Technology – Activities Monday

English

Philip K. Dick was a science fiction writer who imagined near-futures shaped by technology. Indulge your imagination by writing blurbs for what you envisage some of the following stories to be about: • The Preserving Machine

• Solar Lottery

• The Unteleported Man

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

• We Can Remember It for You Wholesale

• The Electric Ant

Try to write at least three of your own, then compare them to the real plot synopses you can find online. Extend yourself further by reading a short story by Dick (available for free online) and making a list of the genre conventions within it.

Maths

Isambard Kingdom Brunel is considered one of the most important engineers in history. Research some of his many engineering feats and choose one to write about in more detail. Include any mathematical facts you can find and any appropriate constructions. You could even build your own scaled model of one of your favourite designs.

Science

Investigate the different factors that affect how quickly a text message can be sent from one phone to another. Does being upstairs or downstairs make a difference? Indoors or outdoors? You could try putting the phones in different containers or change how close together the phones are.

Try it at home with family or plan an investigation with a friend to carry out remotely. Technology – Activities Tuesday

English

Write a profile of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the man who is widely regarded as the inventor of the Internet.

Maths

Early computers worked on a binary system, in which numbers are represented using only two symbols: 0 and 1. From right to left, each place in the number represents an increasing power of 2. The rightmost digit represents 20 (1), the next digit represents 21 (2), then 22 (4) and so on.

For example, 10101010 in binary represents the number 170. 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 Place 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2n 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 Decimal Value 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 128 + 32 + 8 + 2 = 170

Calculate the missing values in the table: Decimal Number 2n Binary Number 2 21 10

4 22

5 22 + 21

23 + 20 1001

10 1010

50 25 + 24 + 21

26 + 25 + 22

You could extend this task by working out all the numbers between 1 and 100 in binary.

Science

Research how the telescope or microscope has changed over time. Include details about how these changes have influenced scientific discoveries. Present your research asa written report or as a timeline poster. Technology – Activities Wednesday

English

Compare Berners-Lee to a famous inventor from a different era such as Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton or Thomas Edison. Draw a grid to record the similarities and differences between them, then put the information into an extended piece of writing.

Maths

Draw a plan of a device for harnessing renewable energy based on rotational symmetry, for example a wind turbine. Explain how it works to generate electricity. You could extend this task by building a model of your design out of recycled items.

Science

Create a poster to describe how you think technology will advance public transport by 2050. You could draw a city scene and annotate the different types of transport, e.g. taxis, bikes, buses and trains. Alternatively, you might like to make a detailed poster focusing on one type of transport you might expect to see in the future. Technology – Activities Thursday

English

You are a ‘digital native’ but the world of technology can be a mystery to older generations. Create a dictionary of technological terms for the over-70s. You should categorise each word as a noun, verb, adjective, etc. and give it a definition that they can understand. Try to include at least twelve terms, e.g. app, Bluetooth, tag, post, hashtag.

Maths

Design a new ride for a theme park. Include some measurements of angles and lengths to explain how it would work. You could extend this task by designing a whole theme park and drawing a scaled map of where each ride would be in the park.

Science

Research electric or automated cars and vehicles. Find out how they work and the advantages and disadvantages of them. Present your findings in a mini video documentary or a presentation to family or friends. Technology – Activities Friday

English

Write a short story inspired by this picture or describe a technological advancement that revolutionises education.

Maths

How much have you reduced your carbon footprint during lockdown? Think about how far you travelled before lockdown and how often you used different forms of transport. Has this changed a lot? Try and calculate the difference between before and during lockdown. To extend this task you could write down how much you want to reduce your carbon footprint after lockdown and write down any changes you would make.

Science

Is thr ne pnt 2 txt spk? Carry out an investigation to see if the length of a text message affects how quickly it is transmitted. Is there any benefit to using textspeak (abbreviations in text messages)?

Write out a method, stating your independent and dependent variables. Draw a scientific table to record your results. Technology – Activities Answers

Tuesday Maths Answers:

Decimal Number 2n Binary Number 2 21 10

4 22 100

5 22 + 21 110

9 23 + 20 1001

10 23 + 21 1010

50 25 + 24 + 21 110010

100 26 + 25 + 22 1100100