spring scale
consists of a spring with a hook on the end. As more force is
applied to the hook, the spring stretches farther. The spring
scales used in your classroom have been calibrated to display
the relationship between the amount of force and the distance
of stretch. This allows you to read the amount of force directly
from the spring scale.
Spring scales can measure forces other than weight. If you Figure 4.10 The spring scale shows
the weight of an object in newtons.
needed to know how much force you need to slide an object
across your desk, you simply attach the spring scale to the
object and pull at a constant speed, as in Figure 4.11. By pulling Suggested Activity •
parallel to the desk at a constant speed, you are measuring the B7 Quick Lab on page 103
Take It Further The force of gravity (Fg) on any mass (m) near the surface
The bathroom scale you might use of Earth can be calculated by:
at home to weigh yourself does
not look like the spring scale
Force of gravity (mass of object) (the strength of
shown in Figure 4.10. Compare Earth’s gravitational field)
and contrast these two scales used
for weighing. Begin your search at Using symbols, this word equation can be expressed as:
ScienceSource.
Fg mg
where mass is in kilograms (kg) and g is 9.8 N/kg.
B6 Learning Checkpoint
B7 Quick Lab
■
Performing and reporting
Analyzing and interpreting
Skill Builder
11. Explain how you could use your best-fit line to
find the weight of a mass without hanging it
from a spring scale.
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Forming Conclusions
12. Your data are best represented by a straight
line on a weight-versus-mass graph. What is
Figure 4.12 the relationship between weight and mass?
2. What are the two categories of force? Give (a) 25 kg (b) 6.0 kg (c) 250 g
an example of a force for each category.
Practise Your Skills
3. What force causes a sliding object to slow 9. An astronaut measures the force of
down? gravity on various masses on the surface
4. What is another word for “force of of two different planets. The data for
gravity”? Planet A and Planet B are shown below.
Which planet has the larger gravitational
5. Explain how weight is different from field? Explain your answer.
mass.
Planet B
6. What device is commonly used to
Weight (N)
measure force?
Planet A
7. You weigh yourself on your bathroom
scale at home. Would the same scale give
Mass (kg)
the same measurement if you weighed
yourself on a different planet? Explain.
For more questions, go to ScienceSource.
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B9 Thinking about Technology, Society, and the Environment SE
Making Connections
Good readers stay engaged with the text they (T–S), text to world (T–W) and text to text (T–T).
are reading by making meaningful connections As you read this section, record and code the
to themselves, to the world, and to other texts. connections you make. Which connection helps
These connections are often coded as text to self you understand what you are reading best?
Forms of Energy
The various forms of energy can be classified into two
categories: kinetic energy and potential energy. The bowling
ball was able to do work because it was moving. A stationary
W O R D S M AT T E R bowling ball cannot knock down the pins. When an object is
The term "kinetic" comes from the moving, the energy it has is called kinetic energy. Sometimes
Greek word kinema, which means
motion. Other words with this origin the motion is hard to detect. For example, electricity, thermal
are kinesiology and cinema. energy, and sound are forms of kinetic energy since the
particles involved in each of these energies are in motion.
In earlier grades, you learned that all matter is made of
tiny particles. All these particles are in motion all the time, so
they have kinetic energy. Thermal energy is the total amount
of all the kinetic energy of all the particles in an object or
substance. When this energy transfers to another object or
substance, it is called heat.
Energy does not always involve motion. An object can
store its energy to do work later. Any energy that is stored is
called potential energy.
You are able to do work because of the chemical potential
energy in the food you eat. As plants and animals grow, they
store chemical energy, and they convert it into other forms of
energy when they need to. Gasoline and batteries also store
chemical potential energy. A bow stores elastic energy until it
is released (Figure 4.15).
Figure 4.16 shows a heavy rock directly above a tent peg
stuck in the ground. When the rock is dropped, it will apply a
force to the peg and move it a distance into the ground. Since
the rock can do work on the tent peg if it is dropped, the
stationary rock held above the tent peg has potential energy.
The potential energy of an object that is able to fall is called
gravitational potential energy.
Figure 4.15 In this position, the Figure 4.16 An object that can fall has
bow has potential energy. gravitational potential energy.
Calculating Work
Since doing work changes an object’s energy, then work must
be measured in the same units as energy, which is the joule (J).
Our definition of work can be used to derive an equation
Suggested Activity • needed to calculate the work done on an object. The amount of
B13 Quick Lab on page 111 work done depends on the amount of force exerted and the
distance over which the force is applied. When the force causes
the object to move in the same direction as the force, the
amount of work done can be calculated as follows:
(Work in joules) = (Force in newtons) × (distance in metres)
This same equation can be written using symbols.
W Fd
For example, suppose Jennifer pushes a box with a force of
150 N and the box moves 3.0 m. How much work does
Jennifer do on the box?
W Fd
(150 N)(3.0 m)
450 J
Jennifer does 450 J of work on the box.
If this box has a mass of 25 kg, how much work will it take
her to lift it from the floor to 2.0 m in the air? We still use the
equation W Fd, but first we need to find the force needed to
lift the box. In Section 4.1, we learned that the force of gravity
is given by Fg mg. To lift the box at a constant speed, you
have to exert a force equal to its weight.
Take It Further The force exerted on the box can be calculated as:
All devices transfer or transform
energy. For example, a flashlight is Fg mg
a device that transforms the
(25 kg)(9.8 N/kg)
chemical energy stored in the
battery into light energy and 245 N
thermal energy. Choose a simple
device and describe the energy Therefore, the amount of work done by this force is:
transformations that take place
when that device is used. Begin W Fd
your search at ScienceSource. (245 N)(2.0 m)
490 J
Calculating Work
Use W = Fd to solve the following questions. 2. Gravity pulls an apple 4.0 m to the ground
with a force of 2.0 N. How much work
1. Simon lifts a rock 1.5 m by applying a
does gravity do on the apple?
force of 20 N. How much work does
Simon do on the rock? 3. Jasjot does 450 J of work on an object by
pushing the object 15 m at a constant
speed. How much force does Jasjot exert
on the object?
Questions
Procedure
6. Which of your four object motions required
1. Copy Table 4.4 into your notebook.
the most work? The least work? Why?
Table 4.4
7. Explain why it was important to pull with a
Object Type of Motion Distance Force Work constant speed. How would the force on the
(e.g., lifting, sliding) (m) (N) (J) spring scale change if you did not pull at a
constant speed?
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B14 Thinking about Science, Technology, and Society SE
Everyday Machines
A machine is any mechanical system that machines as you can think of. Compare your list
reduces the force needed to do work. For with those of two other groups and add any
example, a car jack allows you to lift a car that machines that are different from the ones on
you would not be able to lift without the jack. your original list. Keep this list for the next activity.
Work with a partner and make a list of as many
Functions of Machines
To move from the ground floor of a building to
the second floor requires work. Usually this
work is done by climbing stairs between the
levels. Suppose that all the stairs were removed
and replaced by a vertical rope (Figure 4.20).
Most people would not be able to provide
enough force to climb the rope to the next level.
Stairs, therefore, are a machine that allows
people to do the work more easily.
Machines make work easier in three ways:
• by increasing the force that can be
applied to an object
Figure 4.20 Stairs are an example of a machine that makes • by increasing the distance over which
work easier.
the force is applied
• by changing the direction of a force
Increasing Distance
The ramp in Figure 4.22 allows the cart to be loaded into the
Leng
Height th
truck with less force than if it were lifted straight up.
Figure 4.22 The length of the ramp Regardless of how the cart is loaded, the cart in the truck
is greater than the height of the has gained gravitational potential energy since it is now above
truck. By using a ramp to do the
work over a longer distance, the
the road. This means that work was done to move the cart into
person uses less force. the truck.
Figure 4.24 The input force, Fin, and output force, Fout, using a car jack
Mechanical Advantage
Machines such as the nutcracker, ramp, and car jack make
work easier because the output force is greater than the input
force. The amount by which a machine can multiply an input
force is called its mechanical advantage. Therefore, the ratio
of the output force (Fout) to the input force (Fin) determines
the machine’s mechanical advantage.
Since mechanical advantage is the ratio of two forces,
measured in newtons, mechanical advantage has no scientific
units. You can calculate the mechanical advantage (MA) by
Take It Further using the following equation:
Machines that can lift or move output force in newtons
heavy objects usually have a very Mechanical advantage
large mechanical advantage. input force in newtons
Tractors and bulldozers are
examples of these types of Fout
MA
machine. Choose a machine and Fin
investigate the maximum
mechanical advantage of that When jacking up a car, Wei pushes with a force of 250 N on
machine. Begin your search at
ScienceSource. the handle of a jack and the jack applies a force of 3000 N to
the car. What is the mechanical advantage of this car jack?
Fout
MA
Fin
(3000 N)
(250 N)
12
The jack has a mechanical advantage of 12. This means that the
jack will output 12 times the amount of force that Wei inputs.
Suppose that Jason and his wheelchair have a total weight
of 910 N (Figure 4.25). A force of 130 N is required to push
Jason up the ramp. In this example, we think of the output
force as the force required to move the object without the Figure 4.25 The ramp has a
mechanical advantage greater
ramp. Lifting Jason and the wheelchair up without the ramp than 1 since the force needed to
would require a force of 910 N. Now we use our equation to push the wheelchair up the ramp is
less than the force needed to lift the
calculate mechanical advantage.
wheelchair straight up.
Fout
MA
Fin
(910 N)
(130 N)
7
input distance
Ideal mechanical advantage
output distance
din
IMA
dout
Suppose Padma uses a hammer to pull a nail, as shown in
Figure 4.27. If she moves the handle of the hammer 30 cm and
the nail moves 5.0 cm, what is the ideal mechanical advantage
of the hammer?
din
IMA
dout
(30 cm)
Figure 4.27 The ideal mechanical
advantage of the hammer can be (5.0 cm)
determined by comparing the 6.0
distance the handle moves to the
distance the nail moves.
The ideal mechanical advantage of the hammer is 6.0.
Even though no real machines have zero friction, certain
machines have such a small amount of friction that the ideal
mechanical advantage is very similar to the real mechanical
advantage. Machines like a hammer or a screwdriver have no
sliding parts and therefore have almost no friction. The IMA
can be close to the MA for machines such as these.
Mechanical Advantage
1. Laura pushes on the pedals of her bike 300 N, what is the mechanical advantage
with a force of 320 N. If the bike has an of this bike’s brake system?
output force of 640 N, what is the
3. The handle of a car jack is moved 75 cm
mechanical advantage of this bike?
and the car is lifted 2.5 cm. What is the
2. Laura squeezes the hand brakes of her ideal mechanical advantage of this car jack?
bicycle with a force of 60 N. If the brake
pads push on the wheel with a force of
your arm, the output force provided by your arm was always the same. Fout
2. Do you think the mechanical advantage of your arm was ever Figure 4.29
Questions
8. As the distance from the output force to the
Figure 4.30 hinge increased, what happened to the value
of the mechanical advantage?
Procedure
9. When the hinge was at the 70-cm location,
1. Copy Table 4.6 into your notebook.
the mechanical advantage has a value of less
Table 4.6 Mechanical Advantage of a Simple Machine than 1. In a short paragraph, explain what a
Hinge Location Output Force Input Force Mechanical mechanical advantage less than 1 means in
(cm) (N) (N) Advantage terms of input and output forces.
20 10. When the mechanical advantage is greater
30
than 1, the distance moved by the output
40
force is less than the distance moved by the
50
input force. How do these distances compare
60
when the mechanical advantage is less than 1?
70
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Initiating and planning
Communicating
Figure 4.31
machines. The 40
5. Use the concept of energy to explain why
output force of 20
ideal mechanical advantage is not the
each of these 0
same as mechanical advantage for real A B C
machines is Machine
machines.
shown here. List
the three machines in order of highest to
lowest mechanical advantage.
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B21 Thinking about Science, Technology, and Society SE
Can Opener
Can you imagine opening a can of soup without a Consider This
can opener? A can opener is a mechanism
4. Most mechanisms are designed to meet a
designed to make the task of opening a can easier.
need. How well does your can opener
What to Do address people’s needs?
1. Make a sketch of a manual can opener. 5. If every family had to destroy its can
openers, describe the short- and long-term
2. Identify the components of the can opener
effects.
and label these parts on your sketch.
6. Describe possible environmental effects on
3. State the form and function of each
the manufacturing, use, and disposal of your
labelled part.
can opener.
Artificial Limbs
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B22 Thinking about Science, Technology, and Society SE