Compressor

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/compressor

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the classification?Categorized as positive displacement (reciprocating, rotary) or dynamic (centrifugal, axial)
2. What is the intercooling function?Cools gas between stages to reduce work input and increase efficiency
3. Why does a compressor get hot when it works?Squeezing the gas uses energy, and that energy turns into heat. The hotter the gas, the more work the compressor has to do.
4. How do compressors make air even more powerful in multiple stages?They compress the gas in several steps. Between steps, a device called an intercooler cools the gas, so the next stage uses less energy.

Adiabatic Compression: Compression where no heat is exchanged with the surroundings.
Isothermal Compression: Compression where the temperature of the gas remains constant.
Specific Volume: The volume occupied by a unit mass of a substance.
Work Input: The energy required to operate the compressor and compress the gas.