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Industrial System:

Hot water Heating and Storage

elements

Hot water tank: insolated storage container made of metal

Boiler: Uses a small gas flame to make steam

Pump: used to send hot water from the boiler to the hot water tank

Circulating Pump: used to keep the boiler feed

Exhaust: product of gas combustion escapes

 

interconnections 

There are two closed systems and one open system at work here. The open being the first, when the gas burns and escapes through the exhaust. The first closed system is the loop feeding the coil inside of the tank. It is used to transfer the steam heat from the boiler to the hot water tank. The last closed system is the input and hot water product of the tank.

control/feedback

There are a few control mechanisms not mentioned in the diagram. The amount of gas burned is controlled. The about of heat transferred to the tank from the boiler is controlled. The amount of water in the tank is controlled. The feedback I would describe as the hot water, gas and drain outputs.

function/purpose

The purpose of this system is to describe the process of converting gas energy to hot water at the tap.

 

Biological System:

Life Cycle of the Stripped Bass

elements

Egg: the striped bass egg pre-fertilization

Larvae: hatches from fertilized egg one week later

Juvenile: from hatch to 2 years of age these small fish stay up river

 

Maturing fish: ages 2 – 8, these fish live in the open waters of the bay and estuaries

Ocean going fish: the largest striped bass, can grow up to 40 pounds, they spend most of their time at sea

interconnections 

The process in cyclical, in that the fish return to where they hatched to lay their own eggs. However, not all fish return.  There is a long maturation process before the fish come of age.

control/feedback

It is important to note that fish must grow for almost 8 years before they can reproduce. If too many larger spawning fish are taken, we can expect to see a drop in egg counts in subsequent years.

function/purpose

The purpose of this system is to educate the public of the great migration taking place.  Not many people recognize that these fish travel such incredible distances and can live for so long. The important part being that these fish take a long time before they can reproduce. This long maturing process makes the Chesapeake population susceptible to fulgurations if not enough fish are making it to spawn.

Biological System:

Chesapeake Bay Water Cycle and Nitrogen Capture

elements

Water Source: primarily rain but also irrigation

Sources of pollution: run off, agriculture, animal husbandry

Land Based Sources of Filtration: ground cover, wastewater processing plants

Aquatic Sources of Filtration: mollusk, natural settling

interconnections 

The amount of pollution in the Chesapeake varies seasonally and has several inter dependent factors.  First, we should consider how the current state is changing. I refer to this as influx, or to what degree the new input is polluted, and it is a product of land biased pollution minus the filtration it receives. The next step is determining how water quality has changed sense last input. To do this we consider again the amount of filtration that has accrued naturally and adjust for evaporation. The process of evaporation concentrates the bays holdings of pollution, but is also the eventual source of clean rain.

To better illustrate I’ve written a short equation:

I (Pn-F) + [ W-E (Pe-F) ] = water quality index

I + W – E = Bay’s Water Holdings

I = Influx  Pn =New Pollution Pe = Existing Pollution

F = Filtration W = Current state E = Evaporation

control/feedback

The two very important parts of this system are the relations of filtration to pollution both on land and aqueous. The critical part being the ratio of pollution to filtration . The idea is that you might be able to tell if water restoration projects have been successful or what their long-term impacts might be to overall water quality. Sense current levels are high and the natural processes of removing pollution are low, it could be some time before a change in land based filtration creates substantial results.

function/purpose

The purpose of this system is to better understand the sources of pollution and the factors at play when addressing overall water quality. The idea is that people will realize that it’s actually much easy to prevent the pollution from entering the waterways that it is to remove it after the fact.  I also wanted to demonstrate why during periods of drought and high temperatures why the effects of pollution could be magnified.

Sociological System:

Becoming President

elements

Democratic Party: seats in the senate 46 /100, seats in the house 193 / 435 after the 2016 elections they have been the minority

Republican party:  seats in the senate 52 / 100, seats in the house 239 / 435

Primary: a preliminary election to appoint delegates to a party conference or to select the candidates for a principal, especially presidential, election

Caucus a meeting at which local members of a political party register their preference among candidates running for office or select delegates to attend a convention

National Convention: a convention of a major political party, especially one that nominates a candidate for the presidency.

General Election: a regular election of candidates for office, as opposed to a primary election.

interconnections 

I think that it is important to note how early a potential candidate is expected to affiliate with a political party. Unfortunately, this polarizes the electoral process, but some people say that without two strongly represented bodies the decision process slows dramatically.

control/feedback

Control elements include the number of citizens who can vote, the number of electoral college votes, and the day of the election. In each step the decision process is narrowed, until, eventually we’re left with our newly elected president.

function/purpose

The purpose of this system is to educate the public of the electoral system. I think too many young people don’t fully understand the process.  In short, someone has to make the decisions because we can vote on everything. The electoral process is design to select the most qualified and representative candidate.