France Terminale Engineering Science
Chapters: 2
1. Competences and content
Dynamics and energy of systems · Feedback control · Information processing and networks · Interdisciplinary project
- Work, Energy and Power – Work is done when a force moves an object: W = F × s, measured in joules (J). Energy is the ability to do work. A moving body has kinetic energy ½mv²; a raised body has potential energy mgh. Energy is never made or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. Power is how fast work is done: P = W ÷ t, in watts. Simple machines like levers and pulleys let a small effort move a big load.
- Control Systems and Feedback – A control system makes a machine or process behave the way we want. Every system has input → process (controller) → output. In an open-loop system the controller does not check the result (a toaster on a timer). In a closed-loop system a sensor measures the output and feeds it back; the controller compares it with the set point and corrects the error (a thermostat, cruise control). Real systems are built from sensors, a controller (electronic circuit, microcontroller or PLC) and actuators (motors, heaters, valves, pneumatic cylinders). Many are now networked (IoT, SCADA) so they can be watched and controlled from far away.
- Computer Networks and How the Internet Works – A network is a group of devices linked to share data. Each device has an IP address. Data is cut into numbered packets. Routers pass each packet hop by hop towards its address, and TCP puts the packets back in order. DNS turns a website name into an IP address. Clients ask, servers answer. Firewalls, passwords, updates and encryption keep a network safe.
- How Networks Grew and How Data Travels – A computer network is a group of connected devices that share data. Networking began with ARPANET (1969), grew into NSFNET (1980s) for universities, and joined with other networks to become the Internet, a network of networks. Every data communication has five parts: sender, receiver, message, communication media and protocol. Bandwidth is the range of frequencies a channel can carry (in Hz); data rate is how many bits travel per second (bps). Every device on a network has an IP address. Data can move by circuit switching (a fixed path is booked first) or packet switching (data is cut into packets that travel on their own).
- The Design Process: From Problem to Product – The design process is a loop of steps designers use to solve a real problem for real people: investigate the need, define it in a brief and a measurable specification, generate many ideas, build a prototype, then test and evaluate it against the specification. Whatever fails sends you back round the loop. This repeating is called iteration, and it is how almost every product, app, building and artwork is improved.
2. Physics complement
Kinematics and dynamics · Waves; light and photons · Energy: conversions and transfers · Measurement and uncertainty
- Force and Laws of Motion – A force is a push or a pull. Balanced forces (net force zero) do not change motion; an unbalanced force changes speed or direction. Friction opposes sliding. First law: a body keeps its state of rest or uniform motion unless an unbalanced force acts (inertia; heavier bodies have more inertia). Momentum p = mv. Second law: F = ma (rate of change of momentum), 1 N = 1 kg m/s². Third law: forces come in equal and opposite pairs acting on two different bodies. For a system with no outside force, internal forces cancel and total momentum is conserved.
- Interference (Young's Double Slit) and Single Slit Diffraction – Two coherent sources (same frequency, fixed phase difference) make a steady pattern of bright and dark fringes. At a point on the screen the path difference is Δ = yd/D: bright where Δ = nλ, dark where Δ = (n + ½)λ. All fringes have equal width β = λD/d. A single slit of width a gives diffraction: a bright central maximum of width 2λD/a, with first minima where a sin θ = λ, and weaker side maxima.
- Wave Phenomena: Reflection, Refraction, Diffraction and Interference – All waves (water, sound, light) do four things. They bounce off walls (reflection). They bend when their speed changes (refraction). They spread out after a gap or an edge (diffraction). And when two waves meet, they add up (superposition): crest + crest makes a bigger wave (constructive interference), crest + trough cancels (destructive interference). The rule: path difference = nλ gives a big wave; path difference = (n + ½)λ gives calm. For two slits, fringe spacing Δx = λD/d.
- Work, Energy and Power – Work is done when a force moves an object: W = F × s, measured in joules (J). Energy is the ability to do work. A moving body has kinetic energy ½mv²; a raised body has potential energy mgh. Energy is never made or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. Power is how fast work is done: P = W ÷ t, in watts. Simple machines like levers and pulleys let a small effort move a big load.
- Matter and Its Measurement – Matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. It can be solid, liquid or gas, and it can be an element, a compound or a mixture. Chemists measure matter in SI units. Every measurement has some doubt, so we write it with the right number of significant figures, use scientific notation for very big or small numbers, and change units with conversion factors.