Grade 8 Term 2

Technology
Study Notes

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 THE IMPACT OF
TECHNOLOGY

#1
Processing
• Technology has brought progress in the fields of materials.
• Some of these new materials are used in place of natural ones.
• This substitution assists in conserving the natural materials
• A substitute is something that gets used in place of something else.
• The new materials are often made from chemicals called human-made products.

#2
Plastics
• Plastics are a recently developed material.
• They are a by product of the petrochemical industry and they are fairly cheap to manufacture.
• The most common plastic product that we use are plastic bags.
• Sadly, plastic bags are a major contributor towards the litter problem in South Africa.
• Materials can be taken from an item that might have been thrown
away, and then it can be turned into new products.
• When this is done, we say an item has been recycled.
• Essentially, to recycle something means to use it again. This
saves energy and raw materials

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 THE POSITIVE IMPACT
OF TECHNOLOGY

• The manufacturing of new materials has allowed for advances in product development,
safety, and sporting equipment.
• The development of new materials such as human-made materials entails that natural
products do not need to be used.

#1
Advantages of Human-Made
Materials
Human-made materials are better compared to natural products because:
→ They are often cheaper to produce.
→ They usually require less maintenance.
→ They are often much stronger.

#2
Biodegradable Products
• Natural products can be broken down into their fundamental elements.
• After a short period of time, they are re-absorbed by the Earth. In this way they enrich the
soil and water.
• A product that can be broken down like this is called biodegradable.
• Biodegradable products are environmentally friendly because they do not have a negative
impact on the environment.
• Many plastics are not biodegradable, and they contribute toward pollution.

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• Work is underway on developing a plastic product that is biodegradable so it can replace
existing plastic products.

#3
Biodegradable
Human-Made Packaging
Human-made biodegradable packaging products contribute less to the pollution of the
environment. Reason being:
→ They decay or breakdown naturally and are able to form
compost.
→ They do not take up space on landfill sites.
→ They release minimal toxic gases during the breakdown
process.
→ Biodegradable products are made from renewable sources of energy, such as corn-
starch.
→ Non-biodegradable products are made from non-renewable fossil fuels like petroleum.

TECHNOLOGY WITH A
POSITIVE IMPACT ON
SOCIETY
#1
Recycling: Paper and
Cardboard
• Paper is one of the most vital inventions and we use it on a daily basis.
• For example, we read from it and write on it.

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South Africa produces cellulose fibres for making paper from four different
sources:
1. From trees grown in special scientific plantations.
2. From wood chips.
3. From sawmills.
4. From used paper and from bagasse.

• The paper industry is an integral part of our economy.

• The industry employs a lot of individuals, and much of the income is re-invested into
community projects.
• Most types of paper can be recycled and thereafter re-used.
• Recycling paper utilises less production energy than making new paper.
• Recycling produces less carbon emissions than the process of making new paper does.

#2
Investigate
Recycling - Paper and Cardboard
• Paper and cardboard that reach the municipal dump is quite difficult to recycle.
• The reason for this is that wet and dirty paper is not accepted by
the paper processing plants.
• To solve this problem a lot of schools and shopping centres provide
collection points for used paper, old newspapers, magazines and
cardboard.
• This waste material can then be sold to recycling depots.
• The paper and cardboard are separated from other waste before
it gets to the landfill site.
• This reduces the amount of waste at landfill sites, which means that the paper is cleaner.

How Paper is Recycled

1. Waste paper is collected and sorted
→ The first stage in paper recycling is to separate paper and cardboard in your home,
then take it to a recycling depot.

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 → The paper is then taken to recycling centres, where workers sort the paper out by hand.
The paper is sorted into different grades and made into bales so that it cab be easily
transported.

2. Waste paper is processed and manufactured into paper.

→ The recycling process starts by the processing mill.
→ The paper is soaked in water and shaken; this releases the cellulose fibres to form a
pulp.
→ The pulp must be cleaned of the ink to prevent a dull, grey end product.
→ Froth flotation is used for this.
→ Air is hit into the pulp. The ink particles stick to the air bubbles and form a foamy scum,
which gets skimmed off the pulp.
→ A whiter and cleaner pulp remains behind. The scum gets dumped but degrades into
water and oxygen.
→ This makes froth flotation an environmentally friendly method of removing ink.
Chemicals can be added to brighten the pulp.
→ This recycled pulp at times is combined with new paper pulp and then sent to the paper
making machine.
→ In essence, waste paper is recycled and made into a new product.

PACKAGING
MATERIALS

• The packaging of a product is very important because it protects the product, provides
information, and makes transportation and shelf packing easier.
• The properties of packaging materials depends on the product that the packaging will
contain.
• Packaging is often thrown away after the product has been bought.

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• This makes packaging a good way to use up the pulp made from recycled paper. Two types
of packaging that are commonly made from recycled pulp are: paper boards and corrugated
card.

#1
Paper Board
• Paper board is made from both recycled pulp and new pulp.
• The recycled pulp is utilised to make the boards and the new pulp is used to make the paper.
• The board consists of several layers of cellulose fibres that are arranged at right angles to
each other.
• This layering makes the board strong. The board is occasionally grey because the ink is not
always removed.

#2
Corrugated Card
• Corrugated card is a strong and cheap material used for packaging.
• It consists of three layers: two outer layers which are called liner board and an inner wavy
layer.
• Corrugated card is usually made from 90% recycled pulp. Corrugated card is one type of
packaging that is usually given up by companies and homes for recycling.
• Therefore, it gets reused more than once.

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 FORCES THAT ACT ON
MATERIALS

→ Tension
→ Compression
→ Bending
→ Torsion
→ Shear

#1
Adapting Materials to
Withstand Forces
• Some materials are able to resist certain forces more than others.
• Materials can be altered or changed, to withstand forces.
• Reinforced concrete and plywood are two examples of materials that have been altered to
withstand force.

Reinforced Concrete
• Concrete is a strong material when the force of compression is applied to it. However,
concrete is not strong when the force of shear or the force of tension is placed on it.
• Reinforced concrete – one method of strengthening concrete is to place steel rods,
bars or mesh inside it. These are embedded in the concrete during the manufacturing
process. Concrete that has been changed in this way is called reinforced concrete.
• Reinforced concrete is a good material to withstand the forces of tension, compression
and shear.

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Reinforced Plywood
• Wood - a common material used in constructions. It can be used for a variety of
purposes.
• However, today wood has become scarce and expensive.
• Wood has a grain. This entails that the fibres of wood are arranged in a certain way.
• Plywood – is made up of three or more thin layers of wood glued
together. The layers are arranged so that their grains run in
alternate directions.

Selecting Metal Sections to Withstand Force

• It is vital to select the correct member for the job it does within the structure. Here are a
few factors to consider when choosing a member:
• It bust be capable of resisting the forces that act on it.
• It must be the correct weight for the structure.
• It must be cost effective.
• Its appearance must be suitable for the design.
• Flat strips, cables or wires are metal members that resist tension well.
• These shapes, or sections are poor in compression.
• When compression forces are present, the angle iron, I-beam, T-bar and other similar
sections must be used.
• These beams are strong and relatively light and cost effective because their shape
saves on material.
• A beam is a member that must resist the force of bending.
• Beams are utilised in bridges and in buildings that
require to span a gap or span a load.
• The ability of a beam to resist bending is called
stiffness.
• The stiffness of a beam relies on the material that it is
made from and the section of the beam. For any given material, the stiffness if a beam
is proportional to its: breadth x depth (or b x d3).

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Selecting Metal Sections to Save Material
• Before engineers developed metal, grider beams were made from solid material.
• This made them heavy and relatively expensive.
• Developed in steel production it was made possible for engineers to apply the principle
that the stiffness of a beam is proportional to its breadth x depth (or b x d3).
• New and more economical shapes were designed.
• Currently a variety of beam sections are available which are as strong as a solid beam,
but lighter in weight and cheaper to manufacture.

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NB: “Remember to go through all
the content to prepare for your
tests/exams”.

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