What does the new and emerging technologies module cover in Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology?

It covers Topic 1.1 and 1.2 of the core content: the impact of new and emerging technologies on industry, enterprise, sustainability, people, culture, society, the environment, and production techniques and systems, plus how the critical evaluation of technologies informs design decisions from ethical and environmental perspectives, including fair trade, carbon footprint and life cycle analysis.

What are the 6 Rs in Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology?

The 6 Rs are Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Recycle. They are a framework for judging and improving the sustainability of a product, running from the most powerful (rethinking the whole concept) to the last resort (recycling the material), and they recur whenever the specification discusses sustainability and the environment.

What are the scales of production in Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology?

The scales of production are one-off (a single bespoke item), batch (a set number of identical items, then a changeover), mass (continuous high volume of identical items on a line) and continuous (the plant runs non-stop). Edexcel also names standardised design and components, just-in-time (JIT) and lean manufacturing under production techniques and systems.

What is a life cycle analysis (LCA)?

A life cycle analysis assesses a product's environmental impact across its whole life in stages: raw material extraction, processing and manufacture, transportation, use, and disposal or recycling. It lets a designer compare materials or designs fairly and target the worst stage, making evidence-based sustainable decisions rather than choosing on price alone.

How is the new and emerging technologies module examined?

It is assessed in Section A (core content) of the written paper, worth 40 marks with 10 marks of calculations across the whole core. Questions range from short open-response naming impacts to extended-open-response (Explain, Discuss, Evaluate) questions that reward weighing advantages against disadvantages and reaching a justified conclusion, often set in a product context.

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Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology 1.1 to 1.2 New and emerging technologies: a complete overview

A deep-dive Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology guide to the new and emerging technologies module (1.1 to 1.2). Covers the impact on industry, enterprise, people, society, sustainability and the environment, the critical evaluation of technologies, and the 6 Rs, with the Section A exam patterns Edexcel repeats.

Generated by Claude Opus 4.814 min read1.1-1.2Updated 2026-06-02

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What this module covers
Recurring themes
How to study new and emerging technologies
The module, dot point by dot point
For the official specification

Pearson Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology (specification 1DT0) is assessed by one written paper (50%) and a non-examined assessment (50%). The new and emerging technologies module (key ideas 1.1 and 1.2 of the core content) opens Topic 1 and is examined in Section A. This guide maps the module and how to revise each part.

What this module covers

The module is broad, factual knowledge with a strong evaluative slant. The parts are:

1.1 The impact of new and emerging technologies. How new technologies affect industry (unemployment, workforce skills, demographic movement, technology parks), enterprise (privately-owned business, crowd funding, government start-up funding, not-for-profit), sustainability, people, culture, society (the Internet of Things, remote working), the environment, and production techniques and systems (standardisation, JIT, lean manufacturing, the scales of production).

1.2 The critical evaluation of new and emerging technologies. How evaluating technologies against criteria (budget, timescale, user, materials, manufacturing) informs design decisions in contemporary and future scenarios, from ethical perspectives (fair trade, who made it, who benefits) and environmental perspectives (use of materials, carbon footprint, energy use, life cycle analysis).

Recurring themes

A few ideas run through this module and the whole specification.

Balanced judgement. Most extended marks come from weighing advantages against disadvantages, for example automation raising efficiency but cutting low-skilled jobs, with a clear conclusion.
The 6 Rs. Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Recycle are the test for sustainability, useful in almost any extended answer.
Apply to a context. Section A questions are set in a product scenario, so generic lists score poorly; tie every point to the named product or situation.

How to study new and emerging technologies

Learn the named lists precisely. Edexcel names specific impacts (the four industry impacts, the four enterprise routes, the scales of production); learning them gives quick, reliable marks.
Practise balanced extended answers. Discuss and Evaluate questions reward both sides and a judgement; one-sided answers are capped.
Drill the 6 Rs and life cycle analysis. These frameworks are examined repeatedly and structure strong sustainability answers.
Distinguish ethical and environmental evaluation. Fair trade and who made it are ethical; carbon footprint and LCA are environmental. Cover both.
Attempt past papers. Question style is board-specific, so practise Edexcel 1DT0 Section A questions under timed conditions.

The module, dot point by dot point

Each part has a specification-level answer page with worked exam questions and cross-links, plus this overview and a quiz. Browse the full set at /gcse-edexcel/design-and-technology/syllabus.

For the official specification

Pearson publishes the full specification (1DT0), past papers and mark schemes at qualifications.pearson.com. Always revise from the current specification and Edexcel's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.

Sources & how we know this

Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Design and Technology (1DT0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2022)