Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World

Example

Describe the effect of second-hand smoke and regular exercise on the body, and what a person can do about each.

1. Smoke: particles irritate the airways, so keep the air at home smoke-free.
2. Exercise: the heart and muscles grow stronger from being worked regularly, so walk or play daily.

Example

Describe the effect of lost sleep and hand-washing on the body, and what a person can do about each.

1. Lost sleep: a tired brain reacts more slowly and holds on to less of what it learned — a regular bedtime. Hand-washing: fewer germs ride the hands to the mouth.

Example

Evaluate a pacemaker and an X-ray from the view of the person and of a doctor.

1. Pacemaker: keeps a heart beating in rhythm, so the person lives an ordinary day; the doctor checks it yearly.
2. X-ray: shows a broken bone without opening the skin, so the break is set correctly; the doctor limits how often.

Example

Evaluate late-night screen use from the view of the person and of a doctor.

1. Late screen glow pushes sleep later, and eyes strain, so the doctor advises screens off before bed. Effects run both ways — helpful and harmful.

Example

Explain what reading a label and eating a morning meal do for the body and the mind.

1. Reading the labels makes the real contents — sugar, salt, fibre — easy to compare between two cereals.
2. The morning meal gives the brain and body fuel, so attention holds through the morning.

Summary

• Smoke irritates; exercise strengthens; lost sleep slows; washing removes germs.
• Technologies help and harm; weigh both.
• Labels show contents; a morning meal fuels attention.