Open book examination to be completed and returned by noon Monday, June 13, 1988. You may use any available references or your notes, but do not collaborate with other students or staff regarding questions or answers.
1. The first and most important part of this examination is the already assigned development of a well thought out and documented essay on a biophysical science topic relating to the quarter's theme of information, communication, control and processing in biological systems and their biomimetic counterparts. The essay of perhaps 6-8 pages, say 2000 words or the like, with illustrations or graphical data as is appropriate, should be more than simply a literature survey. It should include appropriate source material but should point clearly to a direction of research, development, marketing or education that could be nationally beneficial. Be realistically imaginative!
2. Explain the informational usage of the term Negentropy and show that it is more than casually related to the entropy of ordinary physics.
3. Explain the techniques by which we go from familiar circuit theory utilizing Ohm's Law, Kirchoff's Law and Thevenin's Theorem to biological systems like the heart in a body where we must have electrical continuity throughout a system, not wires.
4. Divide 255.125 by 16 (These are decimal numbers.) in octal form, and show that the result is the same as in decimal by converting back to decimal.
5. Explain how negative feedback control of a biological control process like hand-eye coordinated motion can become grossly unstable as sensitivity is increased, and if you can, tell how biofeedforward can improve the speed-accuracy performance.
6. Suggest an animal or plant process that might be usefully emulated in a biomimetic robotic application.