As you answer the following questions, remember that there is no single correct response. Make sure you will be able to explain your reasoning when you share your thoughts with the class!

1. When this system is working, what does it do?
2. For this system to work, must it receive any input?
3. What, if any, output does this system produce?
4. Identify at least four parts of this system. Describe what each part does, and tell how each part contributes to the system as a whole.
5. Can any one part of the system do what the whole system does? Explain your answer.
6. Identify two parts of this system that must interact if the system is to work. Describe how these parts interact.
7. What is the boundary of this system Ö. where does it begin and end?
8. Are there any subsystems within the whole system? If so, describe one subsystem.
9. Describe how this system would change if one of the parts wears out.
10. Does your object fit our working definition of a system? Do we need to modify our working definition to make a bicycle fit our definition? If so, how?

This lesson was based on "Seeing the Cell as a System" from Project 2061. AAAS. 1997. Resources for Science Literacy: Professional Development. New York. Oxford University Press. Internet address: http://project2061.aaas.org/tools/rsl/index.html