2018 VCE Systems Engineering
examination report
General comments
In the 2018 Systems Engineering examination, students found some of the questions relating to
resistance of the wires within solar panel circuits to be difficult. Students are reminded that all
aspects of the study design are examinable.
Students need to write their answers in the boxes provided. Having multiple answers for a question
will not result in marks being awarded. For questions worth two or more marks, clear working
showing application of the appropriate formula was essential.
Specific information
This report provides sample answers or an indication of what answers may have included. Unless
otherwise stated, these are not intended to be exemplary or complete responses.
The statistics in this report may be subject to rounding resulting in a total more or less than 100 per
cent.
Section A – Multiple-choice questions
The table below indicates the percentage of students who chose each option. The correct
answer is indicated by shading.
% No
Question % A %B %C %D Comments
Answer
Torque is not a force.
1 37 11 43 9 0
Torque = force × distance
A worm drive will not work as a driver
2 14 38 36 12 0
gear.
3 1 5 19 76 0
4 6 89 1 4 0
There are four cables coming from the
5 7 13 40 41 0
moving mass. 60/4 = 15 N
On review, it was acknowledged that this
6 19 39 15 26 1 question was ambiguous, so students
were awarded a mark for any response.
7 16 39 9 37 0
The driven gear rotates four times for each
8 5 60 18 17 0
rotation of the driver.
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
% No
Question %A %B %C %D Comments
Answer
One quarter turn. A quarter of two is
9 6 24 64 6 0
0.5 mm (option C).
10 9 26 9 56 0
A watt is a unit of power, not energy. It is
11 40 0 2 57 0
the rate of doing work.
If R2 is shorted, the voltage drop across it
12 42 23 11 24 0
is zero.
13 10 30 57 2 0
A Zener diode is commonly used to supply
14 33 38 21 7 0
a constant DC supply.
15 8 8 31 53 0 Capacitors in parallel add together.
16 26 14 37 23 0 The current is going in one direction only.
All of the current in the circuit needs to
17 64 13 10 13 0
flow through the ammeter.
18 14 51 10 25 0
19 4 4 88 4 0
The total resistance is 20 Ω. 12/20 = 0.6
20 47 15 19 19 0
or 600 mA (option A)
Section B
Question 1a.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 31 39 31 1
Solar hot water and passive solar design are two possibilities. Harnessing of energy includes using
windows, so heat energy and light energy can enter the house.
Question 1b.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 79 21 0.2
An answer that included thermal mass was needed.
Question 1c.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 15 34 51 1.4
Transport of materials, what the materials were made from, recycling and the impact on fauna
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
Question 2a.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 4 8 88 1.9
A: fulcrum
B: effort
Question 2b.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 64 36 0.4
Reciprocating
Question 2c.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 29 71 0.7
Class 1
Question 2d.
Marks 0 1 2 3 Average
% 23 36 22 19 1.4
As the piston rod goes up, Valve 1 closes, causing low pressure below it and Valve 2 opens
drawing water up. As the piston rod goes down, Valve 2 closes and the water passes through
Valve 1.
Question 2e.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 11 14 74 1.7
Mechanical advantage = 900/150 = 6
Question 2f.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 58 1 41 0.9
100 × 6 = 600 mm
Question 2g.
Marks 0 1 2 3 Average
% 39 45 9 7 0.9
The force on the end of the handle is 10 N, so the force on the piston rod is 60 N. The diameter of
the piston is 50 mm, hence the area is 3.142 × 0.0252 = 0.001964
𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒
Pressure = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎
= 30 500 N m–2 or 30 500 Pa
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
Marks were also awarded to students who interpreted the question as 10 N being applied to the
10
piston rod. In this case the answer was 0.01964 = 5090 N m–2
Question 3a.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 41 13 46 1.1
Question 3b.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 6 33 61 1.6
Direction of piston Valve 1 Valve 2 Valve 3 Valve 4
moving up closed open closed open
Question 3c.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 58 19 24 0.7
2 × 3.1415 × 252 × 50 × 40 = 7 854 000 mm3/min
Question 3d.
Marks 0 1 2 3 Average
% 37 22 13 28 1.3
F=PA P = F/A
2
= 50/(3.142 × 0.025 )
P = 25.5 kPa
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
Question 4
Marks 0 1 2 3 4 5 Average
% 40 25 12 8 7 7 1.4
The most common solution is given below. Other operational variations were accepted.
Question 5
Marks 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Average
% 7 10 14 22 29 11 7 3.2
Task Letter for stage
Find out the volume of water and the height that the water needs to be G
raised.
Cost a windmill and water pump. E
Trial the operation of the water pump. B
Generate a parts list and formulate a timeline. F
Test the operation of the windmill and water pump. A
Assess the final operation of the windmill against the design criteria. D
There is a subtle difference between the test of a system and the trial of a system.
This question used the Systems Engineering Process as described on page 12 of the study
design.
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
Question 6a.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 26 23 51 1.3
Variables include length, diameter and resistivity on the metal. Temperature and gauge were also
accepted.
Question 6b.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 34 66 0.7
The total resistance divided by the resistance per metre gives the distance.
0.15/0.005 = 30 m
Question 6c.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 46 13 41 1
With all of the lights on, the circuit draws 20 A. The resistance is 0.15 Ω. Using 𝑉 = 𝐼𝑅, the voltage
drop across the wires is 20 × 0.15 = 3 V
Question 6d.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 81 19 0.2
If there is 3 V across the wires, there is a 12 – 3 = 9 V drop across the lights.
Question 6e.
Marks 0 1 2 3 Average
% 69 15 9 7 0.1
There is only 1 A through this circuit. Using V = I × R, the voltage drop is 1 × 0.15 = 015 V
12 – 0.15 = 11.85 V. The result of Emma’s experiment was correct.
Question 6fi.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 93 7 0.1
From Question 6e., the current through each light was 1 A. There are five parallel branches with
1 A through each. There is a total of 5 A.
Marks were also given if students used information from Question 6a.
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
Question 6fii.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 95 4 2 0.1
The resistance of the wire is 0.15 Ω. The current is 5 A. Using V = I × R, the voltage drop across
the wires is 0.75 V. Given a 24 V supply, the voltage across the two globes is 24 – 0.75 = 23.25 V.
Hence the voltage drop across each globe is 23.25 / 2 = 11.625 V.
If the information from Question 6a. was used, the answer would be 11.25 V.
A 24 V circuit ends up giving a greater voltage across the lights.
Question 6g.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 25 6 69 1.5
11.85/12 = 0.9875 or 98.75%
Question 6h.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 43 31 26 0.9
P = V × I = 12 × 20 = 240 W
Question 7a.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 66 34 0.4
Exclusive OR or XOR
Question 7b.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 76 24 0.3
Question 7c.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 55 27 18 0.7
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
Question 7d.
Marks 0 1 2 3 Average
% 40 38 16 6 0.9
Most students gave a simple program. The simplest program is:
Repeat
If XOR(A,B)=1, light on
Else light off.
A possible flow chart is given below.
Question 8a.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 70 30 0.3
There is no feedback.
Question 8b.
Marks 0 1 Average
% 89 11 0.1
Inverter or voltage inverter
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
Question 8c.
Marks 0 1 2 3 Average
% 21 38 29 13 1.4
Subsystem Purpose
solar to convert solar energy to electrical
panels energy. These panels do not create
energy
batteries to store energy
Block A to convert DC to 240 VAC
Question 8d.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 62 7 30 0.7
The units given are kWh. That is, kilowatt × hours = 1 × 0.5 = 0.5 kWh
(30 min = 0.5 h)
Question 8e.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 24 12 63 1.4
0.8 × 0.9 × 0.45 = 0.324 or 32.4%
Question 8f.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 68 6 26 0.6
12 kWh / 6 = 2 kWh. There are 10 panels to 2/10 = 0.2 kWh.
Question 8g.
Marks 0 1 2 Average
% 55 4 40 0.9
12 × 0.25 kAh = 3 kWh
Emma needs 12 kWh, so 12/3 = 4 batteries.
Question 9
Marks 0 1 2 3 4 5 Average
% 12 6 17 30 19 16 2.9
The highest-scoring answers gave an application along with a description of how it worked. The
response also gave both positive and negative implications of the application.
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2018 VCE Systems Engineering examination report
A number of students gave public security cameras as their application. They thought of having
people of interest stored on a database so they could be excluded from public events. A positive
implication is increased safety for the public. A negative implication is the amount and type of
information the government would have on each individual and the possible abuse of the system.
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