2013 Notes from the Marking Centre – Industrial Technology
Introduction
This document has been produced for the teachers and candidates of the Stage 6 Industrial Technology course. It contains comments on candidate responses to the 2013 Higher School Certificate examination, highlighting their strengths in particular parts of the examination and indicating where candidates need to improve.
This document should be read along with:
- the Industrial Technology Stage 6 Syllabus
- the 2013 Higher School Certificate Industrial Technology examination
- the marking guidelines:
- Industrial Technology Project Requirements – Frequently asked questions
- Advice for HSC students about examinations
- Information regarding the certification of projects, submitted works and performances
- other support documents developed by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW to assist in the teaching and learning of Industrial Technology in Stage 6.
Major Project
Design, Management and Communication
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- including relevant research that supported the development of the project and justifying their choice (Research)
- presenting samples of work which detail the development in the required page limit (Development of ideas)
- documenting changes to the design as the project developed (Development of ideas)
- providing descriptions of the tasks performed (Project management)
- working website links and smooth scene transitions in multimedia (Project management)
- recognising the importance of PPE (WHS and safe working practices)
- using desktop publishing for text, borders, page numbers, images, internet, CAD drawings and a range of computer software in presenting the folio (Presentation skills and techniques including ICT)
- including evaluation throughout the folio with a summation at the end of the folio (Evaluation of the major project).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- including information that contributes value to the folio (Research)
- providing evidence of how their designs evolved (Development of ideas)
- practising their drawing skills to include sketches (Development of ideas) and working drawings (Production)
- appreciating the importance of timeline and finance plans as management tools (Project management)
- addressing the broader issues surrounding the use of industrial machinery and hazardous materials (WHS and safe working practices).
Production
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- including design ideas, storyboards, mind maps and timeline plans to provide evidence of a planned sequence of development in Graphics and Multimedia (Links between planning and production)
- documenting the contribution of outside agents/organisations in the management folio (Outsourcing).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- providing evidence of design evolution, workshop drawings, timeline plans, finance plans and construction steps (Links between planning and production)
- not including images or videos with sexual themes or violence contained in Graphics and Multimedia major projects (Breach of subject rules).
Written Examination
Automotive Technologies
Section II
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- understanding lubricants and their applications/properties (Q.11)
- outlining the basic function of a thermostat in a vehicle’s cooling system (Q.12)
- knowing the basic functional properties of suspension (Q.13)
- listing vehicle safety systems (eg air bags, ABS brakes and crumple zones) (Q.15).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- knowing the thermostat material properties in relation to how they adjust coolant flow in the engine cooling system (Q.12)
- understanding the interactions between individual parts of the suspension system (eg shock absorbers, coil springs, leaf springs, sway bars and linkages) (Q.13)
- relating the engine management system to sensors, holistic control of fuel control and fuel efficiency (Q.14)
- relating improvements in materials with examples to vehicle safety (Q.15).
Electronics Technologies
Section II
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- demonstrating knowledge of a PCB circuit and fault finding (Q.11)
- understanding Piezo electric materials and devices (Q.12)
- interpreting electronic circuits and some components (Q.15).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- identifying Piezo devices’ functional properties (Q.12)
- demonstrating understanding of a stepped motor and its application
- differentiating between styles of motor: stepped versus free running (Q.13)
- demonstrating correct sequences to calculate voltage and current
- understanding series and parallel circuits (Q.14)
- knowing the component properties of capacitors and transistors used in a circuit (Q.15).
Graphics Technologies
Section II
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- rendering a drawing (Q.11)
- understanding the advantages of product prototyping (Q.12)
- explaining the reason for variation in scale in Cabinet Oblique (Q.13)
- drawing a top view (Q.14)
- outlining an advantage and disadvantage of perspective drawing (Q.15).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- understanding how to render to a light source (Q.11)
- understanding recent innovations in product prototyping and relating these with respect to a benefit (Q.12)
- identifying the method of oblique drawing (Q.13)
- understanding third-angle projection and the positioning of views in relation to each other while using correct methods of sectioning (Q.14)
- understanding the advantages and disadvantages of isometric drawing (Q.15).
Metal and Engineering Technologies
Section II
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- naming fixed powered machines for cutting metal to length (Q.11)
- understanding the need for PPE in a pre-operational safety check before using a drilling machine (Q.12)
- describing the benefits of using laser cutting equipment (Q.14)
- understanding the required tools for marking out (Q.15).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- identifying safety checks specific to a drilling machine (Q.12)
- understanding the key steps and components involved in the process of brazing mild steel (Q.13)
- understanding the sequence of marking out a product on plate mild steel (Q.15).
Multimedia Technologies
Section II
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- understanding the uses and characteristics for different file types (Q.11)
- describing the effects that are caused by decreasing colour depth ( Q.13)
- understanding the advantages of using cascading style sheets in web design (Q.14).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- linking the uses and characteristics for different file types to the situation stated in the question (Q.11)
- understanding the effects of screen capture devices and software settings on video quality (Q.12)
- understanding the advantages of and differences between cell-based and path-based animation (Q.15).
Timber Products and Furniture Technologies
Section II
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- naming manufactured boards for use in the drawer base (Q.12)
- naming timber joints that could be used for the corner of the carcase (Q.13)
- having an awareness of the need to pre-drill before fixing screws (Q.14 and Q.15)
- providing sketches to support statements for attaching the plinth (Q.14)
- understanding the importance of hogging out before fitting butt hinges (Q.15).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- understanding which plantation timbers have appropriate properties for cabinet furniture construction (Q.11)
- understanding the properties of manufactured boards which influence their selection for use in a specific situation such as the bottom of a cabinet drawer (Q.12)
- sketching timber joints and cabinetwork processes (Q.13 and Q.14)
- knowing traditional and contemporary methods for securing the plinth to the cabinet (Q.14)
- setting out a correctly sequenced and detailed cabinetwork process such as installing a butt hinge (Q.15).
Section III
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- understanding safety standards (Q.16a)
- identifying relevant reasons why a company should comply with safety standards (Q.16a)
- understanding a broad range of safety strategies (Q.16b)
- identifying strategies that relate to both establishing and maintaining a safe work culture (Q.16b).
Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- providing detail as to why a company needs to comply with safety standards (Q.16a)
- assessing rather than only relating safety strategies (Q.16b)
- restricting their answers to topics relevant to the question (Q.16b)
- relating safe working culture to WHS rather than ethnicity and/or EEO (Q.16b).
NSW Government