Topic 7 · How to design it, test it and make it better (Design and build) — the question types, for your rulings

Skill: course-build → write-mcqs → write-explanation, design-check-sequence @ cca3af6

Topic 7 — How to design it, test it and make it better — the PP100's question types, with their exemplars

What this page is. James reads a bank as its question TYPES first (vault: A bank is reviewed as its question types first, one exemplar each). Under the Grade 5 standing brief the bank is built straight away (55 items in content/G5T07_pp100_bank.py); this sheet is the way in. Each type line says what the stem asks and what the options (or the accept list) are, and prints one exemplar in full. Tags follow depth of reasoning — easy = one fact or a one-step pick; medium = the rule applied to a fresh case, a reason picked, a drawn table read against a criterion, a device name produced; hard = a claim judged by its correct reason, two ideas chained, a set answer, or the boundary judged — and rise with the atom's order: ENE5-014 (the circuit) nine easy, six medium; FOR5-026 (the soft barrier) six easy, five medium, one hard; SR5-040 (which did better) two easy, seven medium, four hard; SR5-041 (what to change next, the capstone) two easy, seven medium, six hard. Every hard item carries a one-line "hard because" (hb) in the bank file.

Rulings already applied. Four options on every MCQ (fixed sets: the device set "a buzzer / a bulb / a motor / a battery", whose key moves; the first-step set); no option bundles a verdict with its reason (both bank claims are "X is wrong … What is the correct reason?" with four single-statement reasons; no tier-2 exception used); every stem is a positive question of at most two sentences unless tagged hard; drawn result tables carry the two designs' readings as data and the blind text lists the cells, never the verdict; "criterion", "constraint", "fair test" and "failure point" are recalled by MCQ (RECALL_BY_MCQ: two words, or more than eight letters a ten-year-old cannot be asked to spell); the typed keys are "buzzer", "motor" and "bulb" (one word each, inside the Lesson 1 (Build a circuit that does a job) rule sentence, child spellings in the accept lists) and are tagged medium (a one-step recall produced; see the build record's judgement call 3); two multi-selects, where the answer is genuinely a set; every item names ONE atom; US spelling; units as words in prose, numerals on drawings. MCQ keys A 13 · B 15 · C 13 · D 9. KEY TELLS: 0 of 129 MCQs flagged.

The bar list (things a generated item must never use): "success rule" (the criterion is the word); "independent / dependent variable" (grades 6-8); "gravity", "leak", "lift", "snap"; "run" for a test try; any lesson scene (the classroom doorbell; the library book cart, the hallway ramp, the sponges and the cardboard barrier; the load-and-barrier experiment plans); any quiz, attached, summary or practice scene (kitchen timer, hallway night light, toy windmill, cookie-jar alarm, bike bell, desk fan, model lighthouse; toy train and cotton balls, kitchen drawer, toy truck, toy car at a table edge, rolling ball, skateboard, hay bales and sled, bowling ball; kites, paper boats and marbles, paper airplanes, block towers, bird feeders, sugar in warm water, ice cubes, socks, toy crane, seeds; paper bridges and coins; toy ambulance, paper-cup telephone, paper lantern; pencil holders, seed planters, hockey puck, closet light, carousel, shopping cart, stroller, mittens, ball and hill, slingshot, mailbox, tent, pet-food scoop, wooden ramp); a claim-maker from another topic's row (only Greta, Hazel and Hector); "biggest / smallest" for an amount.

The ten types

Type	Items	Atom	Tags	Form	The stem asks…	The options / the accept	Exemplar scene
1	7	014	easy, medium	MCQ, the device set	which device goes in the loop for a stated job; which part gives out the sound; the criterion's verb (rise) → device	a buzzer / a bulb / a motor / a battery	a camping flashlight; a model Ferris wheel; a railroad crossing gate
2	4	014	easy, medium	MCQ	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)	four changes / four parts	a toy fan (drawn, switch open); a dollhouse porch light; a "quiet" sign
3	3	014	medium	typed	the name of the device for a stated job	buzzer / motor / bulb, with article, plural and child spellings	an alarm clock; a model helicopter; a model streetlight
4	1	014	easy	MCQ, the first-step set	what the builder does first	say what the job needs… / clip the wires… / pick the longest wire… / paint the battery…	Greta's circuit
5	2	026	easy	MCQ	which line is a criterion; what kind of line a materials line is	four lines / criterion, constraint, failure point, fair test	toy buses at a kitchen wall; a landing pad for a toy frog
6	3	026	easy, medium	MCQ	which push a barrier must give; which barrier stops a thing little by little; the correct reason the foam is gentler	four pushes / four barriers / four reasons	a basketball on a slope; a rolling wagon; a foam pad against a board
7	8	026, 041	easy → hard	MCQ	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)	four steps / checks / sets of tries	a wheelbarrow stopper; a suitcase in a van; a swing-stopper log; a pillow barrier; a board against a pad; a rolling-ball track
8	7	040	easy → hard	MCQ, drawn result table	which design did better against the stated criterion; the same pair under a new criterion; looks set aside with counts compared (hard)	the two named designs / both the same / neither	sun hats; paper straws; rafts (pennies, then sticks); straw towers; spoon launchers
9	7	040	medium, hard	MCQ and one multi	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)	four things / four plans / four reasons	umbrellas; bookends; a swinging weight; gloves; toy-boat sails; Hazel's raft
10	13	041	easy → hard	MCQ and one multi	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	four named parts / four reasons / the term among criterion, constraint, fair test	a party hat; a stool; a snow fort; a balloon rocket; a dog door; a bookend; a water slide; a wooden chair; a go-kart; a paper tower; a model crane; a birdhouse; Hector's shelf

Hard because — type 7: both the criterion and the constraint read before the pair is judged; the re-test read as a fair test after the fix. Type 8: looks set aside AND the counts over three throws compared. Type 9: two criteria chained; a belief judged by its correct reason; a set. Type 10: the part that WORKED named; the boundary with no failure point; a belief judged by its reason; a set of two failure points.

⟂ draw constraints (never two on one test): PP-31 ⟂ PP-32 (the same two rafts under two criteria: one prints the other's data); PP-50 ⟂ PP-51 ⟂ PP-55 (three "keep what worked" moves on different things); PP-46 ⟂ PP-47 (one-failed-try reasoning on rafts, then on launchers); PP-22 / PP-23 / PP-24 (the three typed device names: one per test); PP-36 ⟂ PP-37 (two experiment-plan pairs on the one-change criterion).

One exemplar per type, in full

Type 1 (easy, ENE5-014). A camping flashlight must give out light. Which device goes in its loop? — a buzzer / a bulb / a motor / a battery. Why: The job needs the circuit to give out light. A bulb gives out light. So a bulb goes in the loop. (nearest lesson-side instance: Lesson 1 (Build a circuit that does a job), question 1, the hallway night light, three options — here the set is four and fixed)

Type 2 (easy, ENE5-014, drawn). [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? — add a bulb to the loop / close the switch / swap the battery for a buzzer / use a longer wire. Why: 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. (nearest: Lesson 1 (Build a circuit that does a job), question 4, the bike bell, yes / no)

Type 3 (medium, ENE5-014, typed). An alarm clock circuit must give out sound when the time comes. Type the name of the device that goes in its loop. — accept buzzer / a buzzer / the buzzer / buzzers / buzer / buzzar / buzza; wrong_fb for bell, bulb, motor, speaker, battery. Why: The job needs the circuit to give out sound. A buzzer gives out sound. So the device in the loop is a buzzer. (nearest: Lesson 1 (Build a circuit that does a job), question 9, the bike bell)

Type 4 (easy, ENE5-014). Greta builds a circuit for a job. What does she do first? — say what the job needs the circuit to give out / clip the wires to the two ends of the battery / pick the longest wire out of the whole kit / paint the battery so that it looks nice. Why: To build a circuit for a job, first say what the job needs the circuit to give out. So Greta says that first.

Type 5 (easy, FOR5-026). 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? — a criterion / a constraint / a failure point / a fair test. Why: 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. (nearest: Lesson 2 (Say the problem, and the push a soft barrier must give), question 2, Hector's stopper materials, two options)

Type 6 (easy, FOR5-026). 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? — a push in the direction the ball rolls / a push straight up into the air / a push against the direction the ball rolls / no push at all. Why: 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. (nearest: Lesson 2 (Say the problem, and the push a soft barrier must give), question 3, the toy train, left / right / down)

Type 7 (hard, FOR5-026). 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? — the wooden board / the foam pad / both designs / neither design. Why: 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. (nearest: Lesson 2b (Plan, build and test the soft barrier), question 5, the sled table read against the whole criterion)

Type 8 (medium, SR5-040, drawn). [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? — the painted raft / the plain raft / both rafts the same / neither raft. Why: 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. (nearest: Lesson 3 (Which design did better against the criterion?), question 3, the wide and tall boats, two options)

Type 9 (hard, SR5-040, multi). Select the TWO things that decide which of two tested designs did better. — the criterion / what happened in the test / how each design looks / how long each design took to build. Why: 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.

Type 10 (hard, SR5-041). Hector is wrong to say the best way to improve his sagging shelf is to start again from scratch. What is the correct reason? — A shelf that sagged once can never be made to hold anything. / The sag shows which part to change, and the rest can be kept. / Starting again always takes less time than changing one part. / A new design never fails, so it needs no test at all. Why: 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. (nearest: Lesson 4 (Use where it failed to choose what to change next), question 4, Greta's airplane, bare yes / no; PR-11, Greta's parachute)