Term | Definition |
Technology | The modification of the natural environment in order to
satisfy human needs and wants |
Technology Literacy | The ability to use, manage, understand, and
access technology |
Transportation Technology | The technology of transporting people
and goods |
Information & Communication Technology | The technology of communicating to people and machines |
Medical Technology | The technology of caring for the sick and
curing disease |
Agricultural & Bio Technology | The technology of farming and DNA. |
Construction Technology | The technology of building and
maintaining structures |
Energy & Power Technology | The technology of producing and
transferring energy into work/power |
Manufacturing Technology | The technology of producing goods in a
factory |
Science | The knowledge of the natural world (Discovery). Helps us
develop technology. |
Invention | A totally new product, produced from ideas and
imagination |
Innovation | An improvement to an invention. You will have more
innovations than inventions |
Positive Outcomes vs. Negative Outcomes | Positive: technology solves problems, Negative: creates new problems |
Systems Model | A group of units/parts that work together. Consists
of input, process, output and sometimes feedback |
Open-Loop System | A system in which there is no feedback.
Input>Process>Output |
Closed-Loop System | A system in which there is feedback.
Input>Process>Output>Feedback |
Systems Thinking: | Viewing problems as parts of an overall system.
What component is causing the problem? |
Controls | Mechanisms or steps that are performed using information
about the system that cause the system to change |
Input: | Anything put in to a system. Can be capital ($), raw
materials, people (labor), fuel, etc. |
Process: | The process of changing/using the inputs. Ex. The burning of
the fuel to produce power/work in an engine. |
Output: | The results of the system. Can be power, movement, a
product, etc. |
Feedback | Information about the system that can be used to alter
the system. Can be a gauge or other measurements |
Criteria | The problem you are trying to solve/the goal of your design.
Example: Design a bridge |
Constraint: | Limitations to your design. You may have a time limit,
money limit or specifications for the appearance |
Prototype | A full-scale working model of the product. For example
the crash car used to test car safety |
Newton’s 1st Law: | An object remains still or remains in motion
unless acted upon by an outside force |
Newton’s 2nd Law | Force = mass x acceleration. The greater the
mass, the more force that is needed to move it. |
Newton’s 3rd Law: | For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction. |
Mechanical Advantage | A force that is increased by the use of a
machine. Ex. using a drill to drive a screw |