Topic 7 How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) — what needs James (16)

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 1 · tests ENE5-014

EasyMCQType 1 — which device goes in the loop for a stated job; which part gives out the sound; the criterion's verb (rise) → device

A camping flashlight must give out light. Which device goes in its loop?

1. a) a buzzer
2. b) a bulb ← key
3. c) a motor
4. d) a battery

Why it is this type: The job needs the circuit to give out light. A bulb gives out light. So a bulb goes in the loop.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 2 · tests ENE5-014

EasyMCQType 2 — which change makes a drawn or described loop do its job (close the switch; swap the device; add the second wire; which part makes it work only while held)

[pp_fan_open: a loop with a battery on the left, a motor and fan on the right, a switch on the top wire with its lever tilted up] Here is the loop for a toy fan, and the fan does not turn. Which change makes the fan turn?

1. a) add a bulb to the loop
2. b) close the switch ← key
3. c) swap the battery for a buzzer
4. d) use a longer wire

Why it is this type: The switch is open, so the loop has a gap. A motor moves only when the loop is complete. So closing the switch makes the fan turn.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 3 · tests ENE5-014

MediumtypedType 3 — the name of the device for a stated job

An alarm clock circuit must give out sound when the time comes. Type the name of the device that goes in its loop.

Accepted answers (typed): buzzer / a buzzer / the buzzer / buzzers / buzer / buzzar / buzza; wrong_fb for bell, bulb, motor, speaker, battery.

Why it is this type: The job needs the circuit to give out sound. A buzzer gives out sound. So the device in the loop is a buzzer.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 4 · tests ENE5-014

EasyMCQType 4 — what the builder does first

Greta builds a circuit for a job. What does she do first?

1. a) say what the job needs the circuit to give out ← key
2. b) clip the wires to the two ends of the battery
3. c) pick the longest wire out of the whole kit
4. d) paint the battery so that it looks nice

Why it is this type: To build a circuit for a job, first say what the job needs the circuit to give out. So Greta says that first.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 5 · tests FOR5-026

EasyMCQType 5 — which line is a criterion; what kind of line a materials line is

A class designs a soft landing pad for a jumping toy frog. One line says: 'You may use only one towel and tape.' What kind of line is that?

1. a) a criterion
2. b) a constraint ← key
3. c) a failure point
4. d) a fair test

Why it is this type: A limit the design must stay inside is called a constraint. 'Only one towel and tape' says what you may use. So that line is a constraint.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 6 · tests FOR5-026

EasyMCQType 6 — which push a barrier must give; which barrier stops a thing little by little; the correct reason the foam is gentler

A basketball rolls off a court and down a slope toward the street, and a barrier at the bottom must slow it down. Which push must the barrier give the ball?

1. a) a push in the direction the ball rolls
2. b) a push straight up into the air
3. c) a push against the direction the ball rolls ← key
4. d) no push at all

Why it is this type: When the stronger force acts against the direction an object is moving, the object slows down. The ball rolls down the slope. So the barrier must push against the direction the ball rolls.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 7 · tests FOR5-026

HardMCQType 7 — the routine's steps and checks: what comes first / next; the check against the criterion; a plan outside the constraint; which tries are a fair test; does it meet the criterion; both criterion and constraint (hard); why re-test the same way (hard, SR5-041)

A wooden board stopped a rolling wagon before the fence, but the toy on it flew off. A foam pad stopped the wagon with the toy staying on, but the pad is longer than the constraint allows. Which design meets both the criterion and the constraint?

1. a) the wooden board
2. b) the foam pad
3. c) both designs
4. d) neither design ← key

Why it is this type: The criterion is to stop the wagon with the toy staying on; the constraint is a limit on the pad's length. The board fails the criterion, and the pad breaks the constraint. So neither design meets both. Hard because: two ideas chained — each design is read against the criterion AND the constraint before the pair is judged.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 8 · tests SR5-040

MediumMCQType 8 — which design did better against the stated criterion; the same pair under a new criterion; looks set aside with counts compared (hard)

[pp_rafts_table: the painted raft 12 pennies; the plain raft 20 pennies] Two rafts, one painted with flowers and one plain, are tested in the same pool with the same pennies, for the criterion: hold more pennies before sinking. Here are the results; which raft did better?

1. a) the painted raft
2. b) the plain raft ← key
3. c) both rafts the same
4. d) neither raft

Why it is this type: The criterion is to hold more pennies, and it says nothing about paint. The plain raft held 20 pennies and the painted raft held 12. So the plain raft did better, whatever it looks like.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 9 · tests SR5-040

Hardmulti-selectType 9 — what decides which did better; which criterion can be tested; which experiment plan did better against "only one thing changes"; two criteria chained (hard); the claim's correct reason (hard); the TWO things that decide (multi, hard)

Select the TWO things that decide which of two tested designs did better.

1. a) the criterion ← key
2. b) what happened in the test ← key
3. c) how each design looks
4. d) how long each design took to build

Why it is this type: To find which design did better, test both against the same criterion and compare what happened. Looks and building time are not in the criterion. So the criterion and what happened in the test decide. Hard because: the answer is a set.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) · Type 10 · tests SR5-041

HardMCQType 10 — which part to change next from where it failed; where the failure point is; which part to KEEP (hard); nothing to change when it passed (hard); the claim's correct reason (hard); the TWO failure points (multi, hard); the term recognised

Hector is wrong to say the best way to improve his sagging shelf is to start again from scratch. What is the correct reason?

1. a) A shelf that sagged once can never be made to hold anything.
2. b) The sag shows which part to change, and the rest can be kept. ← key
3. c) Starting again always takes less time than changing one part.
4. d) A new design never fails, so it needs no test at all.

Why it is this type: To improve a design, find its failure point, change that part, and keep the rest. The sag shows the failure point. So Hector changes that part and keeps the rest, and he is not right. Hard because: the belief (SD-4: improving a design means starting again) is judged by its correct reason, which needs the failure-point idea held against starting over.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar