OCEAN 320 Chapter Notes - Chapter Unit 1A: Thermostat
Unit 1A: Science & Systems
1A Systems Article
• System: Any collection of things that have some influence on one another
o Collections redefined as systems: implies each part is fully understandable only in
relation to rest of system
o When defining a system: must include enough parts so that their relationship to
one another makes sense (which depends on what our purpose in defining them
is)
▪ This means scientists include data that is relevant to their studies and
exclude data that isn’t
▪ ALSO: depends on how broad/specific an answer one needs; broad
answers require more generalized data on fewer contributing factors; more
specific and detailed answers require consideration of all possible moving
parts
o Drawing boundaries defines if we do or do not understand what is happening and
how
▪ suggests the need to look for certain kinds of influence and behavior
▪ consider a system's inputs and outputs; engine inputs air/fuel, outputs
heat/exhaust/mechanics
▪ sometimes, a system’s outputs are another system’s inputs; fruit/flowers
are the outputs of plants, but the inputs of the animals/insects that may eat
them
▪ some portion of the output of a system may be included in the system's
own input; that feedback controls what occurs within a system (by
encouraging, discouraging, or modifying events)
▪ information feedback as well as material feedback; info feedback involves
a comparison mechanism as part of the system (ex; thermostat compares
desired temperature to actual temperature and turns on heating or cooling
to close the gap)
o subsystem: any part of a system that may be considered its own system
▪ any system is likely to be part of a larger system that it influences and that
influences it
▪ some systems are so closely related that it is hard to draw boundaries
between them at all, and some individuals can contribute to multiple
systems as such
• model: simplified imitation that either suggests how something works or how it might
work; may be a device, a plan, a drawing, an equation, a computer program, or even just
a mental image
o when model doesn’t mimic the phenomenon well, nature of the discrepancy is a
clue to how the model can be improved
o can also mislead, to show that characteristics are not shared with what is being
modeled
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