SAFETY (All classes)
- Absolutely no horseplay.
- Keep the lab floor free of trash, litter, and scrap.
- Only the operator should turn on a machine.
- Report all injuries to the teacher.
- Always pay strict attention to what you are doing.
- Check in all equipment, tools, etc., before leaving the group area.
- Students will not operate any machine until the teacher has given permission.

COMMERCIAL ARTS
- The steps in the Design Process are:
(1) state the objective,
(2) gather information,
(3) find solutions,
(4) evaluate solutions, and
(5) present the best solution

- The element of design known as space is the area allowed to work with.
- The element of design known as line moves the reader’s eye from one point to another.
- The element of design known as form gives the element shape.
- The element of design known as color attracts the eye and provides contrast.
- The principle of design known as balance is the distribution of weight on each side of a center point.
- The principle of design known as proportion is the relationship between the sizes of the elements of the design.
- The principle of design known as contrast is used to create interest and attract attention by using differences in size, color, or appearance.

AES SOFTWARE INTRODUCTION UNIT
- What is typically considered as an "age of technology"? Prehistoric age, Industrial age, Agricultural age
- The first step in the Technological Problem Solving Method is to understand the problem.
- A current event report must describe the following: who, what, when, where and impact.
- Technological growth is understood to be changing at an exponential rate.
- Selecting different Inputs will change the values of the Output and Resource bar graphs.
- In general, a system model has Inputs, Feedback, Outputs, and Processes.
- A CD ROM should always be loaded into the CD drive with the label facing up.

CONSTRUCTION AND CAD (Workstation 1)
- Civil construction typically refers to projects that benefit a large number of people.
- Residential construction accounts for more than any other in the United States.
- A heat pump can provide both warm air in the winter and cool air in the summer from a single device.
- In a passive solar home, large, south facing windows capture the sun’s energy.
- Modular framing offers quick, on-site construction time but very little ability to customize or make last minute changes.
- The letters CAD represent the term "Computer Aided Design".
- The Pan command is used to move the view box of the drawing without changing its size.
- Linear dimensions show the length of horizontal and vertical lines.
- Snap and Grid are two drawing aids.
- The toolbox can be floating, hidden, locked to the upper left corner, or locked to the upper right corner.

DESK TOP PUBLISHING (Workstation 2)
- In Publisher, you can tell an object is selected by the object’s several "handles" or small outlined circles around it.
- The media component that is the most useful when trying to show somebody a new product is scanned images.
- The benefits of using a complex layout over a simple layout is that a complex layout creates a more effective document.
- When the number of colors in the printing process increase, the total cost of a document will increase.
- The word "type" refers to a letter’s size, spacing, and shape.
- The command under the Insert menu that is used to load a text file into a Publisher document is "Text File".
- Rules, margins, and headlines can be used to achieve balance on a page.
- If you want to scan a color photograph, you should use the "Best Color Photograph" output type.

COMMUNICATIONS (Workstation 3)
- Telecommunications means communication that occurs over a distance.
- 1876 marked the beginning of transmitting the human voice over distances.
- Both television and radio do not need wires to connect the sender and receiver.
- A person could locate their position anywhere on earth using navigational satellites.
- Weather satellites provide information on jet streams, sea ice, and snow cover.
- Satellites are similar to fiber optics in that they use electromagnetic energy.
- Fiber optic cables transmit information using light.
- An electrical engineer may design communication equipment.
- The Internet began 1969.
- The World Wide Web and a computer language called Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) allowed the Internet to display text and numbers, images, and sound.

MULTIMEDIA BASICS (Workstation 4)
- Video/animation is the media component that is most effective in communicating a message.
- Many multimedia presentations are organized with an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
- When adding text to a presentation, include one idea per slide.
- A wipe transition moves one slide over top of another slide.
- The disadvantage of having many different media components in a multimedia presentation is that the presentation will cost more to create.
- The career in which multimedia production requires the ability to draw is the illustrator animator.
- The career in multimedia that has the most responsibility is the multimedia producer.
- Slide transitions are visual effects that affect the way slides appear in a multimedia presentation.
- The difference between animation and video is that video is a sequence of photographic images and animation is a sequence of drawings.
- The career in multimedia production that may require a knowledge of electronics is an audio technician.

LASERS AND FIBER OPTICS (Workstation 5)
- Fiber optic cables are needed to transmit information using light because they prevent the laser beam from being interrupted, and they bend the laser beam around curves.
- Laser stands for Light Amplified by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.
- The difference between white light and monochromatic light is that white light has many colors and monochromatic light has one color.
- The laser used in this module has a classification of 2.
- A wavelength is the distance between two peaks of a wave.
- Wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum include radio, x-ray, microwave, gamma, infrared, ultraviolet, visible light, and radio waves.
- Televisions, telephones, and computers can use information transmitted over fiber optics.

ALTERNATE ENERGY (Workstation 6)
- Solar energy is electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun.
- Solar energy comes in the form of heat and light.
- A home can collect and store solar energy.
- Nuclear fusion takes place inside the sun and generates massive amounts of energy.
- A wavelength is the distance between two peaks of a wave.
- A common material used in the manufacturing of solar cells is silicon.
- When a solar cell and a motor are connected together in an electrical circuit, the motor is the load and the solar cell is the source.
- Any device which draws current from a power source is an electric load.
- The formula for Power Output is: Volts x Amps = Watts
- Fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas cause air pollution when burned, are non-renewable resources, and provide a large amount of the energy we use.

POWER AND ENERGY (Workstation 7)
- A multimeter measures electrical energy.
- Electrical power is a calculated value.
- The power needed from the power plant tends to increase as more loads are added to the system.
- The two types of electricity are alternating current and direct current.
- Even though Thomas Edison was deaf, he invented the incandescent electric lamp, patented 1,093 different inventions, and invented the motion-picture projector.
- Thomas Edison was born in 1847 and died in 1931.
- Nikola Tesla patented a way to distribute electricity over long distances using alternating current (AC).
- The function of a power plant is to produce electricity.
- A fluorescent light bulb has a special material coating the inside of the bulb that glows when exposed to a current.
- A 20 Watt rating for a fluorescent bulb provides the same amount of light as a 60 Watt incandescent bulb.

WEATHER MONITORING (Workstation 8)
- The weather monitor console is connected to the rain gauge, the outside temperature probe, and the wind vane.
- The weather monitor console pad button TEMP is pressed to change the display from inside to outside temperature.
- A barometer is used to measure air pressure.
- Humidity makes the temperature feel hotter than normal.
- The weather on Earth is caused by the Sun's energy, which heats the Earth.
- The Earth's spin causes the Coriolis Effect.
- The main difference between the WeatherLink bulletin screen and the weather monitor console is that the WeatherLink bulletin screen displays all the readings at once.
- Light which strikes an object straight on is more powerful than light which is at an angle.
- The Earth takes one year to circle the Sun, and during this time the Earth will rotate 365 times about its own axis.
- Your workstation is linked to a satellite dish that feeds images on the Earth straight to your computer.

MANUFACTURING AND AUTOMATION (Workstation 9) (or 9A ROBOTICS)
- The part of the AGV that provides feedback to the computer is the sensor.
- Mass production is a method of manufacturing that produces large quantities of products at a lower cost per unit.
- Manufacturing uses raw materials, produces waste material, and consumes energy resources.
- The money used to design and implement an automated system is capital investment.
- The capital investment for an automated system is greater than the capital investment for a manual system.
- In a factory, the main job of the production system is to assemble products.
- Unit cost is the amount of money needed to produce one item.
- AGV is short for Automatic Guided Vehicle. - A flowchart is the plan for the computer program.
- The advantage of using feedback from the sensors to help control the AGV is that the AGV can adapt to new paths without changing the program and the AGV can correct itself if it starts off course.

ELECTRONICS / CONTROL SYSTEMS (Workstation 10)
- A manual system depends on a human to provide feedback to adjust the system.
- In an automatic control system for a pump, the pump turns on when the fluid level drops below the system’s set point (desired level).
- Computer operators can earn $18,000 as a starting salary.
- Examples of a system can include a combination of parts that work together as a whole, a computer, and a human body.
- Electronic control systems can help us control complex systems but they also increase the cost of the system and increase the maintenance costs for the system.
- A safety feature in a control system can include a warning light, a system shutdown, and an alarm.
- All of the following would be used in the operation of the refinery: pipelines, storage tanks, and ships.

AEROSPACE (Workstation 11)
- Thrust and drag are opposing forces in flight.
- Gravity and lift are opposing forces in flight.
- The leading edges of the airplane bump into air molecules and cause drag.
- The wings carry the weight of the airplane during flight.
- Turboprop and jet engines are most often used on commercial aircraft.
- Jet engines provide the fastest cruise speed for the plane.
- An air traffic controller would coordinate the flights of airplanes to make sure they stay a safe distance from one another.
- Bernoulli’s Principle states that as the speed of a fluid increases, the pressure of the fluid decreases.
- Direct relationship (as the wing loading increases, the maneuverability increases) is the relationship between wing loading and maneuverability.
- The engine in an airplane provides forward thrust so that the wings create lift.

ROAD TRANSPORTATION (Workstation 12)
- The most common ‘power plant’ used in cars today is the internal-combustion, reciprocation engine.
- A 150 horsepower engine would typically provide the best fuel economy.
- The significant advantage of an electric car is that it does not create air pollution.
- The career of electrical engineer requires the most education.
- Transportation includes vehicles that use water, roads, air, and rails.
- Society has affected the development of the automobile in terms of style, environmental impact, and safety.
- Air bags address a safety issue in automobiles.
- During the 1970’s, the size of the engine in many cars was reduced because a smaller engine uses less fuel and creates less pollution.
- Using a small engine in a large and heavy car causes poor performance.
- An electrical engineer, computer operator, and engineer technician involve working with electronics, electrical systems, and / or computers.

AERODYNAMIC PRINCIPLES (Workstation 13)
- Aerodynamics is a branch of physics concerned with the movement of air around objects.
- Drag is a force opposing the forward motion of an object.
- The shape and surface features of an object produces drag.
- Skin friction occurs in a thin layer of air around the object.
- A minivan will create the most drag.
- An object between a low pressure area and a high pressure area will move toward the low pressure area.
- The use of aerodynamic principles has resulted in design improvements in boats, cars, and planes.
- The transition point is the location where air flow becomes turbulent.
- Bernoulli’s Principle states that as air moves faster, the air pressure decreases.
- The angle of attack of a plane’s wing can be used to increase how fast the airplane "rises" into the air.

ASTRONAUTICS (Workstation 14)
- The engine is the part of the rocket that provides thrust.
- The fins are the parts of the rocket that control the flight of the rocket.
- The nose cone is the part of the rocket that moves the air around the rocket.
- The parachute is the part of the rocket that allows safe recovery of the rocket.
- The model rocket flight sequence is as follows:
(1) rocket ignition and lift-off,
(2) thrust and acceleration,
(3) coast phase,
(4) ejection charge,
(5) parachute deployment and
(6) touch down and safe recovery.

VIDEO PRODUCTION (Workstation 15)
- Preproduction is the name of the stage during which a video is planned.
- A close-up shot shows the details of a subject, with very little or no background.
- A storyboard is a series of drawings that includes sketches and notes about what is in a video presentation.
- Telephoto and macro lenses make the subject look closer.
- A pan is a horizontal twist of the camera. - The main source of light for a shot is called a key light.
- Microphones change sound waves into electrical signals so they can be recorded.
- The tape of raw footage is played on the source deck.
- A fade to/from black is a type of transition that can represent a major change.
- The director/producer would lead the cast and crew to achieve the best possible performance.

METRIC 500 (Workstation 16)
- Guidance is directing a body’s course of travel.
- Suspension is support of a framework.
- Lift is an upward acting force.
- Weight (gravity) is a downward acting force.
- Thrust is a forward acting force.
- Drag is a rearward acting force.
- Camber is the curvature of an airfoil from the leading edge to the trailing edge (front to back).
- Velocity is the speed or rate of movement in a certain direction.
- Every part of a vehicle which is exposed to the air while it is in motion produces some resistance and contributes to the total drag.
- Parasite drag is the resistance of the air produced by any part of the object that does not produce lift.

MAGNETIC LEVITATION (Workstation 17)
- Lift is an upward acting force.
- Weight (gravity) is a downward acting force.
- Thrust is a forward acting force.
- Drag is a rearward acting force.
- Acceleration is the force involved in overcoming inertia.
- An airfoil is any surface designed to obtain lift.
- Relative wind is the direction of airflow produced by an object moving through the air.
- Speed is the distance traveled in a certain time.
- Parasite drag is the resistance of the air produced by any part of the object that does not produce lift.
- If speed is doubled, four times as much drag is produced.

ENGINEERING STRUCTURES (Workstation 1B)
- A roof is NOT an example of a live load.
- Torsion is a twisting force.
- When a person sits on a swing, the chains that hold the swing are under deflection.
- A triangle shaped truss is used in many structures to add strength and stability.
- The longest single span for a beam type bridge is about 250 feet.
- A bridge with one span has no piers.
- The engineering efficiency is equal to the total weight held by the bridge divided by the weight of the bridge.
- Construction inspectors examine structures to ensure they meet building codes and contract specifications.
- Beam, suspension, and arch bridge types have a deck that hangs from cables. - Civil engineers design and supervise construction projects such as airports, bridges, and roads.

PROGRAMMING (Workstation 6-2A)
- The acronym ANSI stands for American National Standards Institute.
- The job of the compiler is to translate code into an intermediary form.
- The property of being a self-contained unit is called encapsulation.
- To create your source code, you can use a simple text editor.
- When asked the question "Should I learn C first?", a good answer is that it is NOT advantageous to do so.

AVIATION (Workstation 11-2A)
- The imaginary point established which represents the resultant of all lift forces is the center of lift.
- The point at which all weight is considered to be concentrated is the center of gravity.
- Ailerons are used to cause the plane to roll and turn, and are located on the outer part of the wings.
- Elevators are used to control the pitch of the plane, and make the nose of the plane go up and down.
- The flight instrument that shows the rate your plane is changing altitude up or down is the vertical speed indicator.

CASTING (Workstation 20-2A)
- Metal casting is one of the most important recycling industries.
- Casting is a manufacturing process in which the material is made into a liquid.
- Keep all liquids away from the casting process.
- The steps in casting are:
(1) prepare the mold
(2) melt the metal
(3) pour molten metal into the mold
(4) allow the molten metal to solidify
(5) remove the casting from the mold, and
(6) clean and trim the casting

- Casting and molding date back almost 6000 years.
- The first use of casting was for hammered tools and weapons.
- The mold is the cavity or opening the size and shape of the article to be cast.
- The sprue is the opening in the mold where the molten metal is poured.

DRAFTING
- Construction lines are lightly drawn solid lines that are used as guidelines for positioning other lines.
- Object lines are heavily drawn solid lines that show all of the edges and surfaces that can be seen from the outside of the object.
- A T-square is used to draw all horizontal lines.
- A triangle is used to draw all vertical lines.
- Multi-view drawing is used to show true dimensional shape.

DRAFTING II
- Use only capital letters in your drawings.
- The space between words should equal the height of the letters.
- A Dimension is a measurement that accurately shows the size of an object or its parts.
- Dimensioning gives information to the cabinetmaker, carpenter, machinist, or other people.
- A dimension line is placed between two extension lines.

BRIDGE BUILDING
- A roadbed supports the weight. The weight includes the entire bridge and the load it is holding.
- A load is the weight that is to be held by the bridge.
- The platform is the area at each end of the bridge. The roadbed rests on each of them.
- The superstructure is the part of the bridge that is located above the roadbed. It gives extra strength to the roadbed.
- The substructure is the part of the bridge that is located below the roadbed. It gives extra strength to the roadbed.
- The span is the distance from one platform to the other.
- A truss bridge uses triangles as the main element of design. All components are usually straight.
- An arch bridge uses curved components to transport the weight to the ends. It is usually placed above the roadbed.
- A suspension bridge uses curved components to transfer the weight to the middle. Since there is no support in the middle, the
support must be anchored, or tied down in some way.
- The bridge must be constructed ONLY from balsa wood and non-toxic glue
- Over-all bridge length is 12" maximum.
- Over-all bridge width is 3" maximum.
- Calculate efficiency using the following equalizing formula: Efficiency = Failure Weight / Bridge Weight

BALSA WOOD TOWER
- If you look up the definition of a tower, you will find the following; "An exceptionally tall building or part of a building or an exceptionally tall structure used for some functional purpose."
- Perhaps the earliest record of a tower comes from the bible where the story of the tower of Babel is told. Other notable towers include the Tower of Pisa and Eiffel Tower, two completely different types of towers.
- Tension: the action of being stretched to stiffness
- Compression: the action of being pressed or squeezed
- Weight: a load with a certain heaviness, a specific force due to gravity
- Support: to hold up or serve as a foundation
- Tensile Strength: the greatest stress a substance can bear without tearing apart
- triangles - rigidity of the triangular shape can support weight securely
- squares - can support weight, but can twist and collapse if not supported
- polygons - like squares, can support some weight, but will twist and collapse if not supported
- The height of the tower should be 12" (a 1⁄4" tolerance will be allowed without deductions.)
- The width of the tower should be 3" maximum
- The center of the tower must provide passage for a 11⁄4" test rod.

SUMO WRESTLER ROBOT
- A robot, by definition, is reprogrammable, multifunctional, and a manipulator.
- Reprogrammable means that a new program can be used to make the robot do a different job.
- Multifunctional means that a robot can be used to do different things.
- Robots are manipulators, meaning that they can be used  to move different types of things. They can be used to load and unload materials. They can handle hot, corrosive, or toxic materials. Robots can also be used for welding, painting, and sanding.
- Advantages of robots are that they do not need sleep, they do not get sick, and they do not need time to eat.
- A disadvantage of robots are that they cannot think for themselves.
- The sumo car operates using human input.
- The objective of the sumo car is to push the opponent vehicle completely outside the given arena ring.
- Steps in making the car:
        1. Drill hole for the axle
        2. Assemble the wheels
        3. Attach wheels to the body with the axle
        4. Attach the caster wheel
        5. Attach wires and gears to motors
        6. Attach motors onto body
        7. Solder motor wires to terminal connector

MARBLE ROLLER COASTER
- The marble has to be in motion, of some kind.
- No electric motors are allowed.
- The marble must be in motion for at least 1 full minute.
- There must be at least 7 different events for a marble to accomplish during its travel.
- The marble may be in any given event for a maximum of 20 seconds. If the marble is in a given event (and still moving) for longer than 20 seconds, (1) time will be paused until the marble leaves that given event to go to the next event, or (2) time will be ended if the marble is in the last event of its travel.
- Once the marble is released, no human assistance shall be permitted, without the loss of points.
- The entire coaster device must fit within a 3 ft square of flooring space. Ceiling tiles will not be removed to increase the device's height, and no part of the device may be built outside the 3 ft square area above the floor.
- The person starting the marble in motion must be standing on the floor. They may personally release the marble to begin its motion, or they may activate a device that will initiate the required motion.
- You may use any material that you bring in. Material should be appropriate for school use.
- The teacher will provide the marbles.

ELECTRONICS
- The Resistor Colors are:

Black = 0	Brown = 1	Red = 2	Orange = 3	Yellow = 4
Green = 5	Blue = 6	Violet = 7	Gray = 8	White = 9

- How to read the code (Example: if a resistor is "Blue, Red, Red, Gold")
- First find the tolerance band, it will typically be gold ( 5%) and sometimes silver (10%).
- Starting from the other end, identify the first band - write down the number associated with that color; in this case Blue is 6.
- Now 'read' the next color, here it is red so write down a '2' next to the six. (you should have '62' so far.)
- Now read the third or 'multiplier' band and write down that number of zeros.
- In this example it is two so we get '6200' or '6,200'. If the 'multiplier' band is Black (for zero) don't write any zeros down.
- Electricity is energy. It can be measured. It is used in what is called a circuit. A circuit can be made up of 1) a power source, 2) a load, and 3) a pathway.
- In electricity, there are different parts of a circuit that can be measured. Three of these parts are: 1) Potential Force, 2) the flow of the current, and 3) resistance to the flow of the current.
- The formula for Ohm's Law is: E = I x R.
- A series circuit is a circuit where the current has to flow through EVERY part in the circuit to get back to the power source.
- When resistors are in series, all of their individual measurements will add up to a total resistance for the circuit. This can be explained with the formula: RT = R1 + R2 + R3 , where RT = Resistance of Total Circuit, and R1, R2, and R3 are the resistance of each of the resistors.

Webmaster
N. Randy Scrudder, Webmaster
Page updated 29 July 2008