{"id":241959,"date":"2023-01-30T16:00:45","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T08:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/?p=241959"},"modified":"2024-04-18T12:51:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T04:51:00","slug":"the-science-behind-automatic-bird-feeders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thepiquelab.com\/blog\/the-science-behind-automatic-bird-feeders\/","title":{"rendered":"Electricity: The Science Behind Automatic Bird Feeders"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For those of you who have pets at home, have you ever felt that it is difficult to seek help from your friends or family members to feed your pets when you are going overseas, for fear that you might inconvenience them?<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t you wish your pets can be fed automatically<\/strong> even in your absence?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Read Also:<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. 2018 Wellington Primary School (WPS) P5 SA2 Examination Paper Analysis<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Ultimate Science Practice Series: Electricity (Practice Questions & Explainer Videos)<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Good news for all pet owners, there is indeed a way to do so by using automatic pet feeders!<\/p>\n

    But, how do they work?<\/p>\n

    To answer this question, I will be discussing an Electricity<\/a> <\/strong>question from the 2017 P6 SA2 Methodist Girls’ School (Primary) <\/strong>(MGS) <\/strong>Examination Paper<\/strong>, where we can gain an understanding of how automatic bird feeders work using electromagnets<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

    Question Analysis<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    Source: Methodist Girls’ School (Primary) (MGS) \u2013 2017 P6 SA2 Examination Paper [Q41]<\/em><\/p>\n

    Thought Process<\/h2>\n

    To understand how the automatic bird feeder in the above diagram works, we have to take a look at three different cases.<\/p>\n

    Case 1: <\/strong><\/span>When The Food Tray<\/span> Is Empty<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    When tackling questions on Electricity, I would ask my students this question first:<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat is the situation<\/strong><\/span> that we see<\/strong><\/span> in the electrical circuit?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    When the food tray<\/b> is empty<\/strong>, we see that Part Y is in contact with<\/strong> the contacts in the circuit.<\/p>\n

    After understanding that Part Y is in contact with the contacts in the circuit, the next question to ask ourselves is as follows:<\/p>\n

    \u201cIs there a closed\/open circuit<\/strong><\/span> based on the above observation<\/strong><\/span>?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    Since the original \u201cgap\u201d<\/strong><\/span> in the circuit is being closed up<\/strong><\/span> by Part Y, there should be a closed circuit<\/strong><\/span> with the coils of wires<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n

    Having inferred that there is a closed circuit with the coils of wires, the next question to ask yourself is this:<\/p>\n

    \u201cIs there electric current<\/strong><\/span> flowing through the coils of wires<\/strong><\/span>?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    Since there is a closed circuit<\/strong><\/span> with the coils of wires, there should be<\/strong><\/span> electric current flowing through<\/span><\/strong> the coils of wire.<\/p>\n

    After identifying that there is electric current flowing through the coils of wires, the last guiding question to ask ourselves is this:<\/p>\n

    \u201cWhat is the outcome<\/strong><\/span> when electric current flows through the coils of wires around the iron rod?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    Since there is electric current flowing through the coils of wires around the iron rod, which is made of a magnetic material, the iron rod will be<\/span> magnetised to<\/span> become an electromagnet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    What do you observe about the position of object X? Object X is at a distance away<\/span> from the electromagnet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    What can we infer about object X then?<\/span><\/p>\n

    This shows that object X is either:<\/p>\n