VCE Systems Engineering past exams 2023–2025

Every question from the last three VCE Systems Engineering exams, matched to the lesson that teaches it, with class averages from the examiners' reports and worked solutions. VCE Systems Engineering (Year 12) lessons.

2025 Exam

MC 1 (1 mark, class average 93%): Voltage across 30 Ω carrying 1.5 A. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
MC 2 (1 mark, class average 51%): What the letters LCD stand for. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 3 (1 mark, class average 96%): Best description of the systems engineering process. Lesson: Systems Thinking and the Systems Engineering Process
MC 4 (1 mark, class average 71%): Definition of a controlled system. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming
MC 5 (1 mark, class average 55%): Which mechanism could use a dual solenoid. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 6 (1 mark, class average 53%): Main job of an input transducer. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 7 (1 mark, class average 55%): What usually drives the development of new technologies. Lesson: New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy
MC 8 (1 mark, class average 92%): Which is not part of managing the risks of a new technology. Lesson: New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy, Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
MC 9 (1 mark, class average 61%): Likely result of technology convergence in engineering. Lesson: New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy
MC 10 (1 mark, class average 57%): Main operating limitation of a reed switch. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 11 (1 mark, class average 40%): Which component sets the voltage a voltmeter reads from a 16 V divider circuit. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors, Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
MC 12 (1 mark, class average 66%): Energy changes in a geothermal power station. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
MC 13 (1 mark, class average 67%): Total power in a series circuit of 10 Ω and 20 Ω carrying 1.5 A. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
MC 14 (1 mark, class average 60%): Job of a diode wired backwards across a DC motor. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 15 (1 mark, class average 28%): Order of stages in a home solar system with storage. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
MC 16 (1 mark, class average 67%): Best example of cradle-to-cradle thinking. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
MC 17 (1 mark, class average 38%): Which example shows biomass energy. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
MC 18 (1 mark, class average 98%): Correct safety control when using a drill press on steel. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
MC 19 (1 mark, class average 83%): Effect of swapping a stepper motor for a servo motor in a car's steering. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 20 (1 mark, class average 88%): Choose the correctly labelled diagram of a simple generator. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q1 (3 marks, class average 77%): Label the input, output and turning directions in three meshing gears so the MA is 5. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q2a (3 marks, class average 60%): Draw a lever that diverts plastic, and label the effort and load. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q2b (1 mark, class average 55%): Class of the lever in the sorting system. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q2c (3 marks, class average 50%): Draw an input-process-output diagram for the colour detection. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming, Systems Thinking and the Systems Engineering Process
Q2d (3 marks, class average 60%): Output force of a hydraulic system with 1000 N on a 120 cm² piston and a 10 cm² output piston. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q2e (3 marks, class average 60%): Power delivered when the small piston travels 0.3 m over 20 s. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q2f.i (3 marks, class average 67%): Why clear plastics stick in a chute with no conveyor, using friction and a Newton's law. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q2f.ii (1 mark, class average 76%): One way to help plastics move through the chute. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q3a (2 marks, class average 60%): Name the two components the ball passes between to trigger the speaker. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q3b (2 marks, class average 40%): Identify component A and describe its job. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q3c (2 marks, class average 45%): Fix a beam-break trainer that keeps playing music outdoors. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q3d (3 marks, class average 67%): Make 2400 Ω from 3600 Ω, 1800 Ω and 1200 Ω resistors. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q4a (2 marks, class average 45%): One way to make a coal-fired power station more efficient. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q4b (4 marks, class average 88%): One advantage and one disadvantage each of solar and wind power. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q4c.i (2 marks, class average 95%): Efficiency of a battery that stores 140 000 J and delivers 80 000 J. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design, Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q4c.ii (2 marks, class average 65%): Why some energy is lost between the battery and the hospital equipment. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design, Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q5a (2 marks, class average 55%): Frequency of a wave on an oscilloscope set to 0.02 s per division. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q5b (4 marks, class average 50%): Two parts inside a 12 V laptop adaptor and what each does. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q6a (2 marks, class average 40%): Choose a dynamo or a generator to power a bike's LED, and justify it. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q6b (2 marks, class average 55%): How the chosen power source lights the LED as the rider pedals. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q6c (3 marks, class average 83%): Mark where the dynamo and LED go on a bike and draw the wiring. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
Q6d (4 marks, class average 53%): Two criteria, with justification, for judging how efficient the bike light system is. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy
Q6e (5 marks, class average 50%): Set-up and procedure for measuring the light system's output voltage and current with a multimeter. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
Q7 (5 marks, class average 62%): Discuss using artificial intelligence to run and maintain wind energy systems. Lesson: New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy
Q8 (4 marks, class average 65%): Discuss one good and one bad effect of open-source software on developing a remote-controlled lock. Lesson: New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy, Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming
Q9 (6 marks, class average 63%): Three production processes for making a metal-and-wood desk lamp, and how to do each safely. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
Q10 (4 marks, class average 68%): Two weather station subsystems and a maintenance task for each. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System

2024 Exam

MC 1 (1 mark, class average 87%): Mass of a golf cart from a 5000 N net force and 5 m s⁻² acceleration. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 2 (1 mark, class average 83%): Identify a circuit symbol: a circle with a bar along one side. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 3 (1 mark, class average 97%): Pulley ratio of a belt drive turning 300 rpm into 100 rpm. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 4 (1 mark, class average 53%): Power to lift 100 kg through 2 m in 5 s, with g = 10 m s⁻². Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 5 (1 mark, class average 54%): Motor speed when a single-start worm turns a 60-tooth wheel once a minute. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 6 (1 mark, class average 62%): Largest possible resistance of a network of six 10 kΩ resistors with 5% and 10% tolerances. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits, Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 7 (1 mark): Step angle at the output of a gearbox driven by a 200-step stepper motor. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage, Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 8 (1 mark, class average 30%): Which 0.1 µF capacitor can't be used for noise suppression on a reversible DC motor. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 9 (1 mark, class average 61%): Voltage across the top part of a potentiometer fed by three 6 V cells when the bottom part has 2 V. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
MC 10 (1 mark, class average 35%): Share of a coal station's chemical energy that reaches users after station use and line losses. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
MC 11 (1 mark, class average 51%): Total capacitance of a 200 µF capacitor in series with two parallel 200 µF capacitors. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits, Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 12 (1 mark, class average 32%): Force at the road from 480 N m of torque on a wheel 50 cm across. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 13 (1 mark, class average 81%): Read a five-band resistor: violet, green, black, orange, gold. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 14 (1 mark, class average 76%): Which device is an input transducer. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 15 (1 mark, class average 97%): Factor that matters for environmental sustainability when making a system. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
MC 16 (1 mark, class average 62%): Pressure under a 20 cm diameter piston pushed with 4400 N. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 17 (1 mark, class average 95%): Difference between a hazard and a risk. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
MC 18 (1 mark, class average 54%): Control system that uses feedback to hold a set point. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming
MC 19 (1 mark, class average 62%): Pair of changes that improve both energy capture and generator conversion in a wind turbine. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
MC 20 (1 mark, class average 77%): Efficiency formula for a wind turbine. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q1a (1 mark, class average 62%): Gradient of a voltage–current graph for a resistor network. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q1b (2 marks, class average 30%): Resistance of the potentiometer section in parallel with 330 Ω, given a 200 Ω total. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q2a (2 marks, class average 50%): Number of 360 W solar panels to make 55 kW h in a day with 14 hours of peak output. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design, Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q2b (2 marks, class average 35%): Hours of peak output for a 1.7 m² panel to pay back its embodied energy of 585 kW h per m². Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q3a (2 marks, class average 65%): Work done raising a 6 kg load 3 m with g = 10 m s⁻². Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q3b (1 mark, class average 27%): Length of rope pulled through to raise the load 3 m with a six-rope pulley block. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q3c (2 marks, class average 25%): Speed of the input rope when 90 W is applied. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q4a (3 marks, class average 60%): Use a stopwatch and the notch on a crank to measure how fast the crank turns. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q4b (3 marks, class average 40%): Draw and describe a microswitch, battery and lamp set-up to measure how fast the crank oscillates. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q5a (2 marks, class average 75%): Two evaluation criteria for a delivery drone's mechanical or electronic performance. Lesson: New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy, Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
Q5b (2 marks, class average 80%): Describe how to test the drone against one criterion. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy
Q6a (3 marks, class average 30%): Design a four-gear compound train with a ratio of 3, gear A clockwise and gear C anticlockwise. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q6b (1 mark, class average 42%): Output speed of the ratio-3 gear train with a 150 rpm input. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q7 (3 marks, class average 53%): Efficiency of a pulley that lifts 60 N by 2 m for 30 N of effort over 5 m. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q8a (2 marks, class average 70%): Identify the class of a lever with the pivot between effort and load, and explain. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q8b (2 marks, class average 80%): Smallest effort 6 m from the pivot to lift 720 N at 1 m. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q8c (1 mark, class average 73%): Mechanical advantage of the lever. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q9a (4 marks, class average 45%): Compare hydraulic and pneumatic systems: similarities and differences. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q9b (2 marks, class average 50%): Choose hydraulic or pneumatic for a chip-packing line, with a reason. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q9c (4 marks, class average 90%): Use a risk matrix to fill four gaps in a food-plant hazard table. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
Q10a (3 marks, class average 23%): Sketch the load voltage from a 120:90 transformer and a single diode on a 240 V RMS, 50 Hz supply. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q10b (1 mark, class average 35%): One improvement to make the rectifier a better DC supply. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q11 (5 marks, class average 50%): Place an LED, two transistors and two push buttons on PCB artwork to match a circuit. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q12 (5 marks, class average 58%): Analyse smart devices in healthcare: one use, two impacts and one issue. Lesson: New and Emerging Technologies, Evaluation and Exam Strategy
Q13a (2 marks, class average 35%): What a relay is, and one advantage of using one here. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q13b (1 mark, class average 42%): Purpose of the switch in the relay circuit. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q13c (2 marks, class average 30%): Explain how the relay switch works in this circuit. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q14a (4 marks, class average 60%): Fill four gaps in a block diagram for a cold-and-dark alarm. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q14b (3 marks, class average 60%): Functions of the two process subsystems and when the alarm sounds. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming
Q15 (5 marks, class average 42%): Discuss cradle-to-cradle analysis, how it applies to renewables, and three kinds of benefit. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q16a (3 marks, class average 50%): How an off-grid solar system turns sunlight into AC power for shed tools. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q16b (2 marks, class average 45%): One factor that affects how efficiently a solar system converts energy. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design

2023 Exam

MC 1 (1 mark, class average 65%): Effort needed to hold a 24 kg load in a wheelbarrow with the load 40 cm and the handles 120 cm from the wheel. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 2 (1 mark, class average 73%): Value and tolerance of a resistor banded brown, black, green, gold. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 3 (1 mark, class average 11%): Meter readings when a voltmeter and an ammeter are both wired in series with a 50 Ω resistor. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
MC 4 (1 mark, class average 80%): Name the cam that slides back and forth under a follower. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 5 (1 mark, class average 94%): Mechanical advantage of a single movable pulley lifting 200 N with 100 N of effort. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 6 (1 mark, class average 94%): Most important personal protective equipment for arc welding. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
MC 7 (1 mark, class average 87%): Identify a switch symbol with two linked contacts, both open. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 8 (1 mark, class average 90%): What friction does to an object moving down a ramp. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 9 (1 mark, class average 53%): Identify a circuit symbol: a circle with a block on each side. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 10 (1 mark, class average 74%): Current from a 300 V battery into two 150 Ω resistors in parallel. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
MC 11 (1 mark, class average 98%): Pick the renewable energy source. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
MC 12 (1 mark, class average 23%): Which everyday object relies on compression springs. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 13 (1 mark, class average 88%): Moment of a 70 N force acting 2.5 m from a shaft. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 14 (1 mark, class average 87%): Which object has the greatest weight on Earth. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 15 (1 mark, class average 64%): What puts a shaft in torsion. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
MC 16 (1 mark, class average 39%): Size of a variable capacitor in parallel with 22 nF and 22 µF in series to give 0.1 µF in total. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits, Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 17 (1 mark, class average 79%): Safety equipment needed at a soldering station. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System
MC 18 (1 mark, class average 52%): Current through the series resistor of a 16 V Zener regulator fed from 40 V. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors, Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
MC 19 (1 mark, class average 31%): Smallest series resistor for an LED that needs 2.7 V and 20 mA from a 5 V supply. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits, Electronic Components and Sensors
MC 20 (1 mark, class average 36%): Best use for a mercury switch. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q1a (3 marks, class average 57%): Mechanical work done lifting 100 kg through 25 m. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q1b (2 marks, class average 35%): Electrical energy used by a 500 W motor running for 60 s. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits, Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q1c (2 marks, class average 45%): Efficiency of the motor-and-load system, to the nearest 1%. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage, Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q2a (4 marks, class average 78%): Total resistance of two 10 Ω resistors in series with a parallel pair of 10 Ω resistors. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q2b (1 mark, class average 67%): Current drawn from the 25 V supply. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q2c (1 mark, class average 62%): Power delivered by the 25 V supply. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q3a (2 marks, class average 50%): RMS voltage across each half of a centre-tapped secondary (1000 primary turns, 250 + 250 secondary). Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q3b (3 marks, class average 27%): Wire two diodes and a load to a centre-tapped transformer to give DC. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q3c (1 mark, class average 45%): Component that smooths a rectified output. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q3d (1 mark, class average 11%): Where the smoothing component goes. Lesson: Electronic Components and Sensors
Q4a (3 marks, class average 73%): Daily energy for a caravan's 20 W lights (6 h) and 100 W fridge (2 h). Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design, Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q4b (1 mark, class average 57%): Number of 100 W h solar panels to cover the daily load. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q4c (3 marks, class average 40%): Number of 12 V, 100 A h batteries to run the caravan for three days without sun. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design, Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q5 (6 marks, class average 77%): Draw PCB tracks for a switch, three resistors, a transistor and an LED from a circuit diagram. Lesson: Producing, Testing and Fault-Finding Your Integrated System, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q6a (1 mark, class average 45%): Name a device that can run either open loop or closed loop. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming
Q6b (2 marks, class average 35%): Describe the open-loop and the closed-loop version of that device. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming
Q6c (4 marks, class average 28%): Explain two advantages of closed-loop control for that device. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming
Q7a (1 mark, class average 43%): Area of a small piston given a 10 N force and 2632 Pa of pressure. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q7b (1 mark, class average 47%): Force from a 0.5 m² piston at the same pressure. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q7c (1 mark, class average 48%): Why the effort goes on the small cylinder. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q7d (4 marks, class average 53%): Force on a 0.6 m² piston to hold up a 2800 kg car on a 3.6 m² piston. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q8a (1 mark, class average 68%): What an AC generator does. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q8b (1 mark, class average 51%): Role of the generator in an off-grid solar system. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q8c (6 marks, class average 35%): Name three labelled parts of an AC generator and give each one's job. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q9 (2 marks, class average 50%): Draw at least two cycles of a 40 V peak, 25 Hz sine wave on a voltage–time grid. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits
Q10 (3 marks, class average 30%): Design a 2.5 V to 5 V variable supply from a 5 V battery, a 100 Ω resistor and a 100 Ω potentiometer. Lesson: Electrical Principles — Ohm’s Law, Power and Series and Parallel Circuits, Electronic Components and Sensors
Q11a (4 marks, class average 30%): Use energy density and efficiency data to compare fuel or battery size in electric and biodiesel cars. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q11b (2 marks, class average 40%): Compare the infrastructure for moving and storing energy for electric and petrol cars. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q12 (4 marks, class average 45%): Design a portable system that samples lake water at 500 mm depth and measures its cloudiness. Lesson: Control Systems — Open and Closed Loop, Microcontrollers and Programming, Electronic Components and Sensors, Systems Thinking and the Systems Engineering Process
Q13a (1 mark, class average 21%): How the steering rate changes as the pinion moves from the centre teeth to the wider-spaced end teeth. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q13b (3 marks, class average 40%): Turns of input gear A needed for output gear D to turn four times in a gearbox of bevel gears. Lesson: Mechanical Systems — Levers, Moments, Gears, Pulleys and Mechanical Advantage
Q14a (2 marks, class average 80%): Two environmental factors when choosing a wind-farm site. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design
Q14b (4 marks, class average 60%): Evaluate wind farms and solar farms as renewable suppliers to the grid. Lesson: Energy, Sustainability and Ethical Systems Design