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Grade 8 · Science · Unit 9 of 16

Systems in Action

Inputs, outputs, safety and automation

What your child practises

Identifying inputs, outputs and purposes of systems including food processing, what makes systems safe and efficient, how automation changes work, and why people's needs and values change systems over time.

Nunavut Curriculum approved guide: Nunavut adaptation of Alberta Science 7–9 (2003), Unit B: Cells and Systems · how body systems work together

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A thermostat has a sensor. What does the sensor do?

    • makes the furnace quieter
    • cleans the air
    • measures temperature so the furnace can turn on or off
    • heats the room directly

  2. Question 2

    Which is an environmental benefit that automation can sometimes bring?

    • no need for materials
    • less wasted material because of precise control
    • no energy use at all
    • more waste in every case

  3. Question 3

    Put the steps of milk processing in order.

    • 🥛The milk is packaged in cartons
    • 🚜Raw milk is collected from farms
    • 🧪The milk is tested for quality
    • 🚚Cartons are shipped to stores

  4. Question 4

    For a washing machine, is each item an input or an output?

    Sort into: ⬇️ Input · ⬆️ Output

    • 🌡️waste heat
    • 🚿fresh water
    • 🪣used soapy water
    • ✨clean clothes
    • 🧴laundry soap
    • 👕dirty clothes
    • 🔌electrical energy
    • 🔊noise

  5. Question 5

    Why is milk pasteurized?

    • It makes milk less white.
    • It makes milk freeze.
    • It removes all the water.
    • Heating kills harmful micro-organisms.

  6. Question 6

    Why are canned foods heated after being sealed?

    • to make the can lighter
    • to make labels stick
    • to kill micro-organisms so the food does not spoil
    • to turn the food into a gas

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