Technology as a System
Technological Systems
8th
WLMS
3 Reasons Why Study Technology
• 1.
Technology
• The modification of the natural
environment in order to satisfy perceived
human needs and wants.
• Using tools, materials, and processes to
make things that help us live better.
Technological Literacy
• The ability to use, manage, assess, and
understand technology.
Technologically Literate Person
• Understands, in increasingly sophisticated
ways that evolve over time, what
technology is, how it is created, and how it
shapes society, and in turn is shaped by
society.
Science
• Science Defined: knowledge
covering general truths or laws that
explain why something happens.
Science
• Science: Why something happens
• Engineering: How to turn the science into
something useful
• Technology: Making something useful
Technological Device
• An invention with moving parts or
electrical circuits used to do work.
• Light bulb
• Compact disc player
• Mousetrap
Systems
• What is a system?
• a regularly interacting or interdependent
group of items forming a unified whole
(number system)
• a group of interacting bodies under the
influence of related forces (gravitational
system)
System
• An organized or established way of doing
something through objects or ideas that
work together to complete a task.
Natural System
• Natural Systems appear in nature without
human interference.
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The universe
Transpiration systems of plants
Circulatory systems of animals
Solar system
Ecosystems found in lakes and ponds
Technological System
• Technological systems are used to make
the artifacts and services people want or
need.
Basic Parts of a System Defined
Goals. These are the reason for developing
and operating the system.
Inputs. These are the resources the system uses to meet
the identified goals.
Processes. These are the actions taken to use the inputs to
meet the goals.
Outputs. These are the results obtained by operating the
system.
Feedback. This includes the adjustments made to the
system to control the outputs.
Step
What happens at each step
Input Desired result.
Process Where work gets done.
Output
Actual results Desired, undesired,
expected, or unexpected.
Monitor Sensors that observe the output.
Compare Compares the output with the input.
and AdjustAdjusts only if needed.
Resources
Production Processes
• Production Processes are actions
changing inputs into outputs.
Production Processes
1) Growing and harvesting crops
(agricultural technology)
2) Changing materials into products
(manufacturing technology)
3) Changing materials and manufactured
products into constructed works
(construction)
Production Processes
4. Converting information and ideas into
printed or broadcast messages
(communication technology)
5. Using devices to improve health and
fight diseases (medical technology)
6. Converting energy and applying it to do
work (power and energy technology)
7. Using technical means to move people
and cargo (transportation technology)
Management Processes
• Production processes do not run by
themselves. People must oversee their
operations. These involve the following
key actions:
• Planning
• Organizing
• Directing
• Controlling
Planning
• Planning for the use of the production
processes and a course of action; setting
goals.
Organizing
• Organizing the resources: materials, labor,
energy, information, and machines; seeing
that the right resources are available when
the processes are operated.
Directing
• Directing and motivating the workers
operating the systems; seeing that they
know how to do their jobs and want to do
them well.
Controlling
• Controlling the operations of the systems;
seeing that the outputs meet the goals of
the operations.
Automation
• A manufacturing system in which many of
the processes are automatically performed
or controlled, as by electronic devices.
Intended output
• The intended output is the output for which
the system was designed
Output Categories
• Products are things like refrigerators,
sweaters, and houses.
• Technological services include activities
such as moving people on transportation
systems and providing information through
communication systems.
Undesired Outputs
• Undesirable outputs fall into 2 major
categories:
• Waste and Scrap
• Pollution
Scrap and Waste
• Scrap and waste are the materials left
over after the production processes are
completed.
Scrap
• Material that can be used for other
purposes.
Waste
•Cannot be easily reused.
Pollution
• Pollution is output harming the
environment. (air, water, soil around us)
Feedback
• Feedback includes the adjustments made
to control the outputs
Feedback
• The name given to the part of a system
that measures and controls the outcomes
of the system.
Feedback
• The process of giving back data on how well a
system is operating. It provides information so
adjustment can be made to improve the
system’s outputs.
• In the design process, feedback is the use of
information from the later step to improve an
earlier step. The purpose of feedback is to
improve the operation of a system.
Universal Systems Model
Input
Process
Feedback
Output
____
____
Open Loop
____
____ System
System
P.E.T.T.R.I.C.
Input
Process
Desired
result
Where
work gets
done
Output
Actual
results
Open Loop System
• When a system has no way of measuring
or controlling its product.
Input
Process
Output
Open Loop System
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Bathtub
Stove
Kerosene heater
Old fashion traffic light
• Each of these examples cannot shut
themselves down at the appropriate time.
Open Loop Examples
• Bathtub► runs over
• Stove ► burns the food
• Kerosene heater ►overheats or
consumes all of the fuel
• Old fashion traffic light ► prevents the
main flow of traffic while it gives the green
light to empty lanes in the intersection.
• Others ?
Open Loop Advantages 
Few parts, cheap, easier to
troubleshoot.
Open Loop Disadvantages 
Cannot adjust itself. You get
whatever comes out! Lacks
feedback control.
_____
Closed_____
Loop System
_____
_____
System
Input
Adjust
Compare
Process
Output
Monitor
Closed Loop Systems have a
Feedback Loop!
Closed Loop System
• A system that has quality control added
• Feedback added to open loop system
Input
Process
Feedback
Output
Closed Loop System
• The heater in a fish tank warms the water
in the tank and shuts off when the water
reaches the desired temperature.
• Thermostats on heating and cooling
systems work in a similar fashion.
• Others?
Closed Loop Advantages 
Uses a feedback loop to adjust
itself. Fewer mistakes.
Closed Loop Disadvantages 
More parts, more expensive,
troubleshooting more difficult.
Automation
• the state of being operated automatically
• Automatically controlled operation of an
apparatus, process, or system by
mechanical or electronic devices that take
the place of human organs of observation,
effort, and decision
Troubleshooting
• Locating trouble and making repairs to
machinery and technical equipment
• Troubleshooter:
• a skilled worker employed to locate trouble
and make repairs in machinery and
technical equipment
Troubleshooting
• To locate and eliminate the
source of trouble in any flow of
work or system.
People
Areas of Technology
Communication
Energy, Power,
and
Transportation
Bio-Related
Production
Component
• Serving as one of the parts of
a whole.
• A part, element, or ingredient
Component
• a constituent part; ingredient