Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 6

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Identify the stages and resources in a simple processing system.
• Evaluate a product based on cost, quality, durability, and environmental impact.
• Suggest improvements to a process to make it more efficient or sustainable.
• Explain how evaluation helps us make informed consumer choices.

Lesson summary

In Natural Sciences and Technology, we often talk about how things are made – how raw materials are processed into finished products. But it's not enough to just know the steps involved. We also need to be able to evaluate these processes and the products they create. This means looking at the good things, the bad things, and thinking about how things could be done better. In a country like South Africa, where we have many natural resources and a need for sustainable development, understanding how to evaluate products and processes is crucial for making smart choices as consumers, innovators, and citizens.

Lesson notes

What is a Processing System? A processing system is a series of steps that transforms raw materials into a finished product. Think about it like a recipe. The ingredients are the raw materials, the instructions are the steps in the process, and the final dish is the finished product. Every processing system has inputs (raw materials, energy, labour), processes (the actions that change the raw materials), and outputs (the finished product, waste).

Examples of Processing Systems: Making Bread: Inputs: Flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar, energy (for baking), human labour.

Processes: Mixing ingredients, kneading dough, allowing dough to rise, baking the dough.

Outputs: Bread, heat (waste energy), packaging waste (if commercially produced).

Producing Mielie Meal: Inputs: Maize (mielies), water (for cleaning), energy (for milling), human labour.

Processes: Cleaning the maize, milling the maize, sifting the meal.

Outputs: Mielie meal, maize husks (waste), dust, packaging waste.

Making Fruit Juice: Inputs: Fruit, water, sugar (optional), energy (for blending/processing), packaging materials, human labor Processes: Washing fruit, extracting juice (blending/pressing), pasteurization (heating to kill bacteria), bottling Outputs: Fruit juice, fruit pulp (waste), waste water from washing, packaging materials Evaluating Products and Processes: Evaluating means carefully considering the good and bad aspects of something. When evaluating a product or a process, we should ask questions like: Cost: How much does it cost to make the product? How much does it cost to buy the product? Is it affordable?

Quality: Is the product well-made? Does it work as it should? Is it nutritious (if food)?

Durability: How long will the product last? Is it strong and resistant to damage? Will the process work reliably over time?

Efficiency: How much raw material is needed to make the product? How much waste is produced? How long does the process take? Does the process use a lot of energy?

Sustainability: Does the process harm the environment? Are the raw materials renewable (can they be replaced)? Can the waste be recycled or reused?

Environmental Impact: Does the product's manufacturing process or disposal cause pollution of air, water or land? Does the product contain substances harmful to the environment?

Social Impact: Does the product provide value to its users? Were workers fairly compensated during the process of making the product?