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Everyday Machines / Week 09 / Friday
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Week 09 · The Thermostat

Friday

Explain the thermostat
// A switch that feels the room
⏱ about 15 min

Friday: Explain the Thermostat

Rocket taps his notebook. "Time to explain the thermostat!"

Raven holds up the cutaway drawing. "Start with the switch."

Nova dims her glow. "I will listen. You do the telling."

"It senses, it compares, it switches," Rocket begins.

What we learned

  • A thermostat is a switch for heating or cooling.
  • It senses how warm the room is.
  • It compares the room to the set point.
  • It turns the heating or cooling on or off.
On paper, draw a thermostat cutaway. Show the set point and the switch.
HOW A THERMOSTAT WORKS
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last

The problem it solves

Engineers start with a problem.

The problem: a room gets too cold or too warm.

What counts as solved? The room stays near one temperature.

The limits: one small box, and nobody has to watch it.

The thermostat solves that problem by itself.

EXPLAIN IT
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What problem does a thermostat solve?
What does the thermostat compare?
What does the thermostat do after it compares?
What counts as the problem solved?

Tell a grown-up

Try it
Find a grown-up.
Show your cutaway drawing.
Explain sense, compare and switch.
Use the words thermostat and set point.
SentenceTrue or false?
A thermostat is a switch.?
The set point is the temperature it is set to.?
A thermostat makes heat by itself.?
Kids may open a thermostat.?
WHY THIS EXERCISESaying it in your own words shows you understand it.
OUR THERMOSTAT WEEK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What did Rocket almost do on Wednesday?
How many spots did we measure on Thursday?
Which room is the thermostat in charge of sensing?
What are the three steps of the thermostat loop?
For a grown-up
Ask: what does the thermostat compare?
Ask: why do we never open it?
Tomorrow is Machine Day: a comfy spot map.

You explained a thermostat in your own words. Brilliant!

Next week, we spring into click pens.

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