Digital and Analogue System Design
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Subject: Robotics
Class: SHS 1
Term: 1st Term
Week: 19
Grade code: 1.2.1.LI.2
Strand code: 2
Sub-strand code: 1
Content standard code: 1.2.1.CS.1
Indicator code: 1.2.1.LI.2
Theme: Robot Design Methodologies
Subtheme: Digital and Analogue System Design
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In Ghana, we are surrounded by electronic systems every day – from the mobile phones we use to communicate, the radios we listen to for news and music, to the traffic lights that control our busy streets in cities like Accra and Kumasi. But how do these devices work? How do engineers design and repair them? The answer lies in learning their language, and that language is made of diagrams. This lesson introduces two fundamental types of diagrams: block diagrams and schematic diagrams. Think of a block diagram as a simple map showing the main towns on a journey, while a schematic diagram is a detailed street-level map showing every single house and turn.
2.1 What is an Electronic System?
Before we draw diagrams, we must understand what we are drawing. An electronic system is any device that uses electricity to perform a task. Almost all electronic systems follow a simple model:
INPUT → PROCESS → OUTPUT Input: The system receives a signal or energy from the outside world. (e.g., pressing a button, speaking into a microphone, sunlight hitting a solar panel). Process: The system changes, manipulates, or makes a decision based on the input. (e.g., an amplifier boosts a sound signal, a controller charges a battery). Output: The system produces a result that we can see, hear, or feel. (e.g., a light turning on, sound from a speaker, a motor spinning).
Example: A simple radio. Input: Radio waves from a station captured by the antenna. Process: The radio's internal circuits tune into the right frequency, decode the signal, and amplify it. Output: Sound playing from the speaker. 2.2 Block Diagrams: The "Big Picture" View