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Technology can be
used to build or improve something.
Tools are a part
of technology and they are used to do things better, easier, and things
that could not be done otherwise.
Tools are used to
make better observations and measurements.
Some objects occur
in nature (natural objects); others have been designed and made by people
to solve human problems and enhance the quality of life (design or man
made).
Drawings and simple models can be used to plan technology.
People help other
people to make and improve things.
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Technological design heuristic: Identification of a problem; propose a solution with respect to cost, materials, time, space, and safety; implement a solution with respect to any constraints identified during the proposal step; evaluate the design and product with relation to solving the problem and make modifications as necessary or desired.
People have always
had questions about their world.
Science is one way of answering questions and explaining the natural world.
Trying to determine the effects of solutions helps people avoid some new
problems.
Scientists and engineers often work in teams with different individuals
doing different things that contribute to the results. This understanding
focuses primarily on teams working together and secondarily, on the combination
of scientist and engineer teams.
Women and men of all ages, backgrounds, and groups engage in a variety
of scientific and technological work.
Tools help scientists make better and more accurate observations, measurements,
and equipment for investigations. They help scientists see, measure, and
do things that they could not otherwise see, measure, and do.
Perfectly designed solutions or products do not exist. All technological
solutions have tradeoffs, such as safety, cost, efficiency, materials
needed, benefits, liabilities, appearance, and other variables. Engineers
often build in back-up systems to provide safety. Risk is part of living
in a highly technological world. Reducing risk often results in new technology.
Some consequences can be predicted, others cannot.
Throughout all history
people everywhere have invented and used tools.
Many of today's tools
are modifications of yesterday's tools.
Technology helps
extend the ability of people to change the world: cut, shape, put together,
move from place to place, reach farther, increase senses, communicate,
and think for survival needs such as food, water, shelter, and defense.
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People have always
had problems and invented tools and techniques (ways of doing something)
for scientific inquiry and technological design. The two have similarities
and differences. Scientists propose explanations for questions about the
natural world, and engineers propose solutions relating to human problems,
needs, and aspirations.
Technologies exist within nature and so they cannot contravene physical
or biological principles.
Technological solutions and technologies they have side effects, costs,
carry risks, and provide benefits.
Many different people in different cultures have made and continue to
make contributions to science and technology.
Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and
techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are
other wise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location,
size, and speed.
Technology provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.
Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology,
as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and
provides ideas for better instrumentation and technique.
Technological designs have constraints that engineers, architects, and
others must take into account to solve practicle problems. Some constraints
are unavoidable, for example, properties of materials, or effects of weather
and friction; other constraints limit choices in the design, for example,
environmental protection, human safety, and aesthetics.
The knowledge base
for science is recorded in print and electronic media and can be found
and understood by people in and out of classrooms.
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