"I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

 

Lessons by E.S. LaRosa

http://www.middleschoolscience.com

 

 

Chapter Four - Catch That Rabbit

 

Characters:

 

Gregory Powell  - Stationed at a mine on an asteroid.

Mike Donovan  - Stationed at a mine on an asteroid.

Robot  -known as "Dave"  the first of the DV models that was a multiple robot

"The Fingers" - 6 robots that are under the control of Dave

DV-5-2 - One of the "Fingers" controlled by Dave

 

 

Part One - Vocabulary: (Required -35points)

 

Write a complete definition for each word.  Be sure to provide the parts of speech and to use the word in a complete sentence.  You may use http://www.dictionary.com . 

 

 

Part Two- Group Discussion Questions  

(Required Choose 7 and answer in complete sentences - 35 points)

  1. What is an asteroid?  Where can we find them in our solar system?

  2. Why doesn't sound travel on the asteroid?

  3. Is there a place  in our solar system where sound can travel besides Earth?  How about the Universe?  What kind of conditions would be required for sound to travel?

  4. What element is being  mined?

  5. 1940's slang - How do Powell and Donovan use the following words and what do they mean?  "Swell"      "Golly"     "Peachy"

  6. What do we say today that offers a similar meaning?

  7. The term "slide-rule boys" is mentioned quite a few times.  What is a slide rule?

  8. Davy was described as "seven feet tall, and a half-ton of metal and electricity.  A lot?  Not when that half-ton has to be a mass of condensers, circuits, relays, and vacuum cells...:  Why couldn't Davy be lighter?

  9. Explain the following statement: "Human disorders apply to robots only as romantic analogies." (pg 86)

  10. Describe the problem that Davy is having and what he does when he is suppose to be working.

  11. How do Powell and Donovan figure out what Davy's malfunction is?

 

Part Three - (20 points)  (Catch that Rabbit was written in 1944) 

 

Visit this web site to see what kind of technology was found in a common home from 1900 to 1998.

Try these years as a starting point: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/tryit/tech/#

 

List 3 - 5 technologies found in each year:

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"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas Watson, IBM Chairman, 1943  

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The first computers would take up a whole room and weigh thousands of pounds!!! Why were they so heavy and bulky?  

 

By reading the following web pages, you will get an understanding of why computers were so large and why they are so small and portable today.

 

 

Part 4 - The first computer - ENIAC   (20 points)

 

Links:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt45en.html

http://www.seas.upenn.edu:8080/~museum/history.html

http://inventors.about.com/science/inventors/library/weekly/aa060298.htm

 

  1. What year was ENIAC built and used? ___________________

  2. What do the letters stand for? E _____________ N _____________ I ___________ A _______________ C _______________

  3. The main use for the computer was to: 

  4. How much did it weigh?

Part 5 - The Vacuum Tube (30 points)

 

Links:

http://www.digitalcentury.com/encyclo/update/vt-photo.html

http://www.pbs.org/transistor/science/events/vacuumt.html

http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozscience/v/579040.html

 

  1. What does a vacuum tube look like?  Draw a sketch:

  2. Define Vacuum:

  3. Who made the vacuum tube also known as a Diode?

  4. What year did this person invent it?

  5. Who invented the audion? When?

  6. How does an audion work?

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"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." Popular Mechanics, 1949

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Part 6 - The Transistor (20 points)

 

Links:

http://gobi.stanford.edu/computer_history/computer.htm

http://www.digitalcentury.com/encyclo/update/tr-photo.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt47tr.html

  1. What does a transistor look like?  

  2. The transistor was invented in the year ____________ by ____________ in _____________ . 

  3. How did using transistors reduce the size of computers?

  4. IBM introduced the first transistorized computer in what year?

 

Part 7 - The Chip (20 points)

 

Links:

http://gobi.stanford.edu/computer_history/chip.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dt71mi.html

 

  1. The integrated circuit also known as the "chip" was invented in the year _________ by ________________ .

  2. Th following people started the company known as Intel  :  ___________________, _______________________, and __________________  in the year _________ ..  

  3. The firt microprocessor was called _________________________ and was invented in the year ________ .

  4. The chip improved quickly over time, became more powerful, and cheaper, this lead to the invention of the _____________ ______________ .

Grading Scale:

 

180 - 165 points  = A

164 - 135 points  = B +

134 - 115 points = B

114 - 85 points  =  B -

84 - 70  points = C

Less than 70 = D

 

Copyright 2001 - Middleschoolscience.com

Created with help from S. Baker

Permission granted for educational use in the classroom.

 

Science Fiction Page | Introduction | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five |