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Technology
Grade 8
Book 2

CAPS

Learner Book

Developed and funded as an ongoing project by the Sasol Inzalo

Foundation in partnership with the Ukuqonda Institute.
Published by The Ukuqonda Institute
9 Neale Street, Rietondale, 0084
Registered as a Title 21 company, registration number 2006/026363/08
Public Benefit Organisation, PBO Nr. 930035134
Website: http://www.ukuqonda.org.za

First published in 2014

© 2014. Copyright in the work is vested in the publisher.
Copyright in the text remains vested in the contributors.

ISBN: 978-1-920705-03-9

This book was developed with the participation of the Department of Basic Education of South
Africa with funding from the Sasol Inzalo Foundation.

Contributors:
Graham Barlow, Louis Botha, John de Klerk, Jacqui Greenop, Chris Human,
Piet Human, Riekie Human, Xenia Kyriacou, Morne Labuschagne, John Laurie,
Ezekiel Makwana, Rallai Maleka, Mafahle Mashegoana, Themba Mavuso,
Peter Middleton, Lebogang Modisakwena, Peter Moodie, Neil Murtough, Sarah Niss,
Humphrey Nkgogo, Phillip Radingoane, Jan Randewijk, Margot Roebert, Marlene Rousseau,
Marcus Taba, Yvonne Thiebaut, Cecile Turley, Louis van Aswegen, Karen van Niekerk,
Elene van Sandwyk, Hettie Vos, Magdaleen Snyman
Illustrations and graphics:
Astrid Blumer (Happy Artworks Studio), Ian Greenop, Chris Human, Piet Human,
Peter Middleton, Peter Moodie, Melany Pietersen (Happy Artworks Studio),
Theo Sandrock, Lisa Steyn Illustration, Heine van As (Happy Artworks Studio),
Leonora van Staden, Geoff Walton
Cover illustration: Leonora van Staden
Photographs:
Lenni de Koker, Ian Greenop, Chris Human, Tessa Oliver,
Elsa Retief (GalleryProductions)
Text design: Mike Schramm
Layout and typesetting: Lebone Publishing Services

Thanks for free sharing of ideas, and free access to photographs, to:
Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association, National Sea Rescue Institute,
The Transitions Collective (www.ishackliving.co.za).
Thanks to people or institutions who placed photographs in the public
domain on www.commons.wikimedia.org, with no attribution required.
Thanks to Philipp P Egli (Pipodesign, 2006), whose photo appears on page 177, for sharing that photo
on www.commons.wikimedia.org under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Thanks to Santie Gouws (2013) from Concrete Growth for the photo on page 183.
Printed by [printer name and address]
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Table of contents
Term 3
Chapter 1:
Levers, linkages and gears....................................................... 1

Chapter 2:
Mechanical advantage calculations ...................................... 21

Chapter 3:
Drawing gear systems.............................................................. 31

Chapter 4:
Bevel gears, bicycles and systems diagrams.......................... 49

Chapter 5:
Investigate aspects of mining in South Africa ...................... 59

Chapter 6: Mini-PAT
A mine needs a lifting system................................................. 87
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Term 4
Chapter 7:
Electrical systems and control ............................................... 117

Chapter 8:
Energy supply for the people.................................................. 137

Chapter 9:
Electrochemical cells and batteries ....................................... 155

Chapter 10:
Generating electricity for the nation .................................... 167

Chapter 11: Mini-PAT

Circuits with logic control ...................................................... 189
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Term 3
Chapter 1
Levers, linkages and gears

In this chapter, you will revise what you learnt in Grade 7 about different types of levers and linked
levers. You will pay special attention to whether a lever or a system of levers gives a mechanical
advantage or a distance advantage.
You will also revise what you learnt earlier this year about how gear systems can give a mechanical
advantage or a speed advantage. Then you will learn about a type of gear called a bevel gear. Bevel
gears change the direction of rotation.
It is important that you understand mechanical advantage very well, because you will be doing
calculations about mechanical advantage in the next chapter.

1.1 Revision of levers and mechanical advantage ...................................................................... 3

1.2 Linked levers .................................................................................................................... 9
1.3 Gear systems ................................................................................................................. 14

Figure 1: Gears are sometimes used to get a speed advantage.

Technology grade 8 term 3 1

Figure 2: A bolt cutter uses a system of linked levers to give a very big mechanical advantage. Note
that there are five pivot points!

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1.1  Revision of levers and mechanical advantage
Mechanisms are parts of machines
that help us to move things. Machines
are usually made of many connected
mechanisms. Some parts of a
mechanism move, and other parts are
used to hold the moving parts in place.
Mechanisms are useful because they
help us to move things further, faster or
by using less force.
Figures 4 to 7 show machines that you
might have at home. Write down what
each of these machines is used for, and Figure 3
how they make it easier to do the task.

1. A bottle opener

Figure 4: A bottle opener

2. A pair of scissors

Figure 5: A pair of scissors

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 3

3. A hammer

Figure 6: A hammer

4. A pair of pliers

Figure 7: A pair of pliers

Levers allow you to change the direction of movement, the size of movement
and the amount of input force that is needed for the output movement to happen.

Do you remember what mechanical advantage is?

You already know that:
• If the input force is smaller than the output force, there is a mechanical
advantage. You can say the mechanical advantage is bigger than 1.
• If the input force is bigger than the output force, there is not a mechanical
advantage, but rather a distance advantage. You can say the mechanical
advantage is smaller than 1.
When engineers, scientists and technologists
You can use the abbreviation
design mechanisms, they want to know exactly how MA for mechanical advantage.
big the mechanical advantage in a system is. It is not
good enough for them to say that the mechanical
advantage is bigger than 1 or smaller than 1. They
need a number to tell them exactly how big or small
the mechanical advantage is. We call this number the
mechanical advantage.

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The mechanical advantage is calculated by dividing the output force
by the input force:
output force
mechanical advantage = output force ÷ input force =
input force
You can also say that the mechanical advantage is the ratio between
the output force and the input force.
If a lever makes it easier to lift a heavy weight, the input force is less than the
output force, and the mechanical advantage is greater than 1.
For example, if the output force is 12 and the input force is 4, the mechanical
advantage is calculated in the following way:
12 12
12 ÷ 4. This can also be written as 4
or 4
The answer to this calculation can be written in These different ways of writing
different ways: the answer all mean the same
a ratio of 3 to 1 thing: they are equivalent.
OR 3 : 1 You can write an equals sign
OR 3. instead of “OR” between the
different ways of writing the
This means that the output force is three answer, because they are
times greater than the input force. You can also say equivalent.
that the lever gives a mechanical advantage of 3.
But you cannot get something for nothing. If the input force is 3 times less than
the output force, you will have to move the input arm 3 times further than the
output arm. Look at Figure 8 to see how this works.

Figure 8: A mechanical advantage of 3

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 5

 Not all levers give a mechanical advantage. Sometimes the input force is greater
than the output force. These levers make it harder to move something, but the
output movement will be greater than the input movement.

If a lever makes it harder to lift a heavy weight, the

When a mechanical system
input force is greater than the output force, and the changes a small input distance
mechanical advantage will be less than 1. into a larger output distance,
If, for example the input force is 3 and the output the system gives a distance
force is 1, the mechanical advantage is output advantage.
force ÷ input force = 1 , in other words 1 third.
3
In the example above, the output force is only
1 third as big as the input force. The output arm will
move 3 times further than the input arm. In other
words, this lever gives a distance advantage of 3.
Look at Figure 9 to see how this works.

Figure 9: A distance advantage of 3

On a lever, the distances moved by the input arm and the output arm are
directly related to their distances away from the fulcrum.
• If the distances from the fulcrum are equal, the distances moved will be equal.
• If the fulcrum is closer to the input force, the distance moved by the
input arm will be smaller.
• If the fulcrum is closer to the output force, the distance moved by the
output arm will be smaller.

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If the distance between a fulcrum and the output is
less than the distance between the fulcrum and the
input, the output force will be greater than the input
force and the lever gives a mechanical advantage.
If the distance between a fulcrum and the output
is greater than the distance between the fulcrum
and the input, the output force will be less
than the input force and the lever gives you a
distance advantage. In this case, you will not get a
mechanical advantage.

The first-class lever and mechanical advantage

Figure 10: A small input force over a large input distance

A lever can change a large movement with a small input force into a small
movement with a large output force. When you use a bottle opener, you use a small
input force to pull up the long handle, and the lever mechanism makes the output
force big enough to bend the top of the bottle.

If MA > 1, then a small input force over a big

distance at one end, can move a bigger output force
over a shorter distance at the other end. The bottle
opener, scissors, hammer and pliers in Figures 4 to
7 are examples of this.

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 7

The first-class lever and distance advantage
You can also use a lever the other way around. You can use a big input force over a
small input distance. This gives a smaller output force over a bigger output distance.
You can see this in Figure 11.

Figure 11: A large input force over a small input distance

These kinds of levers are often used to help cranes lift things very high. If, for
example, the input arm moves 1 cm down and lifts the output arm 4 cm up, the
lever is giving you a distance advantage. But the input force has to be 4 times
bigger than the output force, so the mechanical advantage is less than 1:

MA = output force ÷ input force = 1 = 1 quarter

4
When the MA < 1, there is not a mechanical
advantage, but rather a distance advantage.
A big input force over a small distance at one end,
produces a smaller output force over a bigger
distance at the other end.
The pair of kitchen or braai tongs in Figure 12 is
an example of a tool that gives a distance advantage.

Figure12: A pair of kitchen or

braai tongs

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1.2  Linked levers
Figures 13 and 14 show two types of tools that are used to cut twigs and branches
from trees, called “pruning”.

Figure 13: Pruning shears Figure 14: Loppers

1. How do you know that both of these tools use levers?

2. How do you know that the levers used are first-class levers?

3. Do both of these tools give a mechanical advantage? Explain your answer.

4. Which of these tools will give you greater mechanical advantage? Explain your
answer.

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 9

 All frst-class levers have the fulcrum between the
input and the output.

Figure 15: A see-saw is a first-class lever. (This is an edited Figure 16: A pair of scissors is a pair
version of Winslow Homer’s artwork ’The See-Saw’, 1873. of linked first-class levers.

First-class levers
The fulcrum or pivot point is the fixed point on a
lever. The lever doesn’t actually go up or down at
the fulcrum point. All the other points on a lever
rotate around the fulcrum.
In a first-class lever, the fulcrum is always between
the input and the output.
The input force is the force that you apply to a lever
to make it move.
The output force is the force that the lever exerts on
the load.

Systems of linked levers

A lever system that consists of more than one pair
of levers that are connected to one another, is called
a system of linked levers.

The bolt cutter in Figure 17 has two pairs of linked levers that are connected to
each other. Figure 2 at the start of the chapter shows the movement of the parts of
a bolt cutter.

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Figure 17: This is a bolt cutter. It consists of two pairs of linked levers.

• The pair of dark grey levers on the right have the handles on them. They share a
single fulcrum.
• The pair of light grey levers on the left have the cutting blades on them. They
have a separate fulcrum for each lever.
• There are also two pivot points in the middle of the two pairs of levers, to link
them together. They have a different purpose from the other fulcrums, because
they move together with the levers, instead of the levers rotating around them.

1. Are both the pairs of levers used in the bolt cutter first-class levers? Explain
your answer.

2. What can you say about the total mechanical advantage of the two pairs of
levers linked to each other?

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 11

3. Look at the cutting levers (the end that cuts). What is different about the
fulcrums of these levers compared to a pair of scissors?

4. Compare the arrangements of the fulcrums in the bolt cutter and the pair of
scissors. Why are the fulcrums arranged in a different way in a bolt cutter than
in a pair of scissors?

Second-class levers give a mechanical advantage

Second-class levers have the fulcrum at one end and the input at the other end.
The output is between the input and the fulcrum.
A second-class lever always gives a mechanical advantage. The input is always
further away from the fulcrum than the output, so the input arm always moves
further than the output arm. This means that the output force will always be
bigger than the input force.
So the MA is always greater than 1:
MA = output force ÷ input force > 1.

Second-class levers always give MA > 1.

Figure 18: Second-class levers always give a mechanical advantage.

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1. Give one more example of your own for each of the following types of levers.
(a) first-class lever

(b) second-class lever

Third-class levers give a distance advantage

Third-class levers also have the fulcrum at one end, but the output is at the other
end. The input is between the fulcrum and the output.
The input is always closer to the fulcrum than the output, so the output arm
always moves further than the input arm.
This means that the output force will always be smaller than the input force.
So the mechanical advantage is always smaller than 1:
MA = output force ÷ input force < 1.

Third-class levers always give MA < 1.

Figure 19: Third-class levers always give a distance advantage.

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 13

1.3  Gear systems
You learnt about gears in Term 1 this year. Do you remember? Here are a few
reminders:

Mechanical advantage and speed advantage

Gears are wheels with teeth. They can increase or You can also call turning
decrease the turning speed of a wheel or axle. speed the speed of rotation.
The teeth of two gears mesh together so that if one
gear turns, the other gear will turn as well, in the
opposite direction. Mesh means that the teeth of
• A small driver gear connected to a large driven the gears fit in-between one
another.
gear will change a fast turning speed into a slower
turning speed. This gear system will make the
wheels turn with a greater turning output force
than the input turning force of the motor. This
system gives a mechanical advantage.
• A large driver gear connected to a small driven
gear will change a slow turning speed into a faster
turning speed. This system gives a distance or
speed advantage.

Torque and revolutions per minute

A turning force is called a torque.
The speed of a turning wheel is measured in
revolutions per minute, or rpm.

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A small driver and a large driven gear
Look at the two connected gears in Figure 20. Gears that have teeth like these are
called spur gears. Now answer the questions that follow:

Figure 20

1. If the driver gear turns clockwise, which way will the driven gear turn?

2. Count the numbers of teeth on the two gears in Figure 20. How many
revolutions will the driver gear need to turn to make the driven gear turn once?
Explain why this happens.

3. Will this system give a mechanical advantage? How do you know?

Reminder: A mechanical advantage means that the

turning force at the output axle is greater than the
turning force at the input axle.

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 15

A large driver and a small driven gear

Look at the two gears in Figure 21. The driver gear is now large and the driven gear
is smaller.

Figure 21

1. Will the driven gear turn faster or slower than the driver gear? Explain your answer.

2. A driver gear has 10 teeth and the driven gear has 5 teeth. How many
revolutions will the driver gear need to turn to make the driven gear turn once?
Explain why this happens.

3. Will this gear system give a mechanical advantage or a speed advantage? How
do you know?

Reminder: A speed advantage means that the speed

of rotation of the driven axle (output axle) is faster than
the speed of rotation of the driver axle (input axle).

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Idler gears
Look at Figure 22. The
driver and the driven
gear are the same size.
In the middle there is
a small gear called an
idler gear.
What does an idler gear do?
An idler gear is a gear
that turns between a
driver and a driven gear. Figure 22
It allows the driver and the
driven gears to turn in the same direction.
An idler gear does not change the mechanical
advantage of a gear system.
When two gears mesh, they turn in opposite
directions. This is called counter rotation.
When an idler is used between two gears, the
direction of rotation of the driver and driven gear is
the same. This is called synchronised rotation.

1. Will the idler gear turn faster or slower than the driver gear? Explain.

2. Will the idler gear turn faster or slower than the driven gear? Explain.

3. Will the driver gear and the driven gear turn at different speeds? Explain.

4. Will the driver gear and the driven gear turn in different directions? Explain.

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 17

Bevel gears

Bevel gears are used when you want to change the direction of turning. Look at
Figure 23. It shows how two bevel gears mesh together.
• The top gear will turn on a horizontal axle.
• The bottom gear will turn a on a vertical axle.
• The bevel gear system changes the direction of rotation by 90°.

Horizontal means parallel to

the ground. Vertical means
at 90º (at a right angle) to the
horizontal direction.

Figure 23: Bevel gears

Figure 24 on the next page shows a hand drill and an egg beater.
• The driver gear is a large bevel gear attached to a crank handle.
• The driven gears are the small bevel gears. The bottom bevel gear forces the drill
to turn and the egg beater to rotate its blades.

1. Do you think the hand drill gives you a speed advantage or a mechanical
advantage? Explain your answer.

2. Explain how the bevel gears on the drill work.

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Figure 24: A hand drill and an egg beater

CHAPTER 1: levers, linkages and gears 19

Something you could do at home: Make a can crusher
The lever on a real crane lifts a weight or load. The lever helps to lift the load higher. Levers are also
used to squeeze or crush things. In this investigation, you will look at how a second-class lever can
help you crush metal.
Many metal-working machines use levers to increase the input force, and the greater output force is
used to cut metal sheet or to make holes in steel plates.
Empty cool-drink and food cans are waste that take up a lot of space. But it does not have to take up
so much space, since most of the volume of a can is taken up by the air inside it. If you crush it, it
will take up very little space. Before cans are recycled to make new steel, they are crushed. It’s much
cheaper to transport the crushed cans to a recycling factory since they require less space and you can
transport more at a time.
Design a second-class lever to crush cool-drink and food cans. Make a rough sketch showing the
dimensions. You can make this crusher from pieces of wood.

Next week

Next week, you will learn how to do mechanical advantage calculations for levers
and gears.

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Chapter 2
Mechanical advantage
calculations
In this chapter, you will learn how to calculate the amount of mechanical advantage lever systems
and gear systems give.
You will also learn how to calculate the speed with which a gear in a gear system will rotate if you
know how many teeth each gear has, and the speed with which the other gear is rotating.

2.1 Calculate the mechanical advantage of a lever.................................................................... 22

2.2 Calculate the distance advantage of a lever........................................................................ 26
2.3 Calculate the speed advantage of gears............................................................................. 27

Figure 1: A claw hammer can be used as a lever to remove nails from wood.

Technology grade 8 term 3 21

2.1  Calculate the mechanical advantage of a lever
In the previous chapter, you learnt that you can
A ratio of 1 to 4 is written as
calculate a quantity to say exactly how big or small
1:4. This is simply another way
the mechanical advantage is. This quantity is a ratio. to write the fraction ¼.
It is calculated by dividing the output force by the
You also use a ratio to write
input force. the scale of a drawing.
You also learnt that if the output force is greater
than the input force, the mechanical advantage (MA)
is greater than 1: MA > 1.
Look at the lever in Figure 2. This lever is making
the output force bigger, so you can say that it is giving The input arm is sometimes
called the “effort arm”.
us a mechanical advantage. There are two “arms” on
a lever: the input arm and the output arm. The lever The “output arm” is sometimes
called the load arm.
below shows the input arm in blue and the output
arm in red.

Calculations about a lever

Figure 2: This lever has two arms: an input arm in blue and an output arm in red.

On the lever above, the input arm is 40 cm long and the output arm is 10 cm long.
The input arm on this lever has been moved up by 4 cm. Study the picture and
then answer the questions.

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1. When the input arm is moved up by 4 cm, how far does the output arm move
down?

2. When the input arm is moved up by 2 cm, how far does the output arm move
down?

3. How far do you think the output arm will move if the input arm was moved up
by 12 cm?

4. Now you can confirm what you have already worked out. Use the values in
Figure 2 to calculate the ratio of the length of the output arm to the length of
the input arm.

5. Use the values in Figure 2 to calculate the ratio of the output distance to the
input distance.

6. Calculate the ratio of the output distance to the input distance when the input
distance is 2 cm. Use your answer from Question 2 above to help you.

7. Calculate the ratio of the output distance to the input distance when the input
distance is 12 cm. Use your answer from Question 3 above to help you.

8. What can you say about the value of all of these ratios?

CHAPTER 2: Mechanical advantage calculations 23

The ratio of input arm and output arm in levers

If the input arm is 400 cm long and the output arm is 100 cm long, then the output
distance will always be:
100
output distance = 400
× input distance.
If you lifted this lever by 20 cm, then:
100 100 1
Output distance = 400 × input distance = 400
× 20 cm = × 20 cm = 5 cm.
4

This lever gives you a mechanical advantage because the input distance is larger
than the output distance. We know that a lever with a larger input distance and a
smaller output distance will give a mechanical advantage, so we can say that:

Input distance ÷ output distance But we also know that:

= length of input arm ÷ length of output arm Input distance ÷ output distance
= mechanical advantage (MA) = output force ÷ input force
= mechanical advantage (MA).

The ratio input arm distance : output arm distance is the same as
the ratio output force : input force, and this is the mechanical advantage.
A lever with an input arm 400 cm long and the output arm 100 cm long will give
a mechanical advantage of:
input arm distance
MA = = 400 ÷ 100 = 4.
output arm distance
This means that the output force will always be four times larger than the input
force; and the input force will always be four times less than the output force.
Consider the force needed to keep a weight of 20 kg from falling due to gravity. If
this weight is on the output side of the lever discussed above, then what weight is
needed on the input side of the lever to balance it?
Weight on input side = 1 × 20 kg = 5 kg.
4

Mechanical advantage
output force
• MA =
input force

• = input arm distance

output arm distance
• output force = MA × input force

• input force = output force

MA

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Calculations about a lever
Look at the lever in Figure 3. The lever is pushed down to crush a can.

Figure 3: A lever crushing a can

1. How do you know that this lever will crush a can more easily than by hand?

2. With the can in the position shown, calculate the mechanical advantage that
this lever will give.
Length can be measured in
units of metres, and mass
can be measured in units of
3. If you need an output force of 20 “units of force” kilograms.
to crush the can, how much input force do You will later learn in physics
you need? about how force is measured
in units of “Newtons”. But for
the moment, you can call it
“units of force”, or “units”.

4. The designer decides to make it even easier to crush the can. She moves the
can closer to the fulcrum. This reduces the output arm to 15 cm. Recalculate
the mechanical advantage of the lever.

5. Recalculate the new input force needed to crush the can with an output force
of 20 units.

CHAPTER 2: Mechanical advantage calculations 25

2.2  Calculate the distance advantage of a lever
Look at the lifting system in
Figure 4. It uses a hydraulic
cylinder for the input force. It
is a system that could be used
for lifting an engine out of a
motorcar.
The lifting lever at the top is
a third-class lever, because the
input is between the fulcrum
and the output.
A third-class lever always
gives a distance advantage.
It never gives a mechanical
advantage.

1. How long is the input arm

on this lever?

2. How long is the output arm?

Figure 4: A lifting system

3. Calculate the mechanical
advantage that this lever gives.

4. Explain what this MA value tells you about the output and input forces.

5. A person wants to use this system to lift an engine out of a car. He needs the
engine to be lifted by 90 cm. How far will the hydraulic cylinder at the input
need to move for the engine to be lifted 90 cm at the output?

6. If the system is designed to lift objects by 180 cm, how far does the hydraulic
cylinder need to move at the input?

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2.3  Calculate the speed advantage of gears
The gear ratio

The gear ratio, which is also called the speed ratio or sometimes the velocity ratio,
tells you how the speed of a driven gear will be changed by a driver gear.
Look at the two meshed gears in Figure 5. The driver or input gear has 5 teeth.
The driven or output gear has 10 teeth.

Figure 5

• If the driver moves one revolution, it pushes the 5 teeth on the driven gear.
• If the driver gear moves by 2 revolutions, then 10 of the driven gear’s teeth are
moved. So the driven gear moves 1 revolution. Two driver revolutions give 1
driven gear revolution. So the turning speed of the driven gear is 1 the turning
2
speed of the driver gear. The speed ratio, which is the same as the gear ratio, is
1
1 : 2 or .
2
• If the driver gear revolves 10 times, then the driven gear will only revolve 5
times.
rotational speed of input axle
gear ratio =
rotational speed of output axle
number of teeth on output gear 10
= = =2
number of teeth on input gear 5

CHAPTER 2: Mechanical advantage calculations 27

Calculations using the gear ratio

The speed of a turning wheel is measured in rpm stands for “revolutions

revolutions per minute, or rpm. So if the driver gear is per minute”.
turning around twice every second, it has a speed of 2
rpm. A speed of 2 rpm on this system will give a speed
of 1 rpm on the driven gear.
The gear ratio can be used to work this out:
Driver gear speed = (gear ratio) × (driven gear speed)
1
= × 2 rpm
2
= 1 rpm.

The speed ratio and mechanical advantage

If a gear system gives a speed advantage because
Speed advantage
of its gear ratio, then it will give you a mechanical
When a driven (input) gear
disadvantage. This means that if a driven gear
makes the driver (output)
revolves faster than its driver gear, it gives less gear rotate faster, then the
turning output force to the machine. gear system gives a speed
If a driven gear revolves slower than its driver gear, advantage.
it gives more turning output force to the machine.

Calculations

1. The gear system in Figure 5 has 5 teeth on the driver gear and 10 teeth on the
driven gear. Calculate the rpm of the driven gear if the driver gear rotates at
1 500 rpm.

2. If a driver gear has 15 teeth and a driven gear has 60 teeth, calculate the gear
ratio.

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3. Consider a gear system where the driver gear has 25 teeth and the driven gear
has 15 teeth.
(a) If the driver gear rotates at 100 rpm, calculate the speed of the driven gear.

(b) What can you say about the output turning force at the driven axle
compared to the input turning force at the driver axle? How does that
change in this system?

Using the gear diameters to calculate the gear ratio

The easiest way of calculating the speed of a gear system is from the number of
teeth on the gear wheels.
However, there is another way of calculating the speed of a gear system:
• If a gear wheel is small, it will have a small number of teeth and its diameter
will be small.
• If a gear wheel is large, it will have more teeth and its diameter will be larger.

In Figure 5, the diameter of the large driven gear is Note: The diameters are
9,4 cm and the diameter of the small driver gear is measured for the dashed
4,7 cm. circles in Figure 5, since those
circles show where the gear
The gear ratio is: teeth make contact.
diameter of driven gear 9,4
gear ratio = = = 2.
diameter of driver gear 4,7
This is equal to the ratio calculated from the number of gear teeth:
number of teeth on output gear 10
gear ratio = = = 2.
number of teeth on input gear 5

CHAPTER 2: Mechanical advantage calculations 29

More calculations for you to do

Figure 6: A car’s starter motor has a small driver gear called a pinion, which is used to turn a bigger gear
on the engine.

1. A starter motor of a car has a driver gear with a diameter of 4 cm. It drives a
large gear connected to the crankshaft of the engine with a diameter of 60 cm.
Calculate the gear ratio of the starter-motor system of this car.

2. If the starter motor turns at 3 600 rpm, calculate the speed that the engine
turns when the car starts.

3. Do you think the turning output force that makes the engine turn is greater
than, or less than, the turning input force of the electric starter motor?

Next week

Next week, you will learn how to draw gear systems. You will also write design
briefs for gear systems with an exact speed advantage and an exact mechanical
advantage.

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Chapter 3
Drawing gear systems

In this chapter, you will learn how to draw gear systems. First you will do some orthographic or two-
dimensional (2D) drawings that show the exact sizes and numbers of teeth on the gears. For these
types of drawings, you do not have to draw the teeth, so it is much easier.
Then you will write a design brief for some gear systems of your own and produce specifications
for the systems. You will learn to use drawing instruments and an isometric grid to draw your gear
systems in three dimensions (3D).

3.1 Draw gears in two dimensions (2D).................................................................................... 33

3.2 Write a design brief with specifications for gears................................................................ 42
3.3 Draw gears in three dimensions (3D).................................................................................. 46

Figure 1: The back of a tow truck showing the winch that is used to lift and pull cars that have broken
down. A winch is a gear that gives a mechanical advantage. You will learn about winches in this chapter.

Technology grade 8 term 3 31

Figure 2: Spur gears with different radiuses. You will learn how to draw technical diagrams of gears
when you are given the radius and the number of teeth of each gear. You don’t need to draw the teeth!

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3.1  Draw gears in two dimensions (2D)
When you draw a gear wheel, you show a number of different circle sizes, but
you do not show the gear teeth. The specification for the gear wheels and teeth is
shown using notes and tables.

Figure 3: How to draw a gear wheel with 15 teeth

Figure 3 shows all the important information for a gear wheel:

• The pitch is the space for each tooth.
• The pitch diameter is the size of the circle that can fit all the teeth, up to where
they mesh with the teeth of another gear.
• The outside diameter shows the size of the circle that surrounds the teeth.
• The inside diameter shows where the teeth are joined to the inner wheel.
• The depth of the teeth is the difference between the outside and inside
diameters.

The pitch circle diameter on this gear is 35,8 mm. The distance around the pitch
circle of this gear is the pitch circle circumference, which is:
Circumference = π × D = 3,1428 × 35,8 mm = 112,5 cm.
So the pitch, or the space for each tooth = 112,5 ÷ 15 = 7,5 mm.

CHAPTER 3: DRAWING GEAR SYSTEMS 33

 Look at Figure 4. This figure shows how to draw a gear wheel.

Figure 4: How to draw a gear wheel

Now draw this gear wheel on the grid by following these steps:
• Step 1: Draw two crossing
centrelines to mark the centre
of the gear wheel.
• Step 2: Draw the pitch circle
using a compass. In this
case, you will need to set the
compass radius to ½ of 3,5 cm
(35 mm), which is
17,5 mm.
• Step 3: Draw the outside
diameter using a compass. You
will need to set the compass
radius to ½ of 4,25 cm (42,5
mm), which is a little more than
21 mm.
• Step 4: Draw the inside
Figure 5
diameter. You will need to set
the compass radius to ½ of 2,75
cm (27,5 mm), which is just
under 14 mm.

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Drawing meshing gears

Look at the drawing of the meshing gears in Figure 6. A small driver gear is shown
on the left. It is driving a larger driven gear on the right.

Figure 6: Meshing gears

Two spur gears will only mesh properly if:

• the size and shape of their teeth are the same, in
other words the pitch and the depth of gear teeth
on both gears are the same, and
• the pitch circle circumferences of the two gears
are touching each other.

The line connecting the centres of the two gears is called the centre line. Centre
lines are drawn as chain lines, with long and short dashes.
The distance between the gear centres is shown on
Remember: The radius is ½
this drawing as the centre distance. The exact centre
of the diameter.
distance for two meshing gears is the pitch circle
radius of the driver gear plus the pitch circle radius of
the driven gear.
If, for example, this driven gear had 15 teeth and a pitch circle diameter of
35 mm, and the driven gear had 30 teeth and a pitch circle diameter of 70 mm,
then the centre distance would be:
Centre distance = ½ × 35 mm + ½ × 70 mm = 17,5 mm + 35 mm = 52,5 mm.

CHAPTER 3: DRAWING GEAR SYSTEMS 35

How to draw meshing gear systems
Look at the meshing gears in Figure 6 on the previous page. Figure 7 below
shows how to draw a diagram of this gear system, which has a 15-tooth driver gear
and a 30-tooth driven gear.

Figure 7

• Step 1: Start by drawing a horizontal centre line for both gears.

• Step 2: Draw a vertical centre line for the driver gear on the left. This marks the
centre of the driver gear wheel.
• Step 3: Calculate the pitch centre distance. In this case, it would be: ½ of 36 mm
+ ½ of 72 mm = 54 mm.
• Step 4: Measure the centre of the driven gear from the centre of the driver gear.
• Step 5: Use a compass to draw the two pitch circles so that they just touch each
other. In this case, the pitch circle of the driver gear will be 36 mm, so you will
need to set the compass to a radius of 18 mm. The radius setting for the larger
driven gear will be 36 mm, twice as big.
• Step 6: Use your compass to draw in the inside diameter (ID) and outside
diameter (OD) circles.
• Step 7: Now add the information that tells people about the teeth. This is
written underneath each gear wheel or on a table next to the drawing.

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Draw gear systems with the driven gear rotating in the opposite
direction of the driver gear
1. Use the steps on the previous page to draw a gear system with 15 teeth on a
driver gear with a 36 mm diameter and 30 teeth on a driven gear with a 72 mm
diameter. Use the grid paper in Figure 8. The driver gear drawing has been
started for you.

Figure 8: Draw the driven gear on the grid.

2. When you have finished your drawing, use arrows to show the direction of
rotation of the driven gear if the driver is turning clockwise.
3. Will the driven gear be rotating faster or slower than the driver?

CHAPTER 3: DRAWING GEAR SYSTEMS 37

Draw gear systems with the driven gear rotating in the same
direction as the driver gear
Do you remember what an idler gear does? It meshes between the driver and
the driven gear. The idler does not change the gear ratio. All it does is change the
direction of the driven gear. A gear system with an idler can have the driven and
the driver gear turning in the same direction.

Figure 9

To draw a gear system with an idler, you will need to draw three gears instead of
two. But the principle stays the same.

1. Draw the gear system in Figure 9 on the grid paper on the next page.
2. Draw arrows to show which way each gear will turn.
3. Do the driver and driven gears rotate in the same or in opposite directions?

4. If the driver gear rotates at 1 500 rpm, how fast will the driven gear rotate?

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Figure 10

Homework: Draw gear systems with the driven gear rotating

faster than the driver gear

Part A: Rotating in opposite directions

1. Draw the gear system shown in Figure 11. The driver gear has
45 teeth and a pitch circle diameter of 107 mm. The driven gear has 15 teeth
and a pitch circle diameter of 36 mm. Use the grid paper in Figure 12.

Figure 11

CHAPTER 3: DRAWING GEAR SYSTEMS 39

Figure 12: Draw your gear system on this grid paper.

2. What can you say about the speed of the driven gear compared to the driver
gear?

3. Does this system change the direction of rotation?

Part B: Rotating in the same direction

1. Add an idler to this gear system as shown in Figure 13. Now draw this new
system on the grid paper in Figure 14.
2. Draw arrows on the drawing to show the direction of rotation of each gear.

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Figure 13

Figure 14: Draw your gear system with an idler gear on this grid paper.

3. What does the idler do?

CHAPTER 3: DRAWING GEAR SYSTEMS 41

3.2  Write a design brief with specifications for gears
Gear systems have two important uses:
• A gear system can give a mechanical advantage. In this case, a small driver gear
is used to turn a larger driven gear. The output of the system turns more slowly,
but with greater turning force.
• Gears can also give a speed advantage. In this case, a large driver gear will turn
a smaller driven gear. The driven gear turns faster than the driver gear, but with
less turning force.
In this lesson, you will design gear systems that use both these advantages.

A design brief for a gear that gives a mechanical advantage

Look at Figure 15. It shows a winch for a tow truck. Winches are used to pull
broken-down cars onto the back of a tow truck.

Figure 15: This mechanism is a winch. It is used to pull broken-down cars onto the back of a tow truck.

A problem with this winch The word tow means to pull a

The company using this winch has found that is not car behind a moving truck for
powerful enough to pull large vehicles. a certain distance. Tow trucks
can tow cars, but they can
The company asked you to improve the winch. They
also pull cars onto the back of
want the winch to pull large vehicles that are three
the truck to carry them to the
times as heavy as ordinary cars. repair shop.

Write a design brief

1. Write a few short, clear sentences that summarise the problem that needs
to be solved, as well as the purpose of the proposed solution. Begin your first
sentence with the words:
I am going to design ...

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2. Write a list of specifications for the new winch solution.
Remember: Specifications are lists of things that your solution must do, and
some things that it must not do.

A design for the improved winch

3. Describe how you are going to improve this winch.

4. How will you know that the winch can pull vehicles that are up to three times
heavier than an ordinary car?

5. Complete the drawing in Figure 16 to show how you will improve the winch.
Draw the driver gear on top of the motor. Then show where you will place the
winder, and draw the winder gear. Use a pitch of 7,5 mm and a depth of 5,0 mm
for the gear teeth. Label your drawing with the pitch and number of teeth on
each of the gear wheels.

Figure 16: Use this grid to show how you will improve the winch.

CHAPTER 3: DRAWING GEAR SYSTEMS 43

Write a design brief for a gear that gives a speed advantage

Look at the system shown below. It shows the inside of a wind turbine. The
wind turns the propeller and the propeller turns an electric generator to make
electricity.
The problem with wind turbines
The blades of wind turbines turn slowly, at about 9 to 19 rpm. But the electric
generator that is driven by a wind turbine needs to turn faster. A turbine
manufacturer needs a gear system that will make the generator turn at least four
times faster than the wind turbine. Can you help?

Figure 17: Inside a wind turbine

1. Write a design brief. You need to write a few short, clear sentences that
summarise the problem that needs to be solved, and the purpose of the
proposed solution. Begin your first sentence with the words:
I am going to design ...

2. Specifications for your solution. Write a list of specifications for the gear
system solution.

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A design for the improved wind turbine
1. Draw your design on the grid in Figure 18. Your design should show how you
will make the driven generator of the wind turbine move four times faster than
the driver. Use a pitch of 0,75 cm and a height of 0,50 cm for the gear teeth.
2. Label your drawing with the pitch and number of teeth on each of the gear
wheels.

Figure 18: Draw your design on this grid.

CHAPTER 3: DRAWING GEAR SYSTEMS 45

3.3  Draw gears in three dimensions (3D)
Drawing gears in 3D is mostly about drawing circles in 3D. In this activity, you will
draw 3D gears on isometric grid paper.
If you follow the instructions step by step, your drawing will be correct.

How to draw an isometric circle

Look at the pictures in Figure 19. They show how to draw a circle on isometric
grid paper. This circle has a diameter of 2, so it is nearly the size of a small gear
wheel. Below is an outline of how it can be done.

• Step 1: Make a dot where you want the centre of the circle to be.
• Step 2: Draw a horizontal chain line going from left to right up the sloping lines
of the grid.
• Step 3: Draw a vertical chain line going through your centre point up the page.
• Step 4: Draw a guide box that will surround your circle. This box is shown in red
on picture A.
• Step 5: Mark four dots at the centre points of the square. These dots are shown
in red in Figure 19B. These dots mark the outside points of your circle.
• Step 6: Now sketch a curve joining these four dots. This shape is not a true
circle. Its actual shape is an ellipse slanting at 30°.
A B

Figure 19 A and B: How to draw an isometric circle

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• Step 7: Now see if you can draw one for yourself. Copy the diagram in Figure
20 A onto the isometric grid in Figure 20 B.
A B

Figure 20 A and B: Draw your own isometric circle on grid B above.

Draw the gear system that you designed for the winch
Look at the picture in Figure 21. Two gears have been drawn in 3D using isometric
grid paper. The teeth of the gear are not shown.

1. Use the grid on the next page to help you draw the system you designed for the
winch. Draw the gears to the same size as you specified for the winch in section 3.2.
2. Add a table of information to your drawing that gives all the information
necessary for someone to make these gears.

Figure 21: Two gears drawn in 3D using isometric paper

CHAPTER 3: DRAWING GEAR SYSTEMS 47

 Draw your gear system for the winch onto the grid in Figure 22:

Figure 22: Draw your gear system for the winch in the grid above.

Next week

Next week, you will investigate a type of gear called bevel gears. You will look at
the gears on a bicycle and learn about chain and belt drives. Then you will learn
how to analyse gear systems using the systems approach.

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Chapter 4
Bevel gears, bicycles and
systems diagrams
In this chapter, you will learn how to draw bevel gears. We usually draw bevel gears from the side to
show how the driver gear changes the direction of the driven gear. Then you will look at the gears on
a bicycle. You will analyse which gears give a speed advantage, and which gears give a mechanical
advantage.
Then you will use the systems approach to draw gear systems and show how an input speed is
changed by a gear system into a different output speed.

4.1 Sketching bevel gears...................................................................................................... 50

4.2 Chain drives..................................................................................................................... 53
4.3 Gear systems diagrams.................................................................................................... 55

Figure 1: A photograph of the chain drive of a bicycle

Technology grade 8 term 3 49

4.1  Sketching bevel gears
Do you remember learning about bevel gears in Chapter 1? You learnt how bevel
gears were used on a hand drill. Bevel gears are used when we want to change the
direction of turning.
Look at Figure 2. It shows how you would draw two bevel gears of equal size.
When you turn the driver gear at the bottom, the driven gear rotates at the same
speed. But the direction of rotation is turned through 90°.

driven bevel Direction of rotation means

gear the direction that a gear
rotates or moves in.

driver bevel gear gears mesh here

Figure 2: How to draw two bevel gears of equal size

1. Make a sketch of the system shown in Figure 2 in the space below.

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Changing the speed of a bevel gear

The driver gear and the driven gear of a

bevel gear system do not have to be the
same size.
If the driver gear has a pitch diameter
of 50 mm and the driven gear has a pitch
diameter of 100 m, the driven gear will turn
slower than the driver gear. This system will
driven bevel
give you a mechanical advantage. gear
Study Figure 3 and then answer the
following questions:

100
1. Make a sketch of the system shown
in Figure 3 in the space below.

driver bevel
gear

50
Figure 3

CHAPTER 4: BEVEL GEARS, BICYCLES AND 51

SYSTEMS DIAGRAMS
Sketch a bevel gearbox system

Figure 4 shows a speed-reducing

gearbox that gives a mechanical force
driven D
advantage. This gear system has a gear
straight gear system and a bevel gear
system.
1. Make a 2D sketch of this system
in the space below. Draw the gear ratio
straight gears as rectangles and 1:2
the bevel gears like those shown
in Figure 4.
driver C
gear

A B
gear ratio
1:4
Figure 4: A straight and a bevel gear system

2. What is the mechanical advantage between the driver gear A and gear B?

3. What is the mechanical advantage between gear C and the driven gear D?

4. Calculate the total mechanical force advantage between the driver gear and the
final driven gear.

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4.2  Chain drives
In this activity, you will investigate the gears on a bicycle. You will learn about
chain drives and how they are like gear systems that have an idler gear.
Look at Figure 5. It
shows the gear system
on a modern bicycle.
When you ride a
bicycle, you pedal. The front gear pedal
pedals push the cranks shifter
crank
up and down. The cogs
cranks force the chain
chain wheel or
wheel to turn.
back gear front sprocket
Attached to the shifter
chain wheel is the
chain
chain. When a cyclist
pedals, the chain is
pulled around in a
clockwise direction. Figure 5: The gear system on a modern bicycle

The chain meshes with the gears on the cogs, which are attached to the back
wheel. The gears make the back wheel turn and the bike move forwards.

Questions

1. What do you call the large gear wheels at the front that are turned by the
pedals?

2. What do you call the group of gears that turn the back wheel?

3. What connects the front gears to the back gears?

4. What do you call the mechanism that changes the gears?

CHAPTER 4: BEVEL GEARS, BICYCLES AND 53

SYSTEMS DIAGRAMS
Investigating the chain drive of a bicycle

Bring a bicycle with gears into your classroom. Turn it upside down so that you
can investigate how the gears work. Stick a piece of tape somewhere on the wheel.
This will help you to count how far the wheel rotates for each pedal rotation.
Use the front gear shifter to put the chain onto the smallest gear of the chain
wheel. Use the back gear shifter to put the chain on the biggest cog at the back.

1. Count the number of teeth on the smallest gear of the chain wheel and write it
down.

2. Use the back-gear shifter to put the chain onto the largest cog on the back
wheel. Now count the number of teeth on this gear and write it down.

3. If you rotate the crank by exactly one revolution, how many revolutions does
the wheel make?

4. Will this gear position give you a speed advantage? Explain why you say so.

Advantages of using a chain drive rather than spur gears

• Chain drives can easily and cheaply connect gears that are far away from each
other.
• A chain can be adjusted easily if the distance between the axles of the two gears
changes.
• With spur gears, the axles need to be aligned precisely, so that the gears mesh
well but without too much resistance. With a chain drive, the axles do not have
to be aligned precisely because the chain can bend sideways a little.

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4 .3  Gear systems diagrams
Sometimes a diagram of a mechanical system can be very complicated. Systems
diagrams are simpler diagrams. A systems diagram does not explain how the
system works. Rather, a systems diagram describes the input, process and output
of a system. Have a look at Figure 6 below. It is a systems diagram for a bicycle.

Input Process Output

pedalling force speed

pedalling speed force

Bicycle

Figure 6: A systems diagram for a bicycle

Input, process, output

Have another look at Figure 6 and read the information below. It tells you how this
systems diagram for a bicycle works.

On the left, there is the input to the bicycle. The

input is what you put into a bicycle when you ride
it. It is the pedalling force and the pedalling speed.
In the process box in the middle is the bicycle.
The chain drive of the bicycle changes the input
pedalling force and pedalling speed into an output.
On the right is the output. This is what you get out
of a bicycle, which is speed.

A system diagram shows how a system will change inputs into outputs. The
process changes the inputs into outputs.
When you change the pedalling force or the pedalling speed on a bicycle, the
output speed will change. The systems diagram will help you to work out how
these will change.

CHAPTER 4: BEVEL GEARS, BICYCLES AND 55

SYSTEMS DIAGRAMS
Draw systems diagrams of gears and drives

You can use systems diagrams to represent gear systems instead of drawing them.
Look at the systems diagram in Figure 7. It shows a belt drive system for a car’s
alternator.

Input Process output

rotational speed of rotational speed of

the driver gear the driven gear

3:1
Bicycle chain drive

Figure 7: A systems diagram for gears

The system in Figure 7 gives a speed advantage of 3. You can use the diagram to
work out what the output speed will be if the input speed should change.
If the input speed from the car’s engine on the driver side is 500 rpm, then the
alternator speed will be 1 500 rpm.

A winch for a mine

A winch is used for a lift in

a mine. The winch consists
wheel on mine headgear
of an electrical motor and
a winch drum on which
cable is wound.
The winch must be
able to lift 10 000 kg of
mined rock. If the motor
is connected directly to
the winch drum, without a
connect
gear system, the winch can a drive
lift a maximum of 2 000 kg. system
here

mine
lift
winch
drum
10 t
motor
Figure 8: A winch for a mine

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1. Calculate the mechanical advantage needed from a gear or chain-drive system
to enable the winch to lift the load of mined rock.

2. Sketch a drive system in the box below to show how the motor will make the
winch turn. You do not have to sketch it to scale.

motor winder

Figure 9

CHAPTER 4: BEVEL GEARS, BICYCLES AND 57

SYSTEMS DIAGRAMS
Next week

Next week, you will research a topic about the impact of mining on people and the
environment, and give a presentation on that topic. Your teacher will divide you
into teams today, and give each team a topic. There will not be a lot of time next
week to prepare for your presentation, so it is very important that you start your
preparation now. Read the article on your team’s topic in Chapter 5 during the
weekend.

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Chapter 5
Investigate aspects of
mining in South Africa
The mining industry is one of the most important contributors to the economy in South Africa. In this
chapter, you will learn about the history of mining in South Africa, as well as the impact that mining
has on communities, social life and the environment.
Four topics about mining are discussed in this chapter. You will work in teams, and each team will
investigate only one of these topics, then give an oral report to the class on your topic. You will work
in teams of three or four, and there must be at least one boy and one girl in each team.

5.1 Background information on different mining topics.............................................................. 61

5.2 Team discussions and preparation of reports...................................................................... 76
5.3 Presentation of reports..................................................................................................... 84

Figure 1: The oldest iron mine in the world – Lion Cave in Swaziland

Technology grade 8 term 3 59

 Notes to the teacher

Learners will present their research on different topics as teams in the last 60 minutes of the
week. Ensure that teams are an appropriate size so that there will be at least four minutes for
each team to present their research. This means that there cannot be more than 15 teams (15
× 4 minutes = 60 minutes).
Different teams will present research on different topics. There are four different topics. Assign
a topic to each team, rather than letting learners choose for themselves. Letting them choose
would mean that learners will take time to make their choices (there is no time to waste time
during this week’s work), and might result in certain topics being left out or not presented
properly.

5.1 Background information on different mining topics (30 minutes)

Learners should read and make summarising and comprehension notes on the topic they were
assigned. This is individual work. Thirty minutes is not enough time to do this, which is why
learners were given homework at the end of the previous chapter to read the articles on their
assigned topic. Important: This means that you will have to assign topics to teams at the end
of the previous week.
If you have access to the internet and/or books and/or video material, you should use this to
make more information available to learners on the different topics. For example, you may make
a list of appropriate websites to consult, or may make photocopies for learners of newspaper
articles that have to do with the topics.

5.2 Team discussions and preparation of reports (30 minutes)

Learners should work together in
their teams to prepare their reports.
Comprehesion questions are given to guide
them through their topics.
For homework, learners also have to
read the articles on the other topics. This
is crucial as teams will be required to
ask questions of other teams after each
presentation. Reading the articles on all the
topics will ensure that the teams can ask
informative questions.

5.3 Presentation of reports

Ensure that the teams adhere to the time
limit for each presentation. Also allow time
for the class to ask questions of each
presenting team, which the team should
answer.
Figure 2

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5.1  Background information on different mining topics
Your teacher will divide your class into different teams, and tell each team which
topic they need to investigate during this week. Each team will only investigate
one of the following topics:
• The impact of mining on the environment: Acid mine drainage
• The impact of mining on the environment: Dust pollution
• Indigenous mining in South Africa before the modern era
• The equality or inequality of job opportunities in mining for men and women

In this lesson, you will work individually and read an article about the topic that
your team will investigate. After reading the article, you should make notes in the
space provided. Write down the points that you think are most important, as well
as the points on which you would like to get more information. For homework, you
should find out more about these topics, for example by looking in books, asking
older people and looking on the internet.
The four different articles are given below. Remember that you should only read
the one article that is about the topic your team will investigate.

Topic A: The impact of mining on the environment:

acid mine drainage
Mining is very important to South Africa. The mining An ore is a type of rock that
industry has led to our country becoming very contains important minerals,
important as a provider of metals and ores. South including metals. These ores
Africa is one of the biggest producers of precious are mined and then refined to
metals such as gold and platinum, and the country extract the valuable material.
also has large amounts of iron, zinc, chrome and
copper ore that are very important to many of our
factories. Coal is also mined and this mineral provides
the energy for many of our power stations.
Because mining is such a large industry, it also provides employment for large
numbers of people, both skilled and unskilled.

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 But, like any industry, it is also a cause of problems due to the way the ore is
being mined. Before you investigate these problems, you need to understand a
little about the mines themselves. Some mines are known as opencast or surface
mines. These are mines where the workers do not have to go underground, but
instead dig a very large hole to remove the ore after stripping off the surface
material. These mines are easier to work on. Coal mines and iron-ore mines are
often opencast mines, as coal and iron ore are closer to the surface than precious
metal ores, such as gold.

Figure 3: An opencast or surface mine. Note the water collecting in the hole.

Underground mines are mines where

shafts and tunnels have to be dug to reach
the supply of ore that is being mined. All of
South Africa’s gold mines are underground
mines, with shafts that are sometimes
kilometres deep. The deepest mine in the
world is the TauTona mine in Carletonville,
South Africa: it is nearly four kilometres
deep! Mining is dangerous work, and there
are very strict safety precautions on all
mines.

Figure 4: The headgear of an underground

mine. The shaft goes straight down
into the ground under the wheels of the
headgear, sometimes kilometres deep.

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One of the problems with mining is that eventually the ore, or metal, will run
out. When this happens to a very big mine, what is left are many kilometres of
underground tunnels. It is impossible to fill these tunnels because the ore that
was mined has been processed to remove the valuable mineral. What happens
normally is that the mine entrance is sealed and the tunnels are left as they were
during mining. But they don’t stay empty.
If you have ever dug a hole in the ground near a The water table is the level
river, or on a beach, you will know that water soon in the ground where enough
starts gathering at the bottom. This happens when water is present to flow.
you have dug beyond the water table.
All mines that are underground will
be dug beyond the water table. While
miners are working underground,
large pumps are constantly pumping
the water that gathers in the tunnels
out of the mine. But once the mine is
abandoned, the pumps are removed and
the water starts to build up, exactly as it
would in the hole you dug.
It would be fine if this water just filled
the mine, but a chemical reaction occurs
as the water drains through the rocks
into the mine. The water reacts with Figure 5: Holes dug in the ground often go below
chemicals in the ground that contained the water table, and then the hole fills with water.
the ore, and turns into an acid. Acids can
be very destructive in the wrong
environment. A chemical reaction takes
You come across mild acids every day. Try this place when materials react
experiment: with other chemicals and
a change occurs to the
At home, pour yourself a glass of water, and then
molecules of the materials,
add one teaspoon of vinegar and stir. Take a sip. It is
forming new substances.
healthy, but for most people it tastes too strong, as if it
is burning your mouth and throat.
Now pour yourself another glass of water. This time, add three teaspoons of
vinegar to it and stir. Now drink a little bit from this glass as well. Could you taste
the difference? Scientists would say that the first glass of water was slightly acidic,
and that the second glass of water was more acidic.

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 The acid that is produced in mines is a lot stronger Acidic liquids are very
than your vinegar water! The water has mixed with corrosive. They can destroy
sulphides and can eat away solid metals and stone. It solid materials.
is very poisonous to plants and animals.
It would be less harmful if the acid water stayed in the mine, but due to many
reasons the acidic liquid often leaks out. In some cases, the water level in the
mine rises to the level of the surrounding water table, and then the acid pollutes
all the water in that area. In other cases, the surface of the mine is higher than
surrounding areas. Remember that most of the gold mines in Johannesburg were
on a ridge. The acidic liquid will flow out of gaps in the rock like an ordinary
spring, and pollute the rivers and streams it enters, killing fish, animals and
plants.

Figure 6: Acid mine drainage is ugly, poisonous and smells bad.

When large mines, such as the gold mines in The gold mines in Gauteng are
Gauteng, are closed, acid leaking from the mines located on the Witwatersrand,
or the “White Water Ridge”.
can cause a lot of problems to the surrounding
Rivers flow away from each
environment. These problems have to be solved
side of this ridge, and are
before communities have to be removed to escape the
easily polluted.
effects.

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Figure 7: This illustration shows how water in the water table can fill up mines when they aren’t being
pumped dry.
Notes: Acid mine drainage

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Topic B: The impact of mining on the environment:
dust pollution
Anyone who has been to Johannesburg will know the mountains of yellow and
white sand that comes from the mines. These are called mine dumps. What are
these dumps actually made of, and why do they exist?
Ore has to be crushed and then treated with chemicals before the metal in it
can be dissolved. After this the chemical that contains the dissolved metal is
separated from the waste material, then more chemicals are added and the metal
is recovered. The metal is then melted and poured into large ingots, or bricks, of
metal that can be transported to the factories that will use them.
But what remains? All the crushed ore and chemicals that have been used to
extract the metal become waste material that has to be stored. It can’t be put
back into the mine since people are still working there, so it is either put into
large dams, or piled in dumps. The waste material is normally a mixture of water,
dissolved chemicals, and finely ground dust or small particles. This is called
“slurry”. The slurry has to dry in the open air. A ton of gold ore only produces a
gram or two of gold, so a lot of slurry is left after extracting the gold.
Many of the chemicals added to extract gold are still in the slurry, and some of
them are very poisonous, such as cyanide.
The compounds in the slurry are ground to fine sand. Once the water dries, it
leaves a layer of tiny particles that can easily be blown around.
When gold mines in Johannesburg first started producing waste material, the
slurry was pumped into storage dams. After a while, as the slurry dried and more
waste material was produced, the dams grew upwards into dumps. The centre of
these dumps was lower than the outside, so that more slurry could be pumped
into the middle. The slurry was then pushed out towards the edges as it dried,
leaving more space in the middle. These dumps grew into the huge mine dumps
that line the mining areas of Johannesburg.
It is not just gold that produces mine dumps. However, since the old gold mine
dumps in Johannesburg are so close to communities living there, it is a very
noticeable problem. Other mining towns and cities have similar problems. When
new mines start, people working at the mines often build houses nearby, and often
a whole town develops around a mine.

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Figure 8: Dust blowing off mine dumps can affect people and the environment.

In the early days of

mining, the impact of
mine dumps on the
environment was not
known. Once people
became aware of the
negative effects of the
dust that comes off these
mine dumps, they started
looking for a solution to
this problem. First, trees
and grass were planted
on the mine dumps to
prevent the wind from
blowing the dry dust into Figure 9: A mine dump planted with trees and grass to
the towns. reduce dust pollution.
But because of the toxic chemicals in the dumps, the trees and grass did not
grow very well. Later, mining companies started to extract any remaining gold
from the waste material in these mine dumps. Since the process used to extract
gold a hundred years ago was not very effective, a lot of gold remained in the
waste material. Once they processed these mine dumps to extract any remaining
gold, they removed the dumps altogether. The remaining waste material was then
stored where it could not be blown into nearby towns or cities.

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Notes: Dust pollution from mine dumps

Topic C: Indigenous mining in South Africa before the

modern era
The history of South Africa is closely linked to mining. Gold and diamond mining
has generated much wealth for the country over the last 150 years. The mines in
South Africa today produce gold, diamonds, silver, platinum, chromium and many
other minerals. In 2010, South Africa produced 15% of the world’s gold, and 78% of
the world’s platinum supply.
But of equal importance to our history was the
Smelting is the process where
ability to make iron tools and implements. This period ore is melted in a very hot
is known as the Iron Age. The ability to smelt ore and oven called a “furnace”, to
make iron tools was discovered in North Africa. Some separate the iron from the rest
of these communities moved southwards to find of the ore.
better rainfall and more productive land to provide
crops.

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Figure 10: Locations of a few mining sites in South Africa during the Iron Age.

About 1800 years ago, the areas where people

Nomads are people who have
coming from the north would settle in was influenced
no fixed homes, and move
by the discovery of iron-ore deposits. Even nomads from place to place in search
would settle near a source of iron ore and plant crops of water and food.
such as ground beans, sorghum and millet.
This would lead to an increase in cattle and other stock animals, and often the
community would grow and prosper in that area. They would stop their nomadic
lifestyle and stay in one place to build a community. However, sometimes they
would have to move to a different area due to drought or poor soil. Other groups
were not as fortunate to find deposits of iron ore, and so continued moving south
as well. With these groups of people continually moving south, the knowledge
of how to smelt iron came to the country that is now known as South Africa.
Historians and geologists have found many places in our country where Iron Age
settlers lived and built their smelting ovens. Studying these places has helped us
to learn more about the history of these people.

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 The Iron Age people also knew how to make pottery by baking clay. The styles
of pots and artwork found at these Iron Age sites have helped historians to
determine the general date when these sites were occupied. The Iron Age people
built huts and cattle kraals as well, and these ruins have been studied in places
right across the country, from Mpumalanga to the Kei River.

Figure 11: Typical Iron Age tools: simple but efficient

Initially, iron-ore deposits were discovered by the Iron Age settlers as the
deposits were exposed by soil erosion. Soon the settlers learnt how to find sources
of iron ore by studying the different types of rock in the area and comparing it to
other sites where they had found iron ore. About 1300 years ago, holes and shafts
were being dug to produce the ore. A lot of trees were required near the iron-ore
deposits, as the smelting process required a lot of charcoal to provide enough heat.
A supply of fresh water was also important.
The process of smelting ore was regarded as a secret to be kept by the older men
of the community. They would build a clay oven that had a small hole at the top as
a chimney, and three or four other holes on the side where air could be blown in.
To smelt the ore, it would be put into the oven in layers of ore and charcoal, then
the charcoal would be set alight and a lid would be placed over the burning fire.

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Figure 12: Illustration of how an early iron smelter was constructed and used

The men used “bellows” made of soft goat’s or sheep’s skin to continually blow
air into the oven to create the high temperature needed to smelt the ore. This
could take many hours, often a whole day or night. When the charcoal was finally
burnt out, the oven would be opened and a lump of iron removed.
This lump would be heated over another fire and hammered into the shape of
the tool or implement required. It was a difficult process, but it changed the way
the people lived at that time, and so it is one of the most important eras in our
history.

Notes: Iron Age technology

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Topic D: The equality or inequality of job opportunities in
mining for women and men
Discrimination against women has been an ongoing struggle across the globe for
centuries. Women were, and in some countries are still, mostly seen as second-
class citizens under the control of their fathers, husbands or other male members
of their family. Women were expected to stay at home, clean and cook for the
family, and raise the children, often without any help from men. Very few women
received a proper education or were allowed to work for money. Those who did
work, mostly did only part-time jobs and for little money. They often got married
and/or had children at a young age, before they could study to qualify for higher-
paying jobs.
There were many women who fought hard for the rights of all women, including
the right for women to vote in elections. In many countries, women were first
allowed to vote only about 80 to 100 years ago, because many men thought women
were not clever enough to vote. Many of the protesting women were put in jail and
even mistreated for their actions.
For us to understand gender bias, we have to understand that it develops from
a very young age. Girls are often taught that they cannot do what boys can, but is
this the truth? For instance, boys play with toy cars and girls play with dolls. This
often leads to the mistaken ideas people have about adult men and women. Many
people still think that women are more emotional than men, have to be pretty,
have to be willing to have children and have to care for their families. And many
people still think that only men can be physically strong, that only men are clever
and hard-working enough to do jobs with a lot of responsibility, that a real man
does not show his emotions and that a husband has to only contribute financially
to his family.
But what is gender bias in work situations? It is when one gender is perceived
to be superior to another, and this gender is given more or better employment
opportunities as a result. During the twentieth century, a lot of research was done
on the physical and mental abilities of men and women, and it was proven that
men and women are equally capable of doing most jobs. There have been changes
in laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender, and as a result the
number of women in the workplace has increased rapidly.

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Figure 13: Men and women share duties above ground in modern mines.

So, when you think of people working in mines deep underground, what picture
comes to mind? You probably see a man, physically strong and holding a drill in
a dark hot tunnel. Why do you not see a woman holding a big drill, deep in a hot
dark tunnel?
Until the early 1990s, women in South Africa were prohibited from working in
underground mines. As we said earlier, since 1994 there have been numerous
changes to the laws in South Africa to reduce and remove gender and racial
inequalities within different industries. The mining sector was one of them, but
statistics show that gender equality is not happening as quickly as it should be.
Even today, only 5% of mineworkers in South Africa are women, and the majority
of these work in offices as clerks or administration officials. Very few women
work directly with the physical extraction of minerals. There are, however, a lot
of women involved in informal mining, such as extracting coal, clay, copper and
other minerals for the sake of their own and their families’ survival. This proves
that women are physically capable of doing the job, even though they are not
employed as physical workers.

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 These days anyone who wants to work underground A heat-tolerance test is used
can do so, but they have to pass a fitness test first. This to make sure that people can
test is not only for strength, but for stamina as well. handle long periods working
Stamina refers to the ability to do physical work for a in high temperatures. The
specific period of time without harming your body. In temperature in an underground
addition, the miners have to pass a heat-tolerance test mine is much hotter than at the
and it has been discovered that women can handle surface.
high temperatures better than men!

Figure 14: Women and men can share underground work in mines.

So it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, if you pass the test you can
work underground, mining ore.
Another area where a bias has been noted is in the payment for work done.
Although women are doing the same job as men, they are being paid less than
their male counterparts. This practice is called wage discrimination, and there
are also laws against this type of unfairness. However, because some women are
desperate for work, they have no choice but to accept lower wages.

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Apart from wage discrimination, there are many reasons why women are still
not working in the formal mining sector to the same extent as men. For example:
• low levels of training amongst women, specifically a lack of technical training,
• unsupportive work cultures in the mining sector, despite changes in law,
• a lack of mentorship and facilities,
• the physical nature of mining, and
• historical bias against women in the mining industry.
For women to gain better access to careers in the mining industry, the
perceptions that men and women have about this situation needs to change.
Women have already proved that they are capable of doing the same work as their
male counterparts, and therefore they should not only be allowed to do so, but
they should also be rewarded and promoted by the same standards.

Notes: Gender bias in mining

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5.2  Team discussions and preparation of reports
After reading through each of the articles in the previous lesson, you were asked
to make notes on what you understood to be the main problems or opportunities
presented by the topic. You were also asked to find out more about each topic.
You will now work in your teams to prepare a report on the topic allocated to
you. This report needs to consider the history and background of the topic. The
reports must be informative and, when necessary, need to be investigative. For
some of the topics, the team might have suggestions as to how problems can be
solved or lessened. These suggestions will form an important part of the report.
Each team will give a short presentation to the class next week. You have this
whole lesson to prepare. Each of you has to do a part of the presentation.
To help you prepare your report, some additional question are given below about
the four different topics. Discuss the questions about your team’s topic now.

Topic A: The impact of mining on the environment: acid mine

drainage
You are not required to give solutions to acid drainage: these are very complicated
and expensive processes! The purpose of this exercise is to understand how acid
leaking from old mines can cause problems, and how communities can take
precautions to not be affected by it.

1. What is acid mine drainage?

2. Why do you think it wasn’t seen as a problem when the mines were started?

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3. What effect can acid mine drainage have on communities, water supplies,
houses and other buildings, and on the environment?

4. How can communities affected by acid mine drainage be assisted?

5. Who should be investigating the problem, and who should be assisting with the
solutions?

6. What should the mining industry be doing to fix existing problems and prevent
future problems?

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Topic B: The impact of mining on the environment: dust
pollution
1. Give a short history of why there are so many mine dumps in South Africa.

2. Why do towns develop around mines?

3. How does dust blowing from mine dumps have a negative impact on people
and the environment?

4. Why is dust from mine dumps more dangerous than dust from fields?

5. How can dust blowing from mine dumps be prevented?

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6. Why is the problem in Johannesburg reducing? Give a few reasons, and then
make suggestions as to how you think other communities can learn from
Johannesburg’s experience.

7. What other ideas does your team have to reduce the problem around the
country?

8. When new mines are dug in future, what plans should be made by the
engineers to avoid problems with the mine dumps they produce?

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Topic C: Indigenous mining in South Africa before the
modern era
1. Why is the history of early mining important to understand and study?

2. Why did groups of people from North Africa move southwards?

3. How important was mining as a skill to the migrating people?

4. What resources would the migrating people look for? Why were these resources
important?

5. How do we know so much about the Iron Age settlers? What would you look for
if you were searching for signs that they had lived at a specific place?

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6. How has mining affected the growth of South Africa?

7. What does the future of mining look like?

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Topic D: The equality or inequality of job opportunities in
mining for women and men
1. What is gender bias?

2. Has it affected the growth of industry and commerce (business) in South Africa,
and if so, how?

3. What has been done to change and get rid of gender bias in the mines of South Africa?

4. Does your team think that the changes have been successful?

5. What else can be done to reduce gender bias in mining and other areas in the
workplace?

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Homework: Prepare to ask and answer questions

Read through all four of the articles given in lesson 5.1, so that you know the
background about the other three topics that other teams will talk about. You will
ask the other teams questions after they have given their presentations. Make a
few notes below to help you:

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5.3  Presentation of reports
During the previous lesson, each team spent the lesson preparing an oral report on
one of the mining topics. You were all asked to read the articles on the other three
topics to enable you to ask questions on the other teams’ topics.
Get together in your team first and spend five minutes revising your
presentation. You will only have two minutes to do your presentation. You can use
visual aids such as a poster to show the class what you mean.
Your teacher will then ask the teams in turn to make their presentations.
Remember to ask the other teams questions after they have presented their topics.
The idea is not to make them look bad, but to learn from them by asking those
questions.

Figure 15: A team giving a presentation to their class, using illustrations and a blackboard to help the
speaker.

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Homework: Reflect on the weeks’ work

1. What was your topic about?

2. Compare advantages and disadvantages of the mining industry to South

African society.

3. What can be done to improve people’s understanding of mining?

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4. What can be done to make mining more beneficial to society?

Next week

Next week, you will start your Mini-PAT for this term. You will design and build a
model of a lifting system for a mine. You will also prepare a tender for building the
lifting system.

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Chapter 6: mini-pat
A mine needs a lifting
system
This mini-PAT will run over four weeks. For this mini-PAT, you should form teams. Each team will
pretend to be a mechanical engineering company. Each company will submit a tender for the design
and construction of a “mine-lifting system”, commonly called “mine shaft headgear”.
The lifting system is used to take miners underground and back up again. It is also used to lift the
mined ore to the surface. After you have designed your lifting system, you will have to make a model
of it. The model will have a mine winch, shaft headgear and a lift cage.

Week 1 ........................................................................................................................ 89
Investigate: Mine shaft headgear and head frames....................................................................... [7]
Investigate: Mine winches.......................................................................................................... [5]
Design: Design brief, specifications and constraints for a mine shaft headgear.............................. [8]

Week 2 ........................................................................................................................ 98
Evaluate: Choose and combine the best ideas............................................................................. [6]
Make: Sketch your team’s final design........................................................................................ [5]
Make: Draw your head frame design........................................................................................... [4]
Make: Draw your head frame design to scale.............................................................................. [5]
Make: Draw your head frame design as a 3D isometric projection................................................. [6]

Week 3 ...................................................................................................................... 106

Make: List of materials and budget............................................................................................. [5]
Make: A model head frame...................................................................................................... [13]

Week 4 ...................................................................................................................... 113

Make: Complete your model ...................................................................................................... [2]
Communicate: Present your tender............................................................................................. [3]
Evaluate different tenders.......................................................................................................... [1]
. [Total marks: 70]

Technology grade 8 term 3 87

Figure 1: This is the tower above an old mine shaft. A cable winds around “sheave” wheels on the
“headgear” at the top. These cables are attached to a lift that transports miners, machines and ore into
and out of the mine.

Figure 2: This photograph shows detail of sheave wheels used for pulling in a cable. The sheave wheels
in the photograph are used for a cable car, but they are similar to the sheave wheels used on a mine’s
winch system.

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Week 1
An opportunity to tender for a mining contract
Platinum, a very valuable metal, has been found on land belonging to a tribe in
a rural area. Samples show that the platinum is only 500 m below the surface.
An international and South African joint venture company, called Platinum
Stars, has decided to invest money in this project. They want to sink a shaft to
the 500 m point to take a few samples. Then they will decide on the best mining
method.
A tender is an offer by
Your engineering company wants to submit a tender
someone to do work at a
for the construction of the shaft headgear. The headgear
certain price. When a company
must be able to transport miners and equipment 500 m
“puts out a tender”, it invites
underground. It must also be able to lift platinum ore people to apply to do a job for
that weighs 10 tons back up to the surface. them.

Headgears and mine winches

An overview of a mine shaft

Study Figure 3 on the following page. This picture shows a mine’s lifting system.
The whole lifting system is called the headgear. There are four main parts to a
mine’s headgear:

Part 1: The winch or hoist is in a winding house. This part of the system is used to
wind or unwind the steel cable.
The hoist is attached to a motor and a control system.
The mine cage and the skips are lowered into the mine when a steel cable
unwinds from the winch.
The mine cage and skips are raised when the steel cable winds up again.

Part 2: The sheave wheel is a pulley wheel that sits above the mine shaft. The
hoist cable passes over the sheave wheel and then down the shaft of the mine.
The sheave wheel reduces the sliding friction of the mine cable.

Part 3: The head frame is the structure that supports the sheave wheel. It must be
strong enough to keep the sheave wheel in place when it lifts the heavy mine cage.
The left “legs” of the head frame slope towards the hoist. This is due to the
tension in the cable pulling the whole frame in that direction. The sloping legs
prevent the head frame from toppling or falling over.

Part 4: The cage and skips. The cage is used to transport miners and equipment
up and down the mine. Attached alongside or underneath the cage are skips.

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 Skips are used to bring the ore and the waste rock out of the mine.

Figure 3: A mine’s lifting system

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Investigate: Mine shaft headgear and head frame  (30 minutes)

Individual work
Use the picture in Figure 3 and your own information to answer the questions
below:
1. What does the headgear of a mine do? (½)

2. What happens in the winding house of a mine? (½)

3. Explain what a sheave wheel is and what it does. (½)

4. What does a head frame do? (½)

5. Why do the legs on a head frame always slope towards the

winch?(½)

6. What do you call the two parts of the lift that goes down a mine? (½)

7. What do these two parts of the lift do? (½)

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 Look at the photograph in Figures 1 and 2. The photographs show the head
frame and sheave wheel on the tower above a mine shaft.
Study the structure of the head frame and then answer the questions below. You
will have to use your knowledge of frame structures to answer the questions.

8. Do you think I-beams are a good thing to use for head frame supports?
Why?(½)

9. Where do you see triangulation used on this structure? Explain how

triangulation helps to make the head frame structure stronger. (½)

10. What has been used to stop the head frame from being pulled over by the
winch?(½)

11. Look at the sheave wheel. Has it been placed in the middle of the upright
column? Why do you think it is important to place the sheave wheel in exactly
the right place on the head frame? (1)

12. Make a 2D sketch of a head frame and sheave wheel in the space on the
next page. (1)
Total [7]

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Investigate: Mine winches (30 minutes)

Individual work
Look at the pictures in Figure 4. The pictures show two different types of mining
hoists. The first one has one sheave wheel, while the second has two sheave
wheels. Use these pictures to help you answer the questions below:

Figure 4: These are both mine winches with drum hoists. The winch on the right has two sheave wheels
and a counterweight.

1. What are the differences between the two mine winches shown here? (½)

2. What do you think a counterweight does for a mine winding system?

Hint: imagine winding the winch by hand. (1)

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3. If the mine winch drum diameter is 6 m, calculate how far the cage will drop
for each single rotation of the drum.  (½)

4. If the mine winch drum diameter is 6 m, calculate how far the counterweight
will lift for each single rotation of the drum. (½)

5. Calculate how many turns of cable you will need on the drum for your cage and
skip to move up and down by 500 m. (½)

6. Which of the two systems in Figure 4 do you think will need the largest motor?
Explain your answer. (1)

7. Which system will be safer? Explain your answer. (1)

Total [5]

Design: Design brief, specifications and constraints for a mine

shaft headgear  (60 minutes)
Individual work
Sketch a whole headgear solution that might impress Platinum Stars. You should
mark your sketch with the approximate sizes for:
• the depth of the shaft,
• the carrying load of the skip and the mass of the counterweight,
• the approximate size of the winding drum,
• the approximate height of the headgear and the sheave wheel, and
• the approximate sizes of the mining cage and skip.

Note: You might have to do a bit of research on your own.

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 Have another look at the scenario titled “An opportunity to tender for a mining
contract,” at the start of this chapter.

Write the design brief. Use the following questions to help you:
1. What is the opportunity you are tendering for? (½)

2. What do you need to do to tender for this project? (½)

3. Write the design brief in the space below. Start your paragraph with: (1)
We are going to design and make …

Write a list of specifications and constraints

4. Think about people: Write down at least two things that the mine winch
system must do for people. How should it help the mineworkers? What should it
do, or not do, for the local people who live near the mine? (1)

5. Think about purpose: What is the headgear for? What must it do? How fast
must it travel? How far? How much weight does it need to carry? Write down at
least two things about the purpose of this mine-winch system. (1)

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6. Think about safety: What will happen if something goes wrong? What must your
system have to try to prevent things from going wrong? What things must your
system have to deal with emergencies when something does go wrong? Write
down at least two things that will help to ensure that your design is safe. (1)

7. Think about the environment: Write down at least two things to help the
environment when you design and make this headgear system. (1)

8. Think about appearance: Do you think appearance matters when you design
something such as headgear? Can your head frame’s appearance help you to
win the tender? Write down at least two things about the way you want your
headgear to look. (1)

9. Think about costs: What can you say about your costs for this project? Do
you want the most expensive and the best of everything, or the cheapest and
simplest, or something in-between? (1)

Total [8]

Next week

Next week, you will do Week 2 of your mini-PAT. You will form engineering
companies, evaluate ideas and choose the best idea. You will draw your solutions
and begin to prepare your company’s tender.

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Week 2
Your company prepares a tender

This is the second week of the mini-PAT for mechanical systems in Grade 8.
During this week, you will form your own engineering company.
Then you will combine all of the ideas you came up with last week, and choose
one idea to for your tender.
You will present this tender to the mining joint venture company, Platinum
Stars, later in this mini-PAT.
Platinum Stars will only accept tenders from companies. That means that you
cannot submit a tender as an individual person.
A company is formed when two or more people come together for business
reasons or goals.
Your business goal will be to do engineering work for Platinum Stars.

Form a company (20 minutes)

Team work
1. Choose your company partners by arranging yourselves into teams of 3 to 5
people. Write down the names of each company member. This list of names
will need to appear on your tender document. Also write your ID number next
to your name.

2. Write a mission statement: Write one short sentence saying what your
company will do, how you will do it, who you will do it for, and why you think
you will be able to do it well. Start your sentence with the words:
‘We at Underground Mining Engineers aim to …

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Evaluate: Choose and combine the best ideas  (40 minutes)

Combine your specifications and constraints

Team work
Look at the specifications and constraints that you did last week. They won’t
be exactly the same. Make a new list that includes the best of everyone’s
specifications and constraints. Everyone in the team should write this list in their
workbooks.
1. Think about people:  (1)

2. Think about purpose:(1)

3. Think about safety:(1)

4. Think about the environment:(1)

5. Think about appearance:(1)

6. Think about costs:(1)

Total [6]

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Combine your head frame and sheave wheel ideas

Individual work
Look at all the sketches you made last week of the head frame and sheave
wheel. Use your specifications and constraints and discuss which combination of
ideas will work best.

1. Now make a sketch of your company’s final design in the space below. [5]

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Make: Draw your head frame (60 minutes)
Individual work
Look at Figure 5. It is a working drawing for a small head frame design.
This view shows:
• the size of the sheave wheel,
• the height of the sheave wheel, and
• the distance between the front and back legs.

Figure 5: A working drawing of a head frame

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1. Draw your head frame in the grid below. Use
Figure 5 to help you. You should show all the
dimensions for the main parts of your head
frame design.
Note: You may need to add triangulation to
make your structure stronger.
You don’t have to draw this to scale.
Don’t show dimensions. [4]

Figure 5 repeated

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Make a 2D scale drawing Scale:
Suggested scale for a small
2. Now use rulers and set squares to draw a more head frame: 1 cm = 1 m.
accurate version of your company’s head frame Suggested scale for a larger
design. Use the grid below. [5] head frame: 1 cm = 2 m.

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Make a 3D isometric drawing Isometric means equal
The picture in Figure 6 shows a 3D isometric view of measure.
a head frame design. The drawing has been done on One little triangle in this grid,
isometric grid paper, using instruments such as rulers represents 50 cm in each
and setsquares. direction of the real structure.
That means that a line that
This view shows all three dimensions of the
crosses 10 triangles is
structure. You can see the sizes and the detail of the
500 cm or 5 m long.
height, width and length.

Figure 6: A 3D isometric view of a head frame design

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3. Make a 3D drawing of your own head frame on the isometric grid below.  [6]

Total [15]

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Week 3
How much will it cost?

To win a tender, you will have to show that your design is going to be the best and
the best value for money. The table on the next page will help you to work out a
tender budget.

Design: Make a list of materials and work out the

budget (30 minutes)
Individual work
Hints:
• Look at your head frame drawing. Calculate the total length of steel column you
will need for the legs of the head frame. Then enter the total length into the
Quantity Needed row of the table. Calculate the cost of the total length of steel
columns that you need to buy and enter the amount into the table.
• Calculate the total length of steel you will need for the cross braces and enter
this total into the table. Calculate the cost of the steel needed for bracing.
• Complete the rest of the table. Enter quantities you will need and calculate the
cost estimate for each item.
• Your project advisor says that you will need one project manager, one engineer,
four artisans, four semi-skilled workers and 12 unskilled workers on the project,
and that it will take six months to complete. Calculate the labour cost estimate
for each of these workers.
• Calculate the “subtotal” for each of the three cost categories, namely “steel for
the head frame”, “lift components” and “labour”.
• What will your total project cost be? Add up all of the subtotals of the different
cost categories to calculate the total project cost.
Mark allocation
• good estimates of materials quantities (1)
• correct calculation of labour quantities (person/hours)  (1)
• calculations of cost estimate per item (2)
• calculation of subtotal and total project cost (1)
Total [5]

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Item cost per unit quantity needed cost estimate

Costs of steel for the head frame

steel column R500 per metre

steel for cross
R20 per metre
braces
Sub-total: Costs for steel frame

Costs of lift components

sheave wheels R 150 000
winch and motor R 1 200 000
R 100 per
cable
metre
cage and skip R 350 000
Sub-total: Costs of lift components

Labour costs
R 30 000 per
project manager
month
R 30 000 per
engineers
month
R 25 000 per
artisans
month
semi-skilled R 20 000 per
workers month

R 12 000 per
unskilled workers
month

Sub-total: Labour costs

TOTAL PROJECT COST:

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Make a model head frame  (30 minutes + 60 minutes)

Team work
Now it is time to make a model of your head gear. You will need to make several
different parts:
• the head frame with its sheave wheel,
• the mine winch, and
• the model lift.
In this activity, you will make the first part, the head frame.

Remember: Your teacher will watch you while you make your model to see how
well you:
• work as a team, Safety tips:
• measure and mark things properly, Never play with cutting tools.
Never point the sharp end at
• cut and join parts accurately and with the
someone else. Keep your tools
correct tools,
neat and clean and in good
• finish and decorate your model, and working order. Do not spill glue
• use safe working practices. or leave the lid open as the
fumes are poisonous.
Not everything you try will work well. So don’t be
afraid to change your designs to improve them as you go along.

Make the steel columns

You can make your steel columns using cardboard. Look at Figure 7 to help you.
You can make round or rectangular columns depending on the former you use:

Figure 7: How to make the steel columns

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• If you use a rectangular former, you will get a A former is a shape that can
channel. A strip of wood 2 cm × 1 cm will work be used to make tubes. For
well for this. example, when you wrap a
• If you use a round former, you can make round flat sheet over a rectangular
columns out of cardboard. A 10 cm dowel former, you make a tube with a
works well for this. rectangular cross section.
1. Choose how you will make your columns and then
make all the pieces you will need for your model. Have another look at Figure 7
to help you. (1)

Make the cross braces

You can make cross braces by joining flat pieces of
corrugated cardboard together. You can use tape or
glue to join the flat pieces. Look at Figure 8 to help you.
Figure 8 shows three types of cross braces: angle irons,
T-beams and I-beams.

2. Decide which of these cross braces you need for

your head frame. Then make the cross braces
you need. You will use these cross braces and the
columns you made earlier to make a model of your
head frame.  (2)

Figure 8: Cross braces

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Make flat frames
Look at Figure 9. This figure shows one side of a frame.
• T-Beams have been used to join the vertical and the sloping column.
• Cross bracing has been added to strengthen the lower half of the frame.
3. Carefully cut your beams to the right size and shape to fit neatly between the
columns. Then glue or tape them on. (2)
4. Cut your angle sections so that they can fit across the columns. Trim the ends
so that the outside of the angle can be joined to the side of the column, but
remember that the angle has to fit neatly between the columns. (2)
5. When you are happy with your first side frame, make the second in
exactly the same way. (1)

Join your side frames

6. Now make your head frame by joining your two side frames together. (2)

Figure 9: How to make one side of a frame

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Make a sheave wheel
Look at the pictures shown in Figure 10. They show two ways to make a model
sheave wheel:
• You can use a round cardboard box, such as the ones used to pack cheese
triangles.
• You can cut three circles from corrugated cardboard and sandwich them
together.

For both methods, a plastic straw has been used to make a bearing through the
middle of the wheel. This bearing will make the wheel turn easily on its axle or
shaft.

7. Make you own sheave wheel. Try to make it as close to the correct scale size as
you can. Use Figure 10 to help you. (1)

Figure 10: Two ways to make a model sheave wheel

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Mount the sheave wheel on an axle and fit it to the frame
Your sheave wheel has to turn easily. It needs to have an axle passing through the
centre of the wheel. You can use a dowel stick, about 4 mm in diameter, or a long
nail (about 60 cm long) for your axle.
Look at the picture in Figure 11. A sheave wheel has been added to the top of a
head frame in the following way:
• The axle is taped onto the top of the head frame.
• The wheel, with a straw through its centre, can rotate freely on the axle.
• Extra pieces of straw have been added to keep the wheel in the centre of the axle.

8. Now add your sheave wheel to its head frame. Use Figure 11 to help you. (2)
Will your axle bend? Have a look at the axle supporting your wheel. This axle
will have to carry all the weight of the lift. Does it have enough support? If the
distance between the axle and the supports are too long, then it will bend and
might break.
If you need to, add extra supports for the axle at the top of the head frame.

Figure 11: How to add a sheave wheel to the top of a head frame
Total [13]

Next week

Next week, you will complete your mini-PAT. You will make a winch and a lift and
then you will present your tender.

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Week 4
Communicate a headgear tender
This week is the last week of your mini practical assessment task for mechanical
systems in Grade 8.
You will make your mine winch and add it to the head frame you completed last
week. Then you will add a lift, commonly called a cage, to your model.
After testing your system and adjusting it, you will collect all the work you
have done so far for this mini-PAT, and use it to prepare a tender presentation to
present to the tender board of the Platinum Stars Mining Company.

Figure 12: How to make a model mine winch

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Complete your model: Make a winch and cage  (20 minutes)

Do you remember investigating crank winches in Chapter 4 and in this chapter?

Look at Figure 12 again. It shows you how to make a model mine winch yourself.
• The winding drum for this mine winch was made from a toilet-roll cardboard
tube.
• The winch drum has been put onto a 2 l plastic ice-cream tub. This will be the
winch house.
• This winch does not have a motor attached. Instead it uses a crank handle. But
if you have a motor, then you can connect a belt drive or a gear system to the
winch’s drive wheel instead.

Here are a few important things to remember when making a mine winch such
as this one.
• The drum has to turn when the crank handle is Shafts and axles:
turned. That means that the shaft that connects
The centre of a wheel is called
the small wheel with the crank handle to the a shaft when it turns with the
winding drum must be tightly attached to the wheel.
drum, and to the drive wheel. You can use glue When the centre of the wheel
or tape to make sure that the shaft is firmly stuck stays still and the wheel slides
onto the drum and wheel. over it, it is called an axle.
• The shaft must be able to turn easily in the holes
on the sides of the ice-cream container.
• The rope or string must be firmly attached to the winding drum and it must not
be able to come off. Imagine what would happen to the lift cage if it did.
1. Make a winch drum of your own. Remember it must be able to lift and lower a
cage into the mine.
Will your cage be square or round? You can use a paper-towel tube for a round
cage or any square box for a square cage. Tie your lift cage to the shaft side of
the sheave wheel. [2]

Test your head gear

With your cage and your winch attached to the
head frame, you now have a complete system.
Test your system to ensure that you can lift and
lower miners, and lift mined ore from a shaft
underground.

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Evaluate the head gear (10 minutes)
Evaluate your solution
Look at the model your team has made.
1. Do you think the head gear is suitable for transporting miners to a depth of
500 m underground, and for lifting mined rock samples from underground?
Explain your answer.

2. What have you done to ensure that your system will be safe?

3. What have you done to make your headgear look good so that the community
will not complain about the mine ruining the area?

4. Do you think the environment will be damaged in any way by your structure?

5. Why should the tender board choose your head gear?

6. Are there any things the tender board won’t like?

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Present your solution to Platinum Stars  (90 minutes)

Prepare your tender

1. Prepare a team presentation to the tender board of the Platinum Stars Mining
Company. Each member of your team should talk about one of the points
below:
• Your head frame ideas. This person should show the sketches and drawings
you did while designing your head frame.
• Your winch idea. This person should show the sketches and drawings you
did while designing your mine winch.
• The budget. This person should talk about the costs of making your
headgear.
• Why the tender board should choose your solution. This person should use
your 3D model to convince the tender board that your solution is the best.

Present your tender

2. Now present your tender bid to the tender board.  (3)

Evaluate different tenders

3. While listening to other people’s tender presentations, write down some of the
best points about their tenders.

4. Which tender do you think should win? Explain your decision.

Remember: To be good at evaluating you must show that you can judge other
people’s work objectively. (1)

Total [4]

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Chapter 7
Electrical systems
and control
In this chapter, you will learn how to make light bulbs light up by building electric circuits. You’ll learn
about circuit components, input and output devices, and control devices such as switches. Finally,
you will learn how to draw these components in circuit diagrams, using the correct symbols.

7.1 Explore simple circuits ................................................................................................... 120

7.2 Parallel connections: Two, three or more paths for current................................................ 125
7.3 Input, output and control devices in a circuit..................................................................... 130

Technology grade 8 term 4 117

Figure 1

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CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 119

7.1  Explore simple circuits
Make bulbs light up

You need all the components (parts) shown in Figure 2 to do this activity.

Figure 2: Components to make an electric circuit

Divide into teams of four to six learners. Two teams can work together if
there is only one cell per team. Discuss the following in your teams, and do the
experiments:
• Find out how to connect the parts to make the bulb light up. Find three or more
ways to make the bulb light up.
• Touch the glowing bulb using your fingers. What does it feel like?
• Look inside the glass part of the bulb. Which part of the bulb gets hot?
• What happens when you connect two cells instead of one cell?
• How can you make the bulb flash on and off?

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From this activity you found that a bulb will glow only if the wires touch it on
the screw contact and the solder knob at the bottom.
You found that you must connect metal parts to make a path from the knob of a
cell, through the bulb, and back to the flat end of a cell. This path is called a circuit.
The current will not flow if there is a gap in the path of the conductors.

An electric circuit is a complete path of conductors.

The cells cause a current of electricity to flow
around the circuit. The current will flow only if the
circuit has no breaks in it.

The cells provide the energy to make the electricity flow through the circuit, and
the electricity flowing through the “filament wire” inside the light bulb makes it
glow.
Cells use a chemical reaction to make electricity flow through a circuit. In
Chapter 9, you will learn more about the chemical reactions in a cell.

The voltage of a cell

The cells have a number, for instance “1,5 V”, printed on them. Find that number
on your cells. The number represents 1,5 volts. You say that the cell has a voltage of
1,5 volts.
When you connected two cells end-to-end you made When two or more cells are
a two-cell battery with a voltage of 3 volts. The 3 volt connected to provide electrical
battery can give more energy to the bulb and so the current to a circuit, you call it
bulb will glow much brighter. a battery of cells, or simply
a battery. You can also call a
single cell a battery.

CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 121

Connecting bulbs in series

For this activity, you will need the following:

You can make a simple cell
• a battery made from three cells in series in
holder by rolling three cells in
a cell holder (the cells must be fairly new), a sheet of A4 paper. Put sticky-
• three bulbs in bulb holders, tape on the rolled-up paper to
• connecting wires, keep it in place and around the
• a push switch, and ends of the battery. Push the
wires under the tape, to touch
• a small piece of paper with the words
the battery terminals.
“indicator bulb” on it.

You can make a push switch

from a piece of stiff plastic
and two metal paper-fasteners.
A push switch only makes
electrical contact while you
keep it pressed in.

Figure 3

Set up the circuit shown in Figure 3. Press the switch to make the bulb glow, and
notice how brightly it glows. This first bulb will be your indicator bulb.

If the indicator bulb is bright, the current is big.

If the indicator bulb is dim, the current is small.

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Now connect another bulb in the circuit as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4

Cover the new bulb with your hand and look only at the indicator bulb. The
indicator bulb is not as bright as before. What do you know about a current that
has to run through two bulbs?
Connect a third bulb to the circuit as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5

Cover both new bulbs with your hand and look only at the indicator bulb. How
has the current changed?

CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 123

Series connection
When we connect bulbs with only one path for the current, as in Figure 5, we say
that the bulbs are connected “in series”. The current must go through each bulb in
the row.
1. What will happen if you add a fourth bulb?

2. If we add more bulbs to the circuit in series, the indicator bulb will glow more
dimly. This tells us that if we add more the current becomes
.

Resistance
The same battery can produce big and small currents. The current depends on the
resistance.
As we add more bulbs in series, the battery finds it harder to push current
around the circuit, and the current becomes smaller and smaller. The reason is
that the filament wire in each bulb has resistance. The bulbs have resistance and
therefore we say they are “resistors”.

The bigger the resistance, the smaller the current.

• Good conductors have low resistance, bad
conductors have high resistance. Examples of
good conductors are copper, gold, silver and
aluminium. They have low resistance.
• Examples of medium or bad conductors are Nichrome is an alloy (mix) of
tungsten, graphite – the black compound in nickel and chromium. It is often
your pencil – and nichrome. They do conduct used in electrical appliances
electricity, but not very well. The filament-wire in such as heating elements since
a bulb is made of tungsten. it has a high resistance.
• Examples of very bad conductors are plastic,
glass and wood. They have such high resistance
that a battery cannot make any current flow
through them. We say they are good “insulators”.
The plastic covering on electrical wire is the
insulator for the wire.

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7.2 Parallel connections: Two, three or more paths for
current
Figure 4 shows two light bulbs connected in series to make them light up. Connect
them again and try to remember how brightly they glow.
Now connect the two light bulbs in a different way, as shown in Figure 6 below.

Figure 6

Both bulbs light up when you press the switch, but now they burn brighter than
they did when they were connected as in Figure 4.
All the current provided by the cell passes through the red wire. But that current
is split between the two blue wires.

When resistors are connected in a circuit so the

current is split between the resistors, you say that
the resistors are connected in “parallel”.

CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 125

Connect three resistors in parallel

For this activity, you will need:

• a battery of 3 good cells,
• 4 bulbs in bulb holders,
• a press switch, and
• 8 connecting wires.

Look at the circuit in Figure 7.

Figure 7

1. How many paths for a current can you see? With your finger, follow the paths
for a current from the positive terminal of the battery through the bulbs, to the
negative terminal of the battery.

2. Will the indicator bulb be as bright, brighter or dimmer than in Figure 6?

3. Test your idea. Make the circuit in Figure 6 and then add a bulb as in Figure 7
4. Was your idea correct?

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When you connect bulbs so that the current has two or more paths to go
through, you are connecting bulbs in parallel.
If you make more parallel paths for current, the battery can put out more
current.
This is the same as saying that if you add more paths in parallel, then the
resistance in the circuit becomes less.

Short circuits
Look at the circuit in Figure 8. Someone has made a mistake and connected the
orange wire from the terminal to the switch.

Figure 8

Find the orange wire. Does it have a bulb connected to it?

This wire is a zero-resistance path for current. If you press the switch, the
battery will put out as much current as it possibly can. It will do that because it
finds a zero-resistance path.
Almost all of the current supplied by the battery will go through the orange wire,
and only a very small amount of current will go through the bulb.
The battery will put out its energy as fast as it possibly can. Therefore it will get
hot and it will be “dead” or “flat” in about 10 minutes.
The person’s mistake was to make a parallel path A short circuit is a parallel
for a current with the wire. We call that path a short path for current that has
circuit. almost zero resistance.

CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 127

5. Why does the bulb not glow if you make a short circuit path?

6. What happens to the wire forming the short circuit? Why?

7. Look at Figure 9. The bulb is glowing, but if you press the switch, the bulb stops
glowing. Explain the problem, and draw a picture on the next page to show how
you would connect the circuit in the correct way. The bulb should glow only
when you press the switch.

Figure 9

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Why short circuits are dangerous

ESKOM supplies energy at 230 volts which can make a heater red-hot. This is safe
in a heater, since only the resistor in the heater gets hot, and not the wires from
the plug. But if the insulation is broken on the wires, the wires may touch each
other and create a short circuit. The current will not go through the heater, but
take another path along the wires instead. The current will give off all of its energy
to the wires. Then the wires can become red-hot and set fire to something.
All electrical appliances must only be used in the way the manufacturer
recommends. Never attempt to fix a broken electrical appliance without expert
help, and always make sure that appliances are switched off, or even unplugged
when not in use.

CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 129

7.3  Input, output and control devices in a circuit
An electrical circuit uses an input of electrical energy to provide an output of some
type of energy. Examples are described below:
• A light bulb uses the input of electrical energy provided by a battery to give the
output of light. You can say that a light bulbs converts electrical energy into light
energy.
• The resistance wire or element in a kettle gives an output of heat energy.
• The loudspeaker of a radio converts an output of sound energy. This means that
it gives out sound from the energy that is going into it.
• An electric motor gives an output of movement or kinetic energy.

We can use a systems diagram to describe an electrical circuit:

energy input ➱ control device ➱ energy output

Figure 10: Input devices

Figure 11: Output devices

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Bulbs, heaters and other output devices have resistance. That means the
electricity loses energy as it passes through the device, and it transfers the energy
to the device. So a bulb is a resistor, and a heater element is also a resistor.

Output devices have resistance.

Control devices
We want to switch circuits on and off, control how much energy output we get
from a circuit, or control how much current flows in certain parts of the circuit.
We can do this with the use of control devices. Examples of control devices are
switches, dimmer-switches and resistors.
You have seen a light-switch on the wall of a room. That type of switch is called
a “rocker switch”. A “press switch” is used for doorbells. It completes the circuit
only while you press it in. A “slide switch” is used for table lamps.
A “dimmer switch” lets you control the brightness of
To “vary” means to change, so
the lights in a room. A dimmer switch uses a resistor this device is called a variable
that allows you to control the current by twisting a resistor.
knob. This is called a variable resistor.
Some resistors are not variable, and they have a fixed (unchanging) resistance.
When you design a circuit, you can choose a resistor with the right amount of
resistance to control the current in a part of the circuit.
In Grade 9, you will learn about more types of control devices.

Figure 12: Control devices

CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 131

Design and make a switch – different types of swicthes

A switch has a gap where the conductors do not make contact.

• When you press the switch, you complete the
To switch on a circuit, you
circuit and the current can flow through. You
close the switch. To switch off
have closed the switch.
a circuit, you open the switch.
• When you move the switch to break the circuit,
you have opened the switch.
For this activity, you will need:
• a circuit with a battery,
• an output device such as a bulb, beeper or motor, and
• the materials and tools you need to make a switch.
1. Design and make your switch.
2. Test your switch.

Different switches can work in different ways, for example the switch can:
• close only while you press it,
• close and stay closed even after you remove your hand,
• close when somebody lifts up a heavy object,
• close when somebody opens a door, or
• close after a certain number of minutes.
3. Look at the ideas for switches in Figure 13. Explain how each one will work.
(a) Switch A:

(b) Switch B:

(c) Switch C:

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(d) Switch D:

(e) Switch E:

Figure 13: More ideas for making switches

CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 133

The symbols used to draw circuit diagrams

After you have worked with real electric circuits, you can start drawing them with
symbols instead of trying to draw what the circuit really looks like. Engineers,
scientists and technicians mostly use symbols and diagrams.
A list of symbols for different electrical components is given on the following
two pages. In Grade 9, you will learn the symbols for even more components.

Picture of the part Symbol for the part Name of the part
Input devices
A single cell: These cells
usually give 1,5 volts.

A battery of three cells in

series, usually giving
4,5 volts.

A generator converts
rotational movement
into electricity, by using a
magnet and coils of copper
wire.

A photo-voltaic cell: This

input device changes light
energy into electricity.

Any good conductor:

Usually it is a wire or copper
strip, but a fork or a coin
could also be a conductor.

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Control devices
a switch

A resistor: This can be made from

nichrome wire that is a weak
conductor, or from graphite as in a
“carbon resistor”.

A variable resistor: Dimmer switches

are variable resistors. The picture
of the bottom of a variable resistor
shows the coiled resistance wire
inside it.
Output devices
A bulb, also called a lamp: Bulbs are
also resistors.

A heater: The resistance wire in

a heater gets hot when electrical
current flows throw it.

A buzzer or a beeper produces sound

as an output.

An electric motor: It converts

electrical energy into rotational
movement. It is similar to a generator,
but works in reverse.

CHAPTER 7: ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND CONTROL 135

Homework: Revision

1. Draw the circuit diagram for Figure 4 below:

2. Draw the circuit diagram for Figure 6 below, but show a beeper connected in
parallel with a bulb instead of two bulbs in parallel.

Next week
Next week, you will learn about different energy sources that people use to provide
them with heat and light.

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Chapter 8
Energy supply for the
people
In Chapter 7, you learnt about electrical circuits and electrical components. You also learnt about the
international signs that are used to draw diagrams for these circuits.
In this chapter, you will learn more about the practical aspects of electricity and how it affects
people, particularly in informal settlements and rural areas. You will learn what different sources
of energy are used for heating, lighting and cooking, and how illegal electricity connections cause
problems for the country.
Lastly you will discuss how our country needs to provide access to electricity for households,
industries and buildings such as schools and hospitals. You will write a report on this topic.

8.1 Energy usage in rural and informal settlements................................................................. 140

8.2 Unsafe and illegal electricity connections......................................................................... 148
8.3 Sharing electricity fairly................................................................................................... 152

Figure 1: Pylons that carry the country’s main electricity supply

Technology grade 8 term 4 137

 Figure 2

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CHAPTER 8: energy supply for the people 139

8.1  Energy usage in rural and informal settlements
Before electricity: Clever ways of finding and using energy

In earlier times, before the introduction of electricity, communities made clever

plans to get light and heat – aspects of life that modern humans, entirely
dependent on various forms of electricity, simply take for granted. Let’s see
what communities in our country used for fuel and lighting before the advent of
electricity.
African smiths discovered how to produce high temperatures in their village
furnaces by burning wood. In these furnaces, they manufactured steel for
weapons and implements. The furnaces date back over 2 000 years. Wood from the
indigenous acacia robusta tree, which is particularly hard and therefore smoulders
when it is lit, was used in these Iron-age furnaces. The same wood was also used
for cooking fires and for lighting purposes.
Early “ovens” that were created by digging large holes and lining them with dung
and other heat-retaining substances, were also used thousands of years ago.

Figure 3: A pit fire

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Energy for heating, lighting and cooking in rural and informal
settlements in the late twentieth century

Electricity was introduced in the country early in the twentieth century, but
was mainly allocated to cities and industrial areas. As the century progressed,
electricity reached more populated areas, but rural and informal settlements were
still mostly not connected. As late as 1994, only 1% of rural households had access
to electricity! Other methods had to be used.
Heating
Coal and charcoal were the fuels mainly used for heating in the absence of
firewood. Wood was cheaper than coal, but it was harder to obtain because the
areas around the settlements had been stripped by earlier inhabitants.
Another source of energy was gas, but this was also
A heating element converts
expensive, and needed special equipment such as gas
electricity to heat through
bottles and factory-made elements to heat the houses
resistance encountered in the
and shacks. material the element is made
Paraffin was another popular source of energy of. When gas is used, the
because it was easy to obtain and the heaters that burning gas heats the element,
burnt paraffin could be bought quite cheaply. But which retains and radiates
paraffin has safety concerns, which you will look at heat.
later in this chapter.
Lighting
Lighting is a necessity in daily life. Imagine trying to do your homework in the
dark! By 1994, candles were still the main source of lighting in rural areas. Eighty-
two per cent of households relied on candles to provide lighting after dark.
Lights using paraffin as a fuel source made up most of the balance – nearly 17%
of the households. People who used gas for cooking could also use the gas for
lighting, and a few households relied on their wood and coal fires to provide light.
Gas, wood and coal were not very efficient.
A very small number of people could use electricity: almost less than 1% of the
population of informal settlements.
Cooking
Paraffin was the fuel mostly used for cooking in informal settlements: over 90%
of the people used paraffin cookers. Wood-burning and coal-burning stoves were
used by almost all of the other households, with gas only occasionally being used
for cooking.
Even though some areas were supplied with electricity, less than half of these
people used it to cook. Stoves and electrical appliances were too expensive for
most people living in informal settlements.

CHAPTER 8: energy supply for the people 141

Figure 4: A paraffin stove

Fire risks due to open fires as a source of energy

Open flames are always dangerous. Informal settlement housing is normally
built from materials that burn easily, and the shacks and houses are often built
very close together. People without electricity who are forced to use fire for
heating, lighting and cooking have to be extremely careful. Carelessness can cause
major fires. When a major fire occurs, emergency services have difficulty putting it
out since there are no access roads for their fire engines or water points for their
hoses. But due to the lack of basic services, such as electricity, people opt for the
use of alternative, often dangerous, energy sources out of necessity.

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A rural settlement is far away from any towns,
cities or big industries, such as mines. An informal
settlement consists of temporary houses for people
who moved closer to a town, city or industry,
usually to find work.
Rural settlements are often far away from power
stations, as well as from towns and cities where
there are already electricity transmission lines. It
is expensive to build electricity transmission lines
to far-away places. It also takes times to plan and
build them.
Some people in rural settlements cannot afford to
pay for electricity.
Informal settlements are usually built very quickly
and without planning, so there is no time to plan
or build electricity transmission lines before the
people move there.
Some people in informal settlements cannot afford
to pay for electricity either.

1. Imagine you were put in charge of changing the way electricity is supplied to
benefit the population of the country.
(a) Looking at the percentages of the population that had an electricity supply,
what would your main goal be?

(b) Which section of the population do you think needs the most attention?

(c) Write four or five things that you will investigate before you decide to supply
a rural or informal settlement with electricity for the first time.
For example: I would investigate the safety aspects of allocating
electricity to informal settlements.

CHAPTER 8: energy supply for the people 143

The present: Energy for all South Africans
The South African government announced its policy to provide free basic services
to the poor in 2000, the main areas of focus being free basic water, sanitation and
power supply.
Electricity is generally cheaper than traditional forms of energy such as coal,
paraffin, candles and wood. Even if the direct cost of electricity is not cheaper than
the direct cost of wood, the indirect savings or advantages need to be taken into
account. For example, members of a rural family could spend hours gathering and
chopping firewood, hours that could be spent doing something else if they had
electricity.
For the government to achieve their aim, about
The electricity network across
210 000 households a year are being connected to the South Africa is called the
national grid and another 10 000 a year are supplied national grid. It includes
with renewable energy. power stations, power lines
and substations.
Renewable energy is energy
Of the 12,8 million households that are electrified in that comes from resources
South Africa, about 52 000, mostly in rural areas, are that will not run out. The
being supplied by basic solar power. This is when sun and wind are the most
the sun’s energy is gathered to charge batteries that common sources of renewable
are then used to power appliances. energy.

By 2013, 85% of the country had been given access to electricity. In 1994, only
37% of the country had electrical power, so it can be said that the government’s
policy is effective.
The government is also encouraging poorer people to get connected to the
electricity system by offering an amount of free electricity. This is currently
50 kWh per household, per month.

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Investigate:Energy resources

Figure 5: An informal community with an electrical supply. Notice the control boxes at the top of the poles.
They control how much electricity each household uses and have a built-in safety mechanism for when
there is a short circuit.

Andile lives here. He plans to be an engineer and wants to find out what the
people in his community need. He already knows the following:
• The people in this community pay for energy when they use vehicles such as
cars, buses and taxis. The petrol is the energy resource these vehicles need.
• The people also pay for energy when they buy food to eat. Food is the energy
resource they need to function.

Now he wants to ask them about the energy they use for heating their homes in
winter, for cooking food and boiling water, and for light at night.
He separates the energy resources from the systems they use. For example, paraffin
is an energy resource that people pay for. But they use paraffin in different
systems: paraffin stoves, paraffin heaters, paraffin lamps, and even fridges that
work with paraffin.

CHAPTER 8: energy supply for the people 145

Help Andile get his questionnaire ready: Individual work
Complete the table below and on the next page by writing what you expect
people living in different households will tell you about the different energy
resources they use and the different systems they use them in. The first table is
for households that do not have electricity, and the second table is for households
that do have electricity.
You will find pictures of systems that use the energy resources in Chapter 5,
Chapter 7 and in this chapter.

Households without electricity

I think that people I think we will hear about DISADVANTAGES or
will tell us about these SYSTEMS and USES RISKS of using these
these ENERGY of the energy resources: energy resources:
RESOURCES:
paraffin

coal
wood

candles

batteries

gas

sunlight

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Households with electricity
I think that people I think we will hear DISADVANTAGES or RISKS
will tell us about about these SYSTEMS of using these energy
these ENERGY and USES of the energy resources:
RESOURCES: resources:
paraffin

coal
wood

candles

electricity that is not

supplied by batteries

batteries

gas

sunlight

CHAPTER 8: energy supply for the people 147

8.2  Unsafe and illegal electricity connections
ESKOM and other companies generate (make) electricity and supply it to users
through long wires called power lines. The users include shops, factories, mines
or people who live in flats, shacks or houses. The users connect to the big power
lines through thinner cables that go through metering boxes. The metering boxes
measure the amount of energy used.

Figure 6: A meter that measures legal electricity usage

Figure 7: Illegal electricity connections in an informal settlement. Notice that there is no control box at the
top of the pole for measuring electricity usage or for cutting off the electricity in case of a short circuit.

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The electricity company needs money to buy coal, new generators, and to pay
the people that maintain the generators. This is why we have to pay for electricity.
Electricity is not a cheap energy resource, which is why some people make illegal
connections. Look at Figure 7. You can see the wires people have connected to an
electricity pylon. These are illegal connections; the word “illegal” means “against
the law”.
The law says that only a qualified electrician can connect a building to the main
electricity supply from the municipality, which is called “the mains”. The mains
supply electricity with an energy level of about 220 volts. This much energy is
enough to kill you. This means poorly connected wires can really hurt someone
and cause a short circuit that could start a fire. You learnt about short circuits in
Chapter 5.
Electricians have been trained to make proper and safe connections, and know
how to connect the mains to the metering box. However, there are people who
think they know how to work with electricity, and they connect wires to the
mains on their own. Since this is illegal they don’t connect a metering box. They
will often use bare wire, without any insulation, that hangs in trees or lies on the
ground. They leave wires where they can easily come into contact with corrugated
zinc-iron walls and roofs, or gates and fences, or be cut by metal window-frames.
They forget or don’t know that all these metal objects can become conductors that
will carry 220 volts of electricity if they come into contact with the illegal live wires
from the mains. These connections can easily cause short circuits that often cause
fires in shacks and houses.

CHAPTER 8: energy supply for the people 149

The price of stolen electricity

Figure 8: An electrical substation. These are often targeted by electricity thieves.

Illegal connections are dangerous, and cost the whole country money! How does
electricity theft affect the following groups of people, and what actions can they
take to help stop this crime?
This is a discussion task. Work in groups of three or four.

1. The community:
(a) How are they affected by electricity theft?

(b) What actions can they take to help prevent electricity theft?

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2. Schools:
(a) How are they affected by electricity theft?

(b) What actions can they take to help prevent electricity theft?

3. The government.
(a) How are they affected by electricity theft?

(b) What actions can they take to help prevent electricity theft?

CHAPTER 8: energy supply for the people 151

8.3  Sharing electricity fairly
In section 8.1, you learnt how South Africa’s government is improving the
electricity supply so that more people can have access to electricity in their
homes.
Electricity has to be generated by ESKOM, and they not only have to supply
individual households, but also tend to the whole country’s electricity needs. As
you know, some systems are targeted by thieves, such as street lights and traffic
lights. These are municipal systems. Who else requires electricity?

Consumers of electricity

Work with a classmate on this exercise.

• Try to think of every situation where electricity is required by users in South
Africa.
• Think about transport, manufacturing and private users.
• Think about “hidden situations” where electricity is used, such as pumping
water to households.
• Does your school use electricity?

Examples are given below to guide you.

User Item
Railways Electrical trains
Stations
Hospitals Lighting
Machines
Factories

Mines

Shops

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As a class, discuss the sharing of resources in the country. Use your lists to
discuss the following points. Appoint someone to make notes on the blackboard.
These are some of the topics you need to cover, but you must discuss the use of
electricity in depth, so add other discussion points as they arise:
• Who do you think is the greatest user of electricity in the country?
• Which group of people need electricity the most? (For example, do you think
factories are more important than households?)
• Do you think that the supply of electricity affects job creation in South Africa?
• Who would suffer the most if there was a power failure for a long period of
time?
• Are informal settlements ready for electricity supply?
• What steps should be taken against people who steal electricity by using illegal
connections?
• What safe alternative energy sources do you think can be used where national
grid electricity is not available?

During and at the end of the discussion, make notes based on the points the
class has raised. You can use these notes as references to help you in the next
section.

Your notes:

CHAPTER 8: energy supply for the people 153

Write a report on electricity usage in South Africa

Write a report in the space below on what you have learnt about electricity usage
in the country. In this report, you should comment on the following topics:
• How does the availability of electricity influence the type of appliances people
use in their households? Do people in households that don’t have electricity
have the same kind of appliances as people who do have electricity?
• How are rural and informal settlements disadvantaged by their lack of access to
electricity?
• What is the impact of electricity theft and what can be done to prevent this
crime?

Next week
In the next chapter you, will learn about batteries and photovoltaic cells.

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Chapter 9
Electrochemical cells
and batteries
9.1 Electrochemical cells and batteries.................................................................................. 156
9.2 Rechargeable batteries................................................................................................... 160
9.3 Photovoltaic cells........................................................................................................... 163

Figure 1: Different appliances that use electrochemical cells or batteries of cells.

One of these appliances also uses a photovoltaic cell. Can you tell which one?

Technology grade 8 term 4 155

9.1  Electrochemical cells and batteries
In Chapter 7, you used cells such as the one in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2

The cells have a positive terminal and a negative terminal. The positive terminal
is the knob on the top of the cell and the negative terminal is the flat end of the
cell. The terminals are marked + for positive and – for negative. Find the + and –
marks on the cell or battery you have.
The voltage of a cell is also shown on it. Find the number on the cell or battery
you have. It will be 1,5 V or 9 V. The voltage is the amount of energy that the cell
can give to the electricity.
In Natural Sciences this year, you will learn about chemical reactions. An
“electrochemical cell” uses chemical reactions between substances inside the cell
to give energy to electricity.

What is inside a cell?

You can buy two types of electrochemical cells. The pictures below are called
“cut-away diagrams”. The cell is drawn as if the outer covering has been cut away
to show you the inside.

Figure 3: A zinc-carbon cell

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Figure 4: An alkaline cell

The electrolyte in the alkaline

The zinc-carbon cell in Figure 3 is a less expensive
cell contains potassium
kind of cell that does not last as long as an alkaline
hydroxide, which is an alkali.
cell. Both types of cells have a “positive electrode” and This is the reason for the name
a “negative electrode”, and these electrodes are in a of the cell.
syrupy substance called an “electrolyte paste.”
In the zinc-carbon cell, the negative electrode is made of zinc metal. This zinc
has been shaped into the casing that contains the paste of electrolyte. Outside the
zinc casing is a thin steel casing, which prevents you from seeing the zinc.

1. Which part of the zinc-carbon cell is the positive electrode?

In the alkaline cell in Figure 4, the steel casing is the positive electrode. The knob
on the top of the cell is part of the casing. The casing is usually wrapped in plastic,
except for the knob at the top.
2. Which part of the alkaline cell is the negative electrode?

CHAPTER 9: ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS AND BATTERIES 157

Make a cell and a battery

This activity has two parts. First, each

team in the class will make one cell.
Then all the teams will connect their
cells to make a battery and light a light
bulb.

Figure 5: A home-made cell

Each team needs:
• two 5-cent coins or pieces of copper of about the same size,
• a galvanised metal washer, which is a disc with
Galvanised means it’s coated
a hole in the middle,
with zinc.
• a piece of cloth or cardboard about the same size
or slightly smaller than the 5-cent coin, soaked in salty water,
• a piece of cooking foil, about the size of two fingers next to each other, and
• sticky tape.
Your teacher needs:
• a voltmeter or multimeter,
• a bowl of salty water – 1 teaspoon of salt to 100 ml of water,
• a light bulb,
• a beeper that will work at 3 volts, and
• six crocodile-clip wires, three insulated with red plastic and three with black
plastic.
Part 1: Make your cell
• Fold the cooking foil lengthwise, so that you have a long piece that is double in
thickness. Put it on the table. The foil is made of aluminium, which is a good
conductor.
• Squeeze the salty water out of the cloth.
• Next, put the zinc washer on the foil, put the wet cloth on the washer, and put
the copper coin on top of the wet cloth.
• The cloth must not hang over the zinc washer, and the salt water must not run
down the sides of the coin and washer. If this happens, it will create a short
circuit between the copper and zinc, which you don’t want.
The zinc washer is your negative electrode, the copper coin is your positive
electrode, and the salt water is your electrolyte.
Now you have made a cell. The cooking foil is the negative terminal where you
can connect the voltmeter.

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Call your teacher to measure the voltage!

Part 2: Make a battery

Each team should bring their cells to the front table and connect the cells as
seen in Figure 6 below.
You will connect six cells, but Figure 4 only shows four cells, to make the
picture easier to understand.

Figure 6: Connecting cells in series to make a battery

You have two 5-cent coins. The first one is the positive electrode of the cell, and the
second 5-cent coin is there to press the foil down on the first coin to make good contact.
Use sticky tape to hold the cooking foil down on the table, and connect wires to
the ends. The ends of the foil are your terminals.
Your teacher will measure the voltage of the whole battery. With six cells, the
voltage of the battery will be about 6 volts or slightly less.
Now connect a light bulb to the positive and negative terminals of the battery. Does
the light bulb glow?
Connect a beeper to the positive and negative terminals. Remember to connect
the red wire to the positive terminal. Can you hear it beep?
1. What are the two different metals used for the positive and negative electrodes?

2. How is the voltage of the battery different from the voltage of one cell?

CHAPTER 9: ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS AND BATTERIES 159

Batteries do not provide the full amount of volts
Before you connect the bulb or beeper, the battery has energy but it is not
producing a current, and its voltage is about 5,8 V. As soon as you connect the bulb
or beeper and the battery makes a current flow through the circuit, the voltage
drops to about 1,8 V. This happens because the current loses a bit of its energy
in the battery as it passes through the salt water and all the connections at the
electrodes. You call this the “internal resistance” of the battery.

9.2  Rechargeable batteries

Car batteries are rechargeable

Figure 7: A car battery

Figure 8: One of the cells in a car battery,

shown after it has been taken apart

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Figures 7 and 8 show the inside of a car battery. The colour red is used to show
the positive electrodes, and dark grey is used to show the negative electrodes. The
colour blue is used to show the liquid electrolyte. The electrodes and electrolyte do
not really have these colours. Everything inside a battery looks mostly grey.
A car battery has six cells and it can give energy at 12 volts. To keep the diagram
in Figure 7 simple, only four cells are shown.
1. What kind of diagram is Figure 7?

2. What is the positive electrode in each cell made of?

3. What is the negative electrode made of?

4. What kind of electrolyte is between the electrodes?

5. Are the cells in a car battery in series or in parallel?

6. A car needs 12 volts and a very big current to turn the starter-motor and start
the engine. Sometimes, on cold mornings, a car won’t start. A mechanic can
test the battery, and might say “There is one dead cell in this battery”. If the
battery has a dead cell, what voltage will the battery give?

7. On a voltmeter, the battery might show that it will give 12 volts, but when you
try to start the car, it won’t start. Give a possible reason why the battery is not
strong enough to start the car.

8. What can you measure to test your idea?

A car battery is different to the cells and batteries we usually buy. When we
have taken all the energy from the battery, we can recharge the battery and give it
energy again. A motor car has a “generator” or “alternator” that takes energy from
the engine and gives it to the battery while you drive the car. You will learn about
generators in the next chapter. A cell-phone battery is also a rechargeable battery.

CHAPTER 9: ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS AND BATTERIES 161

Batteries with cells in series or in parallel

In Chapter 7, you learnt about connecting bulbs in series or in parallel. You can
also connect cells in series or in parallel. You might get confused between “bulbs in
series” and “cells in series”. Look at the two figures below.

Figure 9: Bulbs in series Figure 10: Cells in series

The bulbs in Figure 10 glow brighter than those in Figure 9 because they share
the 4,5 V from the cells in series, so they get 2,25 V each. The bulbs in Figure 9
share the 1,5 Volts from one cell, so they get only 0,75 V each.
You might also get confused between “bulbs in parallel” (in Chapter 7) and “cells
in parallel”.

Figure 11: Bulbs in parallel Figure 12: Cells in parallel

In Figures 11 and 12, each bulb gets

1,5 V. Therefore, the bulbs in these figures
glow brighter than those in Figure 9 (0,75
V per bulb), but dimmer than those in
Figure 10 (2,25 V per bulb).

Figure 13

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1. Compare the circuits in Figures 12 and 13. Each circuit has three cells and one
light bulb, but the components are connected differently.
(a) In which circuit will the light bulb glow the brightest? Explain your answer.

(b) In which circuit will the light bulb glow for the longest amount of time
before the cells are “dead” or “flat”? Explain your answer.

9.3  Photovoltaic cells

This photo shows a type of energy input device
that you learnt about in Chapter 7. In this device,
the energy it gives does not come from reactions
between chemicals. Instead, it gives energy that comes
from light. This device is called a photovoltaic cell.
Photovoltaic comes from “photo” meaning “light” and
“voltaic” meaning you can get volts from the device.
The black parts in this picture are a special
substance called a semiconductor. This semi-
conductor substance is made of thin layers, like sheets
of plastic laid on top of each other. When light hits
these special layers, the energy of the light is given to
electric charges in the layers. The positive charges
gather on one side and the negative charges on the Figure 14: Photovoltaic cells on
a pole
other side.
When charges are separated like this, there is potential energy between them. If
you connect wires to the positive and negative sides, the charges will flow through
an output device such as a bulb, beeper or motor.
People often store the electrical energy generated by photovoltaic cells in a
rechargeable electrochemical battery. The photovoltaic cells generate electrical
energy during the day when the sun shines, and this energy is then stored in
the rechargeable battery. When it is dark at night, the photovoltaic cells do not
generate any electrical energy. But then people can use the electrical energy stored
in the rechargeable battery to power lights and other devices.

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Where we use photovoltaic batteries
Perhaps someone in the class has a
calculator that has a little photovoltaic
battery. When you hold the photovoltaic
cell in sunlight, the calculator can switch
on. It will work even if you move it into
the shade since it has a little battery that
stores the energy.
Photovoltaic cells can be very big. They Figure 15: Photovoltaic cells in a calculator
can be big enough to cover the roof of a
house.
The house then gets its electricity from sunlight. You might also see photovoltaic
cells outside a shop where you go to recharge your cell phone.
1. Why do you think the shop has photovoltaic cells outside instead of inside?

2. On which side of the roof of a house will you put photovoltaic cells? Why?

What have you learnt?

1. Complete the following sentence:

A reaction inside an electrochemical cell produces
energy.
2. What kind of cell does not use chemical reactions to produce energy?

3. When you connect the terminals of cells

in series, you connect positive to negative
to positive to negative, and so on. The
cells don’t have to lie head to tail. They
can lie next to each other. Draw wires
between the terminals of these cells to
show how you would connect them in
series.

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4. If you connect the three 1,5 V cells in series, what voltage will the battery give
you?

5. Draw wires between the

terminals of these cells to show
how you would connect them in
parallel.
6. If you connect the three 1,5 V
cells in parallel, what voltage
will the battery give you?

Something you could try at home

You can make a cell using a lemon or a potato, are electrolytes through which certain small
with a piece of zinc-coated metal and a piece ions can move to complete the circuit. They are
of copper. These cells work in the same way also membranes that prevent other, bigger ion,
as the cell you made in Figure 5. The lemon or such as the metal ion, from moving from one
the potato plays the same role as the piece of electrode to the other.
cloth or cardboard soaked in salty water. They

Figure 16: A cell made using a lemon Figure 17: A cell made using a potato

CHAPTER 9: ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS AND BATTERIES 165

Next week

Next week, you will learn how electricity is generated and distributed around the
country, and about the environmental and social impact of electricity generation.
Read about where electricity comes from in Grade 8 Book 1 Chapter 10, on
pages 141 to 148. The environmental impact of burning coal and other fuels is also
discussed there.

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Chapter 10
Generating electricity for
the nation
In this chapter, you will learn about the various ways in which electricity is generated in different types
of power stations. You will also compare the advantages and disadvantages of different types of
power stations.
You will learn how electricity is distributed from the power stations to different parts of the country, to
reach the people who use it.

10.1 How electricity is generated in coal-power stations........................................................... 170

10.2 Other types of power stations......................................................................................... 175
10.3 Transmission of electricity across the country.................................................................. 185

Technology grade 8 term 4 167

Figure 1: The locations of different types of power stations across the country

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Chapter 10
Generating electricity for
the nation

CHAPTER 10: generatingTechnology

electricity for the8nation
grade term 4 169
10.1  How electricity is generated in coal-power stations
When you switch a light on, where does the energy in the bulb come from? You
can control the energy with a switch, but what is behind the switch?
In this chapter, you will find the answer to these questions, and find out where
the power is generated. Before you investigate the country’s electricity supply, you
will look at the ways electricity can be generated, and how this affects your daily
life.
South Africa uses many power stations for its electricity supply. There are
different types of power stations: coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, gas, wind and solar.
Figure 1 shows where in South Africa these different types of power stations are
located.
There are no solar-power stations in South Africa yet, but plans are in progress
to start building it.
You will start this week by learning about coal-power stations for two reasons:
• Most of the electricity in the country, about 85%, is generated by coal-power
stations.
• Coal-power stations use the technologies of generators and turbines that are
also used in most other types of power stations.

Generators
There are three main systems that give us energy for lights, computers, cell
phones and all other electrical appliances. You can get energy from batteries,
photo-voltaic panels and generators.
The main source of electricity in South Africa comes from large generators.
These work exactly the same as any small generator you might come across. It
is important to understand how a generator works as it is used in most types of
power stations.
How a generator works
If you move a magnet near a coil of copper
wire, you will create a voltage across the end of
the copper wire. Look at Figure 2.
If you connect a bulb across
the ends of the wire, a current
will flow around the circuit. To
make the current bigger, you
can use more copper wire in the
coils, use a stronger magnet, or
move the magnet faster.
Figure 2: A home-made generator

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If the person in the picture leaves the magnet on the table, how much current
will flow in the circuit? Your answer can be “a big current”, “no current” or “a small
current”. Give a reason for your answer.

Now look at the girl on the

bicycle. She is pedalling fast and
has a generator connected to the
back wheel of her bicycle. A bicycle
generator is also called a “dynamo”.
The dynamo gives energy to
the lamp only when the roller
is spinning. The girl on the
bicycle has to pedal faster
than usual since she is
transferring some of her
energy to the dynamo, which
not only makes her wheels
move, but also lights the lamp. Figure 3: The dynamo on a bicycle
If you open a dynamo, you will see that it has copper coils similar to the drawing
in Figure 2. As the girl pedals, the copper coils spin inside the magnets, and this
movement generates electricity.

Figure 4: A bicycle dynamo and light attachment Figure 5: The exposed copper coils
in a dynamo

Power stations have big dynamos called generators. They work exactly the
same way as the dynamo in the pictures above but are much, much bigger! They
also require a lot more energy to turn than only one person pedalling. In the next
section, you will learn the various ways energy is provided to these big dynamos.

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Thermal power stations
Thermal means “caused by heat”. In thermal power stations, turbines are driven
by steam. The steam is formed by evaporating water through a source of heat.
The water is heated to form high-pressure steam by using a heat source such as
burning coal or gas, nuclear reactions, or light from the sun. The water is turned
into steam that drives a turbine, which makes an electrical generator turn. An
electrical generator can also be called an “alternator”. After the steam has been
used, it is cooled down so that the water can be used again.
Most of the world’s energy comes from burning
Fossil fuels are carbon-based
fossil fuels such as coal, oil or natural gas. This
fuels that are taken from the
results in high levels of air pollution, particularly from
earth, and are made of the
greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. remains of living things that
Fossil fuels will run out in the future. died millions of years ago.

Figure 6: A coal-fired power station

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Coal-fired power stations

The energy conversion process starts with the burning of coal that generates heat
to convert water into steam at a very high temperature and pressure. The heat and
pressure energy contained in the steam is used to drive the turbines, converting it
into a rotational movement, in other words kinetic energy. You saw an example of
this with the bicycle dynamo – it is exactly the same process. There is a generator
attached to the turbine shaft.
• Reasons for using coal as an energy source
For centuries, coal was the only fuel source available in large quantities. Power
stations were built near coal mines so that coal did not have to be transported over
long distances.
Most of the coal-fired power stations in South Africa are found in Mpumalanga
where huge coal deposits were discovered. Coal-power stations are the cheapest
way to generate electricity. It is even cheaper in South Africa since the coal here is
close to the surface and therefore easy to mine.

• Impact on the environment

Burning fossil fuels creates air pollution due to the carbon dioxide that is
emitted during the process. The fires needed to produce steam from water emit a
lot of carbon dioxide into the air, a lot more than a wood or coal fire in your home
does. Coal has been used for centuries to generate heat.
Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide are two other gases emitted from coal-fired
power stations that have a negative impact on the environment. Newer power
stations use specific technologies to trap these gases so that they are not released
into the atmosphere. In the past, when these two gases were released from coal-
fired power stations, they caused “acid rain”. Acid rain is rain that contains high
levels of sulphuric or nitric acid, caused by the water mixing with sulphur dioxide
and nitrogen oxide.
Scientists and engineers are working on plans to capture carbon dioxide and
store it underground, but this is expensive and has not yet been done on a large
scale anywhere in the world.

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Questions on coal-fired power stations

1. Write what you see as the positive and negative aspects of using this type of
fossil fuel to generate electricity.

Positive Negative

2. What is the energy source mainly used in South Africa for conversion into
electrical energy?

3. Why do you think the energy source in question 2 above is not the ideal energy
source to be used?

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10.2  Other types of power stations
Your teacher will divide the class into five groups, A to E. Each group will do the
reading and questions for only one other type of power station. Work individually.

Topic A: Gas-turbine power stations

As an alternative to coal, the water in a power station can be turned into high-
pressure steam using burning gas. Gas is also a fossil fuel, and is normally found
underground in areas where coal or oil is present.
Gas turbines in South Africa are equipped to The national grid is the
burn a variety of fuels, ranging from oil to gas. Gas network of transmission
turbines have advantages over coal-burning power lines that are connected and
stations because of their design. Maintenance is done supplied by all the power
considerably faster, resulting in continuous availability stations in the country.
of power.
Gas turbines are also capable of being started without an outside power source,
which is very important. If the national grid had to suffer a complete breakdown,
the gas turbines can be started and will generate power to start the other power
stations.
There are four gas-turbine power stations in South Africa.

Figure 7: A gas-turbine power station

The future of gas turbines

South Africa has only recently started using gas for power stations so there
is still a supply that will last for many years. Two of the new gas-turbine power
stations, Ankerlig in Atlantis, and Gourikwa in Mossel Bay, both in the Western
Cape, are going to double the size of their generators in the next few years, adding
a lot of power to the national grid.

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Reasons for using this type of energy source A gas field is an underground
As explained earlier, the ability to start a power area where organic matter has
station without power from the same network is very decayed to form large pockets
important for the national grid. There is still plenty of gas trapped by layers of
of gas available in the world, however, in South Africa rock.
only small amounts can be mined. After pipes have
been placed into a gas field it will supply the power
station without needing to be mined or transported.

Impact on the environment

Burning gas produces much less sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and ash than
burning coal. But it is a fossil fuel, so it still produces carbon dioxide pollution.
Do you think gas-burning power stations will have a big impact on generating
electricity in South Africa?

Questions on gas-turbine power stations

1. Write down the positive and negative impacts you think burning gas for
electricity will have.

Positive Negative

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Topic B: Nuclear power stations

Figure 8: A nuclear power station

There is a nuclear power station, called Koeberg, close to Cape Town.

Unlike gas-burning or coal-burning power stations,
Radioactive substances give
a nuclear power station operates using three separate
off energy that is dangerous
water systems. One of the biggest fears that people to living things. It can cause
have about nuclear power stations is that radioactive cancer and other health risks,
material might escape and pollute the air of nearby so it is important that people
areas. are shielded from radioactive
It is very important for the three systems to be material.
separate. The first system, the radioactive water in the
reactor, is in a closed system. It does not come into contact with the other two
systems and therefore does not contaminate the water in these systems. The
second water system cools down the radioactive steam that has driven the
turbines. It flows through the condensers where the third water system cools
the steam back into water. The first water system circulates back to the steam
generator where it is turned into steam again.
The third cooling system for the condensers uses sea water at a rate of 80 tons
per second to cool the steam. After it has cooled down, the steam is returned to
the sea.

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• Reasons for using this type of energy source
Many places don’t have a supply of fossil fuels to power generators. Small
amounts of nuclear fuel can generate enormous amounts of electricity.
Nuclear-power stations require very little maintenance. Because the water used
in the first system is recycled, there is very little waste of precious water. The
cooling water is unpolluted and returned to the sea.

• Impact on the environment

Radioactive material creates radioactive waste, which is extremely dangerous.
Although the amount of waste is very small, it remains active and dangerous for
many thousands of years! There is currently no long-term solution for the safe
storage of radioactive waste. The best solution at the moment is to put it in very
thick layers of concrete and lead, and bury it where no one is likely to dig it up.
Many countries do not use nuclear fuel for power since they are concerned that
even the buried waste will harm the environment. Nuclear power has been used
around the world since the 1950s as an alternative source of energy.

Question on nuclear-power stations

1. List the positive and negative aspects of this type of energy in the table below.

Positive Negative

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Topic C: Solar power
Solar power means that the heat and light of the sun is used as a source of energy.
Solar energy is a realistic option in South Africa since it is such a sunny country.
South Africa experiences more sunshine than most
places in the world, and there is a lot of potential for Solar panels, or photovoltaic
the widespread use of solar power. Solar power would cells, convert sunlight to
electricity.
be a very good idea in low-income housing projects,
but the initial cost of solar energy is very high as large
areas of solar panels are needed.
Solar energy is a very good alternative for areas that are far away from the
national grid, such as farms, rural clinics and water-pumping stations. In these
cases, heat can be produced to power generators or photovoltaic cells can be used
to produce electricity directly from sunlight. South Africa does not have a solar-
powered plant yet, but ESKOM is currently constructing a solar-powered plant in
Northern Cape. To help you understand how this will work, look at Figure 9 below
that shows how mirrors and sunlight can be used to heat up a can of water.

Figure 9: Solar power used to heat water in a tin Figure 10: Mirrors in a solar-powered power station
can. focus light onto heating towers.

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How does a steam-driven solar-power station work?
The solar-power station shown in Figure 10 has thousands of large mirrors,
known as “heliostats”, that move to follow the sun and reflect the heat to a point
on a tower. Salt water is pumped up the central tower, where it is heated to
approximately 600 °C. This water is then used to generate steam. The steam is
used in the same way as it is in a coal-power station to generate electricity.

• Reasons for using this type of energy source

Solar energy is a realistic option in any sunny country. Solar energy can be used
in areas far away from the national grid and can be set up to provide power for
smaller communities.
We could take the pressure off South Africa’s largely coal-based energy supply by
using solar power. This would also give the country a larger overall energy capacity
and help us to achieve our target of a 34% reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions
by 2020.

• Impact on the environment

Solar power produces no pollution. However, the power stations can take up a lot
of space due to the large mirrors. They could be regarded as visual pollution.

Question on solar-power stations

1. Write the positive and negative aspects of using solar power to generate
electricity in the table below.

Positive Negative

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Topic D: Hydroelectric-power generation
The flow of water can be used instead of steam to drive turbines. In hydroelectric-
power stations, the potential energy of water stored in a dam is converted into
electrical energy. There are two different types of hydroelectric-power stations.
• A simple hydroelectric-power station uses the downwards flow of water to
generate electricity.
• A hydroelectric-pumped storage scheme can also pump water back into the
dam during times when there is electricity from other power stations that is not
being used. Such a scheme plays the role of a rechargeable battery, is it stores
electricity when it is not being used. It can also be used in the same way as a
simple hydroelectric-power station to generate electricity, by letting water flow
downwards out of the dam.

Hydroelectricity is renewable and does not pollute the environment. Large-scale

hydroelectric schemes are, however, expensive and require the construction of
large dams that have an impact on the environment and communities. Imagine
you lived along a river, and you were ordered to move because a hydroelectric dam
was to be built there. How would you feel about it?
Hydroelectric-power stations are able to come on line within three minutes.
They are therefore convenient to use during times of the day when there is a very
high demand for electricity, when this demand is more than the other power
stations can provide.
Unfortunately, due to South Africa’s limited water resources, only a small
amount of electricity can be generated by hydroelectric-power stations.

Figure 11: A typical hydroelectric-power plant

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• Reasons for using this type of energy source
It is a renewable energy source and can be used to ensure the country has
enough electricity during periods of high electricity consumption. Hydroelectric-
power stations are cheap to operate, even cheaper than coal-fired power stations.

• Impact on the environment

Dams and waterways need to be constructed for a hydroelectric-power station. It
may be cheap to produce the electricity once the dam is completed, but the costs
of building a dam are enormous, and the impact on the countryside can be severe.
An environmental impact plan must be in place, and communities that could be
affected have to be taken into consideration. Some people may even have to move
because their houses and farms are located where the dam will be built.

Question on hydroelectric-power stations

1. In the table below, write down the positive and negative aspects of a
hydroelectric-power station.

Positive Negative

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Topic E: Wind turbines
For thousands of years, people have
used windmills and energy derived
from the wind to pump water and to
grind mealies. After a breakthrough by
scientists, wind can now also be used
to generate electricity. Like the sun and
water flowing down a river, this is a
renewable energy source and does not
negatively impact the environment or
pollute it. Across the world, wind farms
are being built. These are areas where
wind is used to turn huge windmills that
generate electricity.
Wind speed and direction change from
day to day, depending on the weather
and the season. When something
changes in an unpredictable way, it is
called “erratic”. The patterns of wind
direction and wind speed are studied and
used for electricity generation in areas
that have consistent winds. This does not
mean that there has to be strong winds Figure 12: A big new wind turbine behind a
or gales for the system to work. What much smaller, old wind pump
is needed is a steady wind that won’t
damage the machinery.
In South Africa, research on the potential of wind energy as an electricity-
generating option was carried out in various places. Different ways of generating
electricity through wind were studied. An important factor is cost. It doesn’t make
sense to put systems in place that will make electricity too expensive to buy.
After investigating all the options, ESKOM started the Klipheuwel Windfarm
Research Facility on the West Coast near Cape Town in 2002.
The generators need wind speeds of between 47 km and 57 km per hour for full
power operation, but they can start generating electricity in winds as low as 11 km
per hour. If a gale force wind blows, the turbines shut off automatically at winds
over 90 km per hour to prevent damage to the generators.
Wind is an erratic resource that is not always available when needed.

• Reasons for using this type of energy source

Wind is a renewable energy source, and is particularly powerful in coastal areas.
It can be used where fossil fuels are unavailable. These conditions are best along
the coastlines.

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• Impact on the environment
While it is a clean source of energy in terms of greenhouse gases, environmental
impacts can include noise, visual pollution as well as affecting birdlife. The farms
need large pieces of land, which in some places can be expensive to buy.

Questions on wind turbines

1. Do you think ESKOM should build more wind turbines?

2. Write down the positive and negative aspects of this form of generating
electricity in the table below.

Positive Negative

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10.3  Transmission of electricity across the country
The electricity that power stations generate is distributed across the whole
country.
The map on the next page shows the main Transmission means the
transmission lines that are used to distribute action or process of sending
electricity from the power stations to different parts of something.
the country. Distribution refers to the
The combination of the transmission and the action of sharing something
distribution cables form a network called the national among a number of recipients.
grid. Electricity is fed into the national grid, and it has
to be distributed across the country to cities, towns
and rural areas.
The South African government announced its policy to provide free basic
services to the poor in 2000. The government has focused mainly on electricity
supply, which has led to a higher demand on our national grid.
Electricity supply must be consistent and reliable, since electric equipment can
be damaged if there are changes in the voltage and current.
It is very difficult to store large quantities of electrical energy. The energy
provider must always match the demand of the consumers. These consumers
range from households to huge factories, transport systems and the use of heavy
machinery.
Specific equipment has to be installed to ensure that the correct voltages reach
the users. In this section, you are going to learn about this type of equipment.
As the demand increases, more power stations must be brought on line. This
means that the power they generate needs to be added to the national grid.
It is interesting to note that the electricity demand
not only varies from day to day, but from minute to Peak demand means the
highest demand during a day.
minute. The peak demand periods are early in the
morning and in the evening.

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 These pylons transmit high-voltage current between the power stations and the
substations.

Figure 13: Map of electricity transmission in South Africa. Notice that the grid does not reach all rural
areas. Electricity is generated locally in these places.

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Step-down and step-up transformers

Electricity is transferred from power stations to consumers over long distances

through the wires and cables of the national grid. When a current flows through
a wire, a bit of energy is lost in the form of heat. The higher the current, the more
energy is lost. To reduce these losses, the national grid transmits electricity at a
low current, but this requires a high voltage. Remember Ohm’s law!
Step-up transformers are used at power stations to produce the very high
voltages needed to transmit electricity through the national grid’s power lines.
When the electric energy reaches the consumer area, it is transformed, which
means changed, to a lower and safer voltage. Step-down transformers are used
locally in sub-stations to reduce the voltage to safe levels.
If you don’t quite understand this, think of water flowing through apipe. The
wider the pipe, the more water can be pushed through. When it reaches the other
end, the water is funnelled into smaller pipes to be used in homes and factories.
The same principle is used to distribute electricity.

• A transformer that increases the voltage is called

“a step-up transformer”.
• A transformer that decreases the voltage is called
“a step-down transformer”.

Figure 14 shows how electricity reaches your house so that you can turn on the
lights and watch educational programmes on your television.

Figure 14: The path of electricity to your home

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What have you learnt?

1. Name three renewable ways in which electricity can be generated.

2. What is the national electrical energy grid?

The national electricity energy

grid is often simply called the
national grid.

3. What is the function of a transformer?

4. In the area where you live, what, in your opinion, will be the most suitable
energy source to be converted to electricity for your community? Why do you
say so?

Next week

During the next three weeks, you will do your mini-PAT for this term. You will
design and build an alarm system.

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Chapter 11: MINI-PAT

Circuits with logic control

In this chapter, which brings you to the end of this term, you will start by revising the circuits you
made in Chapter 7 at the beginning of this term. Then you are going to use this knowledge to make
an alarm system for a shopkeeper.
You will only do individual work during this Mini-PAT.

Week 1: Circuit diagrams and Ohm’s Law .................................................................... 191

Revise: The effect of connecting more cells in series (45 minutes)
Revise: Circuits with resistors in series and parallel (45 minutes)
How a door-operated push switch works (30 minutes)

Week 2: Logic gates and truth tables; Design brief and specifications .......................... 195
Switches with AND-type control (15 minutes)
Switches with OR-type control (15 minutes)
Truth tables (30 minutes)
Combining AND-control with OR-control (15 minutes)
Design brief and specifications (15 minutes) [4]
Investigate: Components you could use (15 minutes) [3]
Design: Draw a circuit diagram (15 minutes) [6]

Week 3: Design, make and communicate .................................................................... 203

Make: Draw the layout of your alarm system in the shop (15 minutes) [6]
Make: A cardboard model of the shop (15 minutes) [10]
Design: A door-operated push switch (30 minutes) [8]
Make: The switches for your alarm system (15 minutes) [12]
Make: Add your circuit to your model of the shop [12]
Evaluate: Test your alarm system [2]
Communicate: Make an advertisement for your alarm system [7]
Total marks [70]

Technology grade 8 term 4 189

 Figure 1: How are the systems in this picture controlled?

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Week 1
Circuit diagrams and Ohm’s law
This section revises the circuits which you learnt about in Chapter 7. You found
that the more cells you connected in series, the brighter the bulb glowed.

Revise the effect of connecting more cells in

series (45 minutes)
You will need:
• a cell holder big enough for three cells,
• two or three crocodile-clip conducting wires, and
• a light bulb rated for 3,8 V or slightly more.
Look at the three circuits below:

Figure 2: Each cell adds 1,5 V to the battery.

1. What voltage does the battery in circuit 3 promise to give?

2. Predict how bright the bulbs will glow in circuits 1 to 3. To show your prediction,
draw brackets around the bulbs in the diagram. (⊗) means dim, ((⊗)) means
medium bright and (((⊗))) means very bright.
3. Now build each of these circuits and test your predictions. Does the bulb in
each circuit glow as brightly as you predicted it would?

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The relationship between voltage and current
If the current through the bulb is small, the bulb
will glow dimly, and if the current is big, the bulb
will glow brightly.

4. Write a sentence about the relationship between the voltage and the current.
Use the following phrases in your sentence:
• “across the bulb”,
• “through the bulb”,
• “the voltage is”,
• “the bigger is the current”, and
• “the bigger”.

5. You can state the relationship between current and voltage in another way.
Complete the following sentence:
If you increase the across the bulb, you also increase the
the bulb.

The sentence above summarises Ohm’s law.

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Revise circuits with resistors in series and parallel (45 minutes)
For this activity, you will need:
• a battery of three cells,
• three bulbs rated for 3,8 volts, and
• six crocodile-clip conducting wires.
1. The diagrams in Figure 3 show you the circuits you are going to build. Before
you build them, show your predictions of how bright the bulbs will glow on the
diagrams using brackets as you did before. Then connect the components and
test your predictions.

Figure 3: Bulbs connected in series

2. Look at Figure 4, and show your predictions of how bright the bulbs will glow
when they are connected in parallel. Then connect the components and test
your predictions.

Figure 4: Bulbs connected in parallel

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How a door-operated push switch works  (30 minutes)

A refrigerator has a light bulb inside that lights up when you open the door.
1. Will the light turn off when you close the fridge door? Why?

2. Figure 5 shows a photo of a fridge

with its door open. On this photo,
find the switch that controls the
light and draw a circle around it
with your pencil.
3. Homework: When you open a fridge
at home, press this button in to see
whether the light goes off.

• Many push switches turn on a

circuit when they are pressed in,
and turn off the circuit when they
Figure 5: Find the switch for the fridge’s light.
are is not pressed in.
• But the push switch for the fridge
light works the other way round.
It turns off the circuit when it is
pressed in, and it turns on the
circuit when it is not pressed in.

Figure 6 shows you how this type of

switch works. The switch opens the
circuit as long as the door is closed.

4. What happens when the door moves

away from the plastic knob? How does
the switch complete the circuit?
Figure 6: Top view of the parts inside a door-
operated push switch: The grey parts are non-
conducting and the yellow parts are conductors.

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Week 2
Logic gates and truth tables
Design brief and specifications
Switches with AND-type control (15 minutes)

The circuit in Figure 7 has AND-type control. Now let’s

see where people would use a circuit such as this one.
Figure 8 shows an electric paper-cutting machine that
is used to cut many sheets of paper simultaneously. An
electric motor turns gears that press the blade of the
machine down to cut the paper.
A worker who uses the machine could easily cut his Figure 7: A circuit with AND-
type control
or her fingers, so the machine has a safety system in
place.
To make the blade come down, the worker must use both hands to press two
switches at the same time. If he or she presses only one switch, the blade will not
move. So the machine will not work unless his or her hands are both out of the way.

Figure 8: An electric paper-cutting machine

This machine’s circuit has AND-type control. Switch

1 and Switch 2 must both be closed, by pressing
them, before the motor will work.

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Switches with OR-type control  (15 minutes)

The circuit in Figure 9 has OR-type control.

This type of control is used to switch on
the light inside a car when you open one
of the front doors. This is very useful when
you get in or out of the car at night.
The light turns on when the driver opens the door,
Figure 9: This circuit has OR-
and turns off when that door is closed. If a passenger
type control.
gets in at the other front door, the light goes on again,
even if the driver’s door is closed.
So the car has a circuit that switches on the light if either the driver’s door is
open or the passenger’s door is open. This circuit has OR-type control.

Figure 10: The inside light goes on when you open one of the front doors.

A car’s cabin light uses OR-type control because

the bulb lights up if either the switch on the driver’s
door or the switch on the passenger’s door is closed
(on). It also lights up if they are both closed (on).

1. Look at the circuit in Figure 9. Both the switches are open (off). How can you get
the bulb to light up? Think of three things you can do with the switches.

The door-operated switch for the light inside the car is the same type of switch
used for a fridge light, as shown in Figures 5 and 6.

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Truth tables (30 minutes)

A computer gives many outputs depending on many inputs. To do this, it uses

many AND-type and OR-type circuits inside a more complicated circuit. The AND
and OR parts of the complicated circuits are called “logic gates”.
Computer designers and programmers need methods to write down all the
possible “states” that the system can be in. A state is one possible combination of
values for all the inputs. “Truth tables” help them to write down all the possible
states. Computers have millions of possible states. But to understand the method
of truth tables, you only need to understand the truth tables of systems with a
small number of states.
Look back at Figure 8, showing the electric paper-cutting machine. The operator
has to press both switches to make the cutting blade move. So the circuit
controlling the motor uses AND-type control.
Below is a truth table for this circuit. The inputs are the two switches. Each
row of the table shows one possible combination of the inputs, and the output
corresponding with it. So each row shows one possible state.

switch switch Does the blade move?

1 2
off off no
off on no
on off no
on on yes

A truth table is sometimes written using numbers instead of “on” or “off”:

• For the inputs, which are the switches, a “1” means “on” and a “0” means “off”.
• For the outputs, a “1” means “yes, it gives the output”, and
a “0” means “no output”.

1. Complete the truth table below for the paper-cutting machine’s circuit.

switch switch output

1 2 (Does the blade move?)
0 0 0
0 1
1
1

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2. Now make a truth table for the light inside the car. If any one of the two front
doors is open, the light is on. So this is a truth table for OR-control.

state driver door passenger output

switch door switch Does the light turn on?
only driver door open 1 0
only passenger door
open
both driver and
passenger doors open
no door open

A truth table shows all the possible states a circuit

can be in, depending on the different combinations
of the inputs.
It is a list of the inputs and the output or outputs
for every possible state.

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Combining AND-control with OR-control (15 minutes)

Many buses have push switches for

passengers to let the driver know they
want to get off at the next stop. The
circuit diagram might look like Figure 11.
In this circuit diagram, there are two
push switches for passengers. Any one of
these switches can ring the bell next to
the driver.
Figure 11: A circuit for passengers to tell the
1. Write SW1 and SW2 next to the two driver that they want to get off
switches for the passengers.

When school learners go on an excursion, they sometimes ring the bell many
times just for fun. This prevents the driver from concentrating on the road, so he
or she has a “master switch” to turn off the bell.

2. Which switch gives the bus driver control over the whole circuit? Write
SWmaster next to that switch.

The passengers have OR-control because switch

SW1 or switch SW2 can ring the bell.
However, the driver has AND-control. For the bell to
ring, SWmaster and one of SW1 or SW2 must be on.

3. Complete a truth table below for the bell circuit of the bus.

SWmaster SW1 SW2 output from the bell

1 0 0
1 1 0
1 0 1
1 1 1
0 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
0 1 1

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Write a design brief and specifications (15 minutes)

The scenario:
Mr Abdullahi has set up a shop. The customers are happy with his low prices. He
sells food and clothing cheaply because he co-operates with other shopkeepers
in the area. They work together to negotiate with the big suppliers of clothing and
food to get cheaper prices.
Sometimes Mr Abdullahi is alone in the shop. If he has to work in the office at
the back of the shop, he closes the two front doors of the shop, but the doors are
not locked. He will only know if someone comes in at one of the doors if he sees
them or if they call him.
Can you make him an alarm system that will tell him when a door opens?
Sometimes Mr Abdullahi has an assistant in the shop, and then he does not need
an alarm, so he wants a switch to turn the alarm system on and off.
1. Write the brief here. The design brief is a short statement that describes the
need and what type of solution will meet that need. (1)

Project brief:
I am going to design and make a

2. Now write specifications for the solution. Specifications have detail about the
system you are going to make. Remember that the system:
• should make a sound when either one of the two doors are open, and
• should have a switch to turn the whole system off.  (3)

Specifications:

Total [4]

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Investigate: Components you could use (15 minutes)

1. What type of devices can you use for the alarm to make a loud sound? (1)

2. What type of battery can you use? Remember that a 9 V battery will burn out
motors that are rated for 1,5 V. Beepers also have their own voltage ratings, and
you must find out what these are. (1)

3. How can you make a switch that will close the circuit when the door is
opened? Find a switch in this chapter or another chapter that will meet these
requirements.(1)

Total [3]

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Design: Draw a circuit diagram (15 minutes)

1. Should the alarm system use AND-control or OR-control? Explain. (2)

2. Often designers look at circuits that have already been designed, to see whether
any of those circuits will do the job. Look at Figures 7, 9 and 11 again. Which of
these circuits will work? (1)

3. Draw that circuit again in the space below. Give names for the different
switches and show them as labels on your circuit diagram. (1)

Figure 12: The circuit diagram for your design of the alarm system

4. Show more information on your circuit diagram in Figure 12. Draw dashed lines
around the part of the circuit that is in the front of the shop, and other dashed
lines around the part that is in the office.
Hint: Look at Figure 11 again to see how dashed lines were used to show the
part of the circuit in the bus driver’s compartment. (2)
Total [6]

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Week 3
Design, make and communicate
Draw the layout of your alarm system in the shop (15 minutes)
Figure 13 shows a simple sketch of the shop.

Figure 13: A design of the placement and wiring of the alarm system

Draw on Figure 13 to show where you will put all the switches and other circuit
components. Also show the connecting wires for the circuit. Put in labels for the
circuit components. The circuit components should be connected as shown by the
circuit diagram that you made for Figure 12.  [6]

Make a cardboard model of the shop (15 minutes)

Make a model of the shop out of a cardboard box. Cut two doors in the box. The
model should not have a roof, so that you can see inside it. Make the model as
simple as possible, otherwise you will not have enough time to finish building the
alarm system. [10]

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Design a door-operated push switch (15 minutes)

Figures 14 to 16 show examples of how push switches that are off when they are
pressed in can be made.

Figure 14: A pressure switch under a carpet Figure 15: A moving contact switch

Figure 16: A magnetic switch

Use an idea or ideas from these examples to design your own door-operated
push switch that is on when the door is open and off when the door is closed.
Make a sketch of your design on the next page. Add labels to explain the different
parts of your switch design. [8]

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Make the switches for your alarm system (30 minutes)

Make two of the door-operated push switches that you designed. Remember that
they need to fit on the doors of your cardboard model of the shop. [12]
Do not make a master switch, as you don’t have enough time for that. You can
simply connect two crocodile clips of conducting wires to “switch on” the master
switch, and disconnect them to open the circuit and “switch off” the master
switch.

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Add your circuit to your model of the shop (30 minutes)

Now add all your circuit components and conducting In a real building, the alarm
wires to your cardboard model of the shop. Your design wires are stuck to the walls
of the placement and wiring of the alarm system or are in the ceiling. The door
in Figure 13 will help you to connect all the circuit switches are on the inside
components in the correct way. of the doors. If they were on
the outside, a burglar could
Stick the wires to the walls of the box with tape to
disconnect them.
make your model neat.
Connect all the circuit components.  [12]

Evaluate: Test your alarm system (15 minutes)

When you evaluate the project, ask yourself: “Did I solve Mr Abdullahi’s problem?”
The following questions will help you to test whether your alarm fulfils all of the
specifications. Do these tests:
1. Does the alarm make a noise when you open only door 1?
2. Does the alarm make a noise when you open only door 2?
3. Does the alarm make a noise when you open both doors?
4. Can Mr Abdullahi switch the system off and leave the doors open?
5. Complete a truth table for the system. [2]

master switch 1 switch 2 output

switch
1
1
1
1
0 0 0
0 0 1
0 1 0
0 1 1

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Homework: Make an advertisement for your alarm system

Mr Abdullahi likes your system so much that he offers to advertise it to other

shopkeepers. He thinks some of them will pay you to build and install alarms for
them.
He asks you to make a poster that shows the shop and the doors, some of the
parts of the alarm system, with a few sentences that explain how the system
works.
Make a poster to advertise your alarm system on the next page. But first sketch
rough ideas for your poster on this page. [7]

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Notes

notes 209
Notes

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