STEAM Early Warning Systems with Micro:bits

An Early Warning System (EWS) is important because it:

• provides advance notice of potential hazards

• is used for entertainment purposes

• is a type of weather forecasting tool

• is a system for financial transactions

Name three natural hazards that can be detected using data collection.

• Earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes

• Tornadoes, droughts, and wildfires

• Volcanic eruptions, landslides, and tsunamis

• All of the above

To detect an earthquake, what type of data would you collect?

• Seismic data

• Weather data

• Traffic data

• Economic data

What is the difference between an input and an output in a micro:bit system? Provide an example of each.

• An input is a signal or data received by the system, while an output is a signal or data sent from it. Example of input: button press; Example of output: LED display.

• An input is a signal or data sent from the system, while an output is a signal or data received by it. Example of input: LED display; Example of output: button press.

• An input and output are the same in a micro:bit system. Example of both: button press and LED display.

• An input is a power source for the system, while an output is a power drain. Example of input: battery; Example of output: motor.

How can we make an Early Warning System more sustainable?

• By using renewable energy sources

• By increasing the system's complexity

• By reducing the number of sensors

• By relying solely on manual monitoring

What are some possible outputs for an Early Warning System designed to detect a drought?

• Increased rainfall predictions

• Decreased water levels in reservoirs

• Higher humidity levels

• Improved crop yields

One of the first places to implement an Early Warning System was for which hazard?

• Tsunami in Japan

• Earthquake in California

• Flood in Bangladesh

• Hurricane in Florida

How does reducing LED intensity improve sustainability when using a micro:bit?

• By increasing energy consumption

• By reducing energy consumption

• By making the device larger

• By increasing the brightness

Repeat loops are used in coding because they:

• allow for the execution of a set of instructions multiple times until a condition is met, which is useful in automating repetitive tasks such as monitoring conditions in an Early Warning System.

• help in writing code that is executed only once, which is useful for initializing variables in an Early Warning System.

• are used to handle exceptions and errors in an Early Warning System.

• are primarily used for user input validation in an Early Warning System.

What would happen if your micro:bit code was missing an output command?

• The code would run without displaying any output.

• The code would display an error message.

• The micro:bit would shut down.

• The code would run twice as fast.