2 + 2 = 5
For both PD and DE, Maths can be upto 1/3 of your paper... so you need to be well prepared. More so than for answering questions like the one above - you are more likely to be asked a selection of questions on areas like this:
PrODUCT DESIGN
Calculate...
Area
Volume
Measurements
Material use
Packaging
Costing
Transportation
lengths & Angles
Ratios/ fractions
Nets (with tabs)
Material wastage
Tolerance (%) ∓
Percentages/ numbers of
Data use/ graphs
Drawings/ projections
Angles
Data analysis
Height/ width/ length
Design Engineering:
Calculate...
Material use
electronics
mechanisms
Stress
Strain
Youngs Modulus
Mass
Density
Force
Load
Speed
Time
Pressure
Resistance
current/ capacity
input/ output
Voltage/ resistance
MA/ efficiency
Height/ length/ width
Extension
Power
Signal amplification
Velocity/ acceleration
Velocity Ratio
Determine by calculation
What are your
hurdles to jump?
If you are studying A level maths and are regularly practicing it, you might find it more achievable. However, if the last consistantly regular maths you did was during your GCSE's, you will find it much more of a challenge. You need to practice! Regularly!
If you are studying DE, you should also be studying A Level Maths and Physics!
The first thing to think about is what are your mathamatical strengths? What are you already good at? These areas just need constant practice (remember the forgetting curve). For things that you find a bit stickier, you need regular practice. Whilst we will obviously look at this in lessons, you must practice yourself too!!
Find your practice pointers here:
General bits you might forget
Approaches:
Have you disected the Q?
Do you need to convert units?
Specifics to help you with the exam
A key thing to remember when approaching calculation questions is that they are not straight forward. you must disect the question first. Have a look at these examples and work out what info you need from the question:
DE
PD
