1. 2014 National 5 Prelim The information contained in this revision guide is essential to performing well in your exam. You must be able to apply the theory contained in these slides to exam style questions.

2. Woods are classified into two main groups, softwoods and hardwoods. You should try to understand the main differences between softwood and hardwood and be able to give a couple of examples of each. SOFTWOODS HARDWOODS Grow fast therefore cheaper. more eco friendly as they take less time to grow, and can be taken from a farmed forest Examples include pine and red cedar Distinguished from softwoods by the structure of the grain They are generally more expensive than softwoods as they take longer to grow Examples include Mahogany and Jelutong Twist Drill Forstner Bit Centre Drill Hole Saw Wood Joints / Drills Dowel jointRebated butt jointDovetail joint Properties of Thermoplastics ColourfulEasy to clean (hygienic)Weather resistantNon corrosive (waterproof) LightweightStrongHard or flexibleInsulatorsRecyclable

3. Maturity- competition becomes established, similar products become available. The market may have become saturated. At this point the company must be ready to launch a new product. Decline- where sales fall dramatically often resulting in the product being withdrawn from sale. The product may also have gone out of fashion. Growth- the product is becoming established in the market as sales increase. Introduction- the most expensive stage, where the costs of design, development, marketing and production have not yet been recovered. Advertising costs will also be high. Obsolescence Designers and manufacturers have to find a balance between profit, value for money, durability and satisfying the buyers’ desire to own the latest, most fashionable products. So they build in obsolescence and this allows the manufacturer to constantly sell new models. The ways that they can do this are - Building in components that are designed to fail - Old products can be too expensive to repair - The product may go out of fashion In reality, most products have a built-in life expectancy. For example, light bulbs are expected to last no more than six months in normal use. Washing machines are designed to be replaced after about six years.

4. Questionnaires and Surveys consists of a series of questions designed to find out how people feel about something. Due to the way they are designed, the answers are usually preset by a range of multiple choice answers. This means that the type of information collected from them is usually facts and figures. It is therefore most suitable for evaluating the following design factors: Cost, Environment and Aesthetics A user trial is where a person(s) use the product and give their opinion on how well it works or performs. For user trials to be successful it must be conducted by the intended user from the target market (you wouldn’t ask an adult to do a user trial on a child’s bike). A user trial can be used to evaluate a number of design factors: Function, Ergonomics, Durability, Safety and Materials A product comparison is another method of comparing facts / figures / features of a product. Many of us use them everyday without realising. For example when you use a website to look for a new mobile phone you may want to see what phones are available to you, most websites allow you to compare products by filtering your search results. This allows you to compare networks, handsets, price, features before choosing which one suits your needs best. Once again the type of information contained is facts and figures A product comparison is useful for evaluating :Function / Performance and Cost. Product Testing is another method of collecting facts and figures about a product. Testing is different from a user trial as you are not looking for someone’s opinion but merely a measurable facts about the product. For example, how long does the kettle take to boil the water? It is important that the tests are conducted in a controlled manner, with realistic expectations. Ikea had researched how many times a person would be expected to sit on their chair in order to test their product against this expectation. Reviews are a useful way of evaluating a product, however, the nature of a review means that we are effectively using someone else’s opinion. Films, music, and computer games are regularly reviewed alongside products in magazines and internet sites on a daily basis. Reviews can have a high impact on peoples perception of a product. It is therefore important that the reviewer remains impartial during the process. WHICH? are a company who are well respected and have become highly successful due to their very detailed and impartial reviews of everyday products from cars to washing up liquid! Reviews can be used to evaluate all FEEDSCAM design factors.

5. FUNCTION: What the product does/what it is for? What are the primary / secondary functions? ENVIRONMENTAL: How the product impacts the environment/ Does it blend in with its surroundings ERGONOMICS: How the product suits the human body. DURABILITY: What makes the product long lasting? SAFETY: How safe is the product to use? COST: What is the product worth? AESTHETICS: How the product looks. (shape / form / texture / colour) MATERIALS: What is the product made from? CE Marking- used to within the European economic area to show that a product conforms to the relevant standards applicable to that product Metal alloys BRASS- This is a non ferrous alloy which is a mixture of copper and zinc. It’s properties are: hard, casts and machines well, conductor of electricity. It is commonly used in parts for electrical fitting or ornaments. STAINLESS STEEL- This is a ferrous alloy which is a mixture of iron, nickel and chromium. It is a tough metal that is resistant to rust and stains making it suitable for cutlery and medical instruments

6. ERGONOMICS Anthropometrics Physiology Psychology Standard deviation curve Population Dimension / size 5 th percentile (tiny people) 50 th percentile (average Joe) 95 th percentile (huge people) 100 th percentile (largest person) E.g. 100 th percentile stature = tallest person in the world. Anthropometrics- This area of ergonomics looks into the sizes of the human body 5 th percentile (tiny people) 50 th percentile (average Joe) 95 th percentile (huge people) 100 th percentile (largest person) E.g. 100 th percentile stature = tallest person in the world.

7. Physiology Physiology is the study of human limitations (and interactions with products) Lifting Pouring Filling Holding Switching Moving Opening Closing Emptying Reading Pressing Turning Cleaning Grabbing Gripping Carrying Note these are things that you do – not things that a kettle does e.g. boiling, heating are not in the list. It is best to try to link the doing word to the part of the kettle to make sense of what you are saying. e.g. When pressing the switch on the kettle it should be easy with little effort to get it to go on. Psychology The study of human behaviour and emotional interactions with products. Kettle Satisfying click (knowing it is on) Reassuring light (knowing it is on or off) Viewing window (knowing how full it is) White / silver colour (hygienic) When we talk about psychology we try to link the emotion to the part of the product. e.g. When I press the switch on the kettle to go on I know that it is on because the click noise/feeling and the light going on. I can see how full the kettle is by reading the fill level and I know it is safe to boil.