Unit D Lesson D11
Completion requirements
Lesson D11: New Thinking, New Machines
Video Lesson
People invent new machines by combining existing technologies. Watch this video to learn more about how new drone aircraft technology uses existing scientific knowledge.
Lesson D11: New Thinking, New Machines
Figure D.3.11.1 – Windshield wipers are levers that wipe rain and snow off a glass windshield.
Figure D.3.11.2 – Windshield wipers make driving safer in wet and snowy conditions.
Windshield Wipers
Sometimes new machines create new problems that need to be solved. For example, early cars and streetcars did not have windshield wipers. When it snowed, drivers had to stop and scrape the windshield, in order to see where they were going.
Windshield wipers are levers connected to a turning wheel and axle. The wheel and axle makes the wipers move back and forth. This invention seems very simple, but it allowed people to drive faster, further, and safer in poor weather conditions.
Sometimes new machines create new problems that need to be solved. For example, early cars and streetcars did not have windshield wipers. When it snowed, drivers had to stop and scrape the windshield, in order to see where they were going.
Windshield wipers are levers connected to a turning wheel and axle. The wheel and axle makes the wipers move back and forth. This invention seems very simple, but it allowed people to drive faster, further, and safer in poor weather conditions.
Reading and Materials
for This Lesson
Science in Action 8
Reading: Pages 315–320
Materials:
No additional materials needed for this lesson.
Watch More
Invention of Windshield Wipers
Watch this video to learn more about the invention of windshield wipers.
Watch this video to learn more about the invention of windshield wipers.
Figure D.3.11.3 – During the industrial revolution many jobs were changed by the use of machines.
Figure D.3.11.4 – Some Luddites destroyed machines.
Luddites
Many new machines were invented during the late 1700s. One industry that was transformed by new machines was the cloth-making, or textile industry. Spinning thread and weaving cloth were much faster with machines.
Some people who worked in the textile industry in England worried that new machines would replace their jobs, and they wouldn’t be able to pay for food and shelter. This group of people started publicly protesting and sometimes destroyed factory machines. They were called Luddites.
Modern people who are afraid of new machines and technologies are still sometimes called Luddites. Some people fear being seen as unintelligent if they don’t understand how to operate new machines. Some people don’t want to put effort into learning how to operate new machines. Some people fear that new machines will replace their jobs.
Many new machines were invented during the late 1700s. One industry that was transformed by new machines was the cloth-making, or textile industry. Spinning thread and weaving cloth were much faster with machines.
Some people who worked in the textile industry in England worried that new machines would replace their jobs, and they wouldn’t be able to pay for food and shelter. This group of people started publicly protesting and sometimes destroyed factory machines. They were called Luddites.
Modern people who are afraid of new machines and technologies are still sometimes called Luddites. Some people fear being seen as unintelligent if they don’t understand how to operate new machines. Some people don’t want to put effort into learning how to operate new machines. Some people fear that new machines will replace their jobs.
Watch More
The Plight of the Luddite
Should people be afraid that machines will take away their jobs? Is this fear more important than all the ways that technology improves our lives? Watch this video to learn more.
Should people be afraid that machines will take away their jobs? Is this fear more important than all the ways that technology improves our lives? Watch this video to learn more.
Lesson Activity
Problem:
Drones are computer-controlled aircraft that do not need a pilot. Drones are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Some military drones are small airplanes. Other drones are small personal quadcopters. Drones have many existing and potential
uses. However, there are also some drawbacks to drone use.
In this activity, you will learn more about drones. You will collect information about the advantages and disadvantages of drone use.
In this activity, you will learn more about drones. You will collect information about the advantages and disadvantages of drone use.
Download:
DOWNLOAD this document. It provides a space for you to record your examples
of drone advantages and disadvantages.
Instructions:
- Construct a table with two columns. You can do this with a pen and a sheet of paper, or you can use the document you downloaded.
- Title the columns “Examples of Drone Advantages” and “Examples of Drone Disadvantages”.
- Watch these videos. As you watch the videos, listen for examples of advantages and disadvantages to using drones. Pause the video when you hear an example and summarize the example in the correct column of your table.
These two videos explore how drones can be useful in disaster situations.
These two videos explain how drones can be used in farming.
These two videos explore safety issues involved with drone use.
These two videos explain how drones are used in the military.
These two videos show examples of how drones are used for aerial photography and videography in different industries.
These videos show how delivery drones work.
This video explains how scientists use drones to study wild goats.
This video shows how some people misuse drones to invade the privacy of others.
Sharing:
Congratulations on completing this activity! Your observations are very important! Consider sharing your advantages and disadvantages of drone technology in the course Sharing Forum. You can also share your own thoughts on drones as well – what is your opinion on drone technology?
Congratulations on completing this activity! Your observations are very important! Consider sharing your advantages and disadvantages of drone technology in the course Sharing Forum. You can also share your own thoughts on drones as well – what is your opinion on drone technology?
Robotics
Robots are computer-guided machines that do a task without a human operator. There is a whole branch of technology called robotics that is dedicated to the designing, constructing, and finding new applications for robots. Scientists that design robots are called robotics engineers. Robots are especially useful for doing dangerous tasks, or boring and repetitive tasks, so it is no surprise that there is great demand for new kinds of robots.
To learn more about robots and robotics,
click here to Explore with Elsie.
Make sure you have understood everything in this lesson. Use the Self-Check below, and the Self-Check & Lesson Review Tips to guide your learning.
Unit D Lesson 11 Self-Check
Instructions
Complete the following 6 steps.
Don't skip steps – if you do them in order, you will confirm your
understanding of this lesson and create a study bank for the future.
- DOWNLOAD the self-check quiz by clicking here.
- ANSWER all the questions on the downloaded quiz in the spaces provided. Think carefully before typing your answers. Review this lesson if you need to. Save your quiz when you are done.
- COMPARE your answers with the suggested "Self-Check Quiz Answers" below. WAIT! You didn't skip step 2, did you? It's very important to carefully write out your own answers before checking the suggested answers.
-
REVISE your quiz answers if you need to. If you answered all the questions correctly, you can skip this step. Revise means to change, fix, and add extra notes if you need to. This quiz is NOT FOR MARKS, so it is perfectly OK to correct
any mistakes you made. This will make your self-check quiz an excellent study tool you can use later.
- SAVE your quiz to a folder on your computer, or to your Private Files. That way you will know where it is for later studying.
- CHECK with your teacher if you need to. If after completing all these steps you are still not sure about the questions or your answers, you should ask for more feedback from your teacher. To do this, post in the Course Questions Forum, or send your teacher an email. In either case, attach your completed quiz and ask; "Can you look at this quiz and give me some feedback please?" They will be happy to help you!
Be a Self-Check
Superhero!
Self-Check Quiz Answers
Click each of the suggested answers below, and carefully compare your answers to the suggested answers.
If you have not done the quiz yet – STOP – and go back to step 1 above. Do not look at the answers without first trying the questions.
Drone technology has many benefits, including:
- Delivering packages directly to homes and businesses
- Taking photos from the air without needing a pilot or airplane
- Allowing people to study land and farm fields
- Helping provide supplies to people during natural disaster situations
Drone technology has several downsides, including:
- Drones can hurt people or run into airplanes if they are not used properly
- Drones are used as war weapons that kill people
- People can use drones to spy on others, invading their privacy
Robot technology has many benefits, including:
- Visiting extreme environments that are difficult for humans to go, like space or the deep ocean
- Doing search and rescue tasks in dangerous situations
- Doing boring and repetitive work, like vacuuming
- Doing precise work like surgery or building cars
There are several reasons why some people might dislike the idea of driverless cars on the roads. People like bus, truck, and taxi drivers might be afraid that driverless cars will put them out of a job. Other people might not trust driverless
car technology. They might fear that the computer and sensors will make a mistake in driving and crash the car.
Before driverless cars could be invented, a basic car with an engine had to be developed. Fast computers, GPS mapping systems, and sensor technology all had to be invented before they could be used in driverless cars.