← England Design and Technology
England · WJEC EduqasSyllabus
Design and Technology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the England Design and Technologysyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
1. Core design principles
Module overview →- How do anthropometric data, percentiles and ergonomics make a product comfortable, safe and easy to use for its target users?Anthropometrics and ergonomics: using anthropometric data and percentile ranges to size a product, designing for the human user, inclusive and accessible design, and how ergonomics affects comfort, safety and ease of use.9 min answer →
- How do designers communicate ideas using sketching, pictorial and working drawings, and CAD?Communicating design ideas: freehand sketching, 2D and 3D pictorial drawing (isometric and perspective), exploded and assembly drawings, working (orthographic) drawings with dimensions, and computer-aided design (CAD).9 min answer →
- What design strategies do designers use to generate and develop ideas, and why is design an iterative process?Design strategies and the iterative design process: investigation, primary and secondary research, collaboration, user-centred design, avoiding design fixation, and the explore, create and evaluate cycle that develops a product through testing and feedback.9 min answer →
- How do enterprise, marketing and modern production systems such as FMS, JIT and lean manufacturing bring a product to market?Enterprise, innovation and marketing in business and industry, and the production systems that support them, including flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), just in time (JIT) production, lean manufacturing, crowd funding and the marketing of products.10 min answer →
- How does a designer turn a context and user need into a design brief and a measurable design specification?Investigating needs and writing a design brief and specification: identifying the primary user and wider stakeholders, primary and secondary research, analysing existing products, and writing measurable design and manufacturing specification criteria.9 min answer →
- How do new and emerging technologies change the way products are designed, made and used, and who do they affect?New and emerging technologies: how they impact industry, enterprise, people, culture, society and the environment, including automation, CAD/CAM, the changing workforce, and the positive and negative effects of technological change.10 min answer →
4. Manufacturing processes
Module overview →- How do CAD/CAM, jigs and quality control with tolerances ensure accurate, consistent manufacture?Ensuring accuracy in manufacture: CAD/CAM and CNC, jigs, templates and fixtures, quality control and quality assurance, and tolerances, including reading and working within an upper and lower limit.10 min answer →
- What are the scales of production, and how does the right scale depend on the quantity and type of product?Scales of production: one-off (bespoke), batch, mass and continuous production, the features of each, and how the choice of scale depends on the quantity, cost and type of product being made.9 min answer →
- What are deforming and reforming processes, and how are sheet and molten materials shaped?Deforming and reforming processes: shaping by bending, pressing, vacuum forming and line bending (deforming), and shaping molten material by injection moulding, casting and blow moulding (reforming), with suitable processes for each material.10 min answer →
- What are wastage and addition processes, and how are materials cut, drilled and joined?Wastage and addition processes: removing material by cutting, sawing, drilling, milling, turning and laser cutting (wastage), and joining material by adhesives, fastenings and welding (addition), with suitable processes for each material category.9 min answer →
- Why are surface treatments and finishes applied, and which finish suits each material?Surface treatments and finishes: why finishes are applied (protection, appearance, function), and suitable finishes for each material, including painting, varnishing and oiling timber, galvanising, anodising and powder coating metal, and self-finishing polymers.9 min answer →
2. Materials and their properties
Module overview →- What do the physical and working properties of a material mean, and where do materials come from?Physical and working properties of materials and their sources: defining properties such as strength, hardness, toughness, malleability, ductility, elasticity and conductivity, the difference between physical and working properties, and the origins of the main material categories.9 min answer →
- What is the difference between ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys, and what are their properties and uses?Ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys: the difference between ferrous and non-ferrous metals, what an alloy is, common examples, their physical and working properties such as conductivity, malleability and corrosion resistance, and typical uses.9 min answer →
- What are the common types of paper and board, their properties, weights and typical uses?Papers and boards: common types of paper and card, how they are measured by weight (gsm) and thickness (microns), their physical and working properties, and typical uses in modelling, packaging and graphics.9 min answer →
- What is the difference between thermoforming and thermosetting polymers, and what are their properties and uses?Thermoforming and thermosetting polymers: the difference between thermoplastics and thermosets, common examples, their physical and working properties, recyclability, and typical uses in products and packaging.9 min answer →
- How do designers select materials from standard stock forms and calculate the cost of the material used?Selecting materials and stock forms, and costing: choosing a material to suit a product, the standard stock forms materials are supplied in (sheet, bar, rod, tube, section), and calculating material cost from price per unit, including allowing for waste.10 min answer →
- What is the difference between natural, synthetic and blended fibres, and how are fibres made into fabrics?Fibres and textiles: natural, synthetic and blended fibres, how fibres are made into woven, knitted and non-woven fabrics, their physical and working properties, and typical uses in clothing and products.9 min answer →
- What is the difference between hardwoods, softwoods and manufactured boards, and what are they used for?Natural and manufactured timber: hardwoods and softwoods, manufactured (manmade) boards, the difference between hardwood and softwood, common examples, their physical and working properties, and typical uses.9 min answer →
5. Sustainability and society
Module overview →- What are composite materials and technical textiles, and why do they combine properties traditional materials cannot?Composite materials and technical textiles: how composites combine two or more materials for properties not possible alone (GRP, CFRP, MDF, concrete), and technical textiles engineered for performance (conductive, fire-resistant, microfibres, Kevlar), with their properties and uses.9 min answer →
- What is the ecological and social footprint of materials and products, and how can designers reduce it?Ecological and social footprint: the environmental impact of materials and products (resource depletion, pollution, carbon footprint, waste), the social impact (working conditions, communities, fair trade), and how design choices reduce both.9 min answer →
- What is a product life cycle, and how do the 6 Rs and design for disassembly reduce environmental impact?Product life cycle and sustainability: the stages of a product's life cycle and life-cycle assessment, the 6 Rs (rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repair, recycle), design for disassembly, maintenance and repair, and the finite nature of resources.9 min answer →
- What are smart and modern materials, and how do their special properties create new product possibilities?Smart and modern materials: smart materials that respond to their environment (shape memory alloys, thermochromic and photochromic pigments) and modern materials developed by science (graphene, titanium, metal foams, nanomaterials), their properties and uses.9 min answer →
- How do social, cultural, ethical and inclusive issues shape the products designers make?Social, cultural, ethical and inclusive issues in design: how products reflect and are influenced by cultural and social factors, the role of inclusive and accessible design, ethical issues such as planned obsolescence, and the influence of design movements and designers.9 min answer →
3. Technical systems and mechanisms
Module overview →- How is electricity generated from fossil, nuclear and renewable sources, and how is energy stored in products?Energy generation and storage: fossil fuels and nuclear power, renewable sources (wind, solar, tidal, hydroelectric and biomass), their advantages and disadvantages, and energy storage in products including primary and rechargeable (secondary) cells.10 min answer →
- What are the types of force and motion, and how do levers and linkages give mechanical advantage and change motion?Forces, stresses and motion: tension, compression, bending, torsion and shear, the four types of motion (linear, rotary, reciprocating, oscillating), levers and the three lever classes, mechanical advantage, and linkages that change the direction or type of motion.10 min answer →
- How do gears, pulleys and cams change speed, force, direction and type of motion?Rotary motion systems: gears and gear trains, gear ratios and how they change speed and torque, pulley and belt systems with velocity ratios, and cams and followers that convert rotary motion into reciprocating or oscillating motion.11 min answer →
- What input, process and output components are used in electronic systems, and what does each do?Input, process and output components: switches and sensors (light-dependent resistors and thermistors) as inputs, transistors, integrated circuits and microcontrollers as process devices, and LEDs, buzzers and motors as outputs, with their functions and uses.9 min answer →
- What is the systems approach to designing electronic products, and how do block diagrams and feedback work?The systems approach to designing: the input, process and output model, representing systems with block diagrams, breaking products into sub-systems, the role of programmable components and microcontrollers, and feedback in control systems.9 min answer →
6. The design and make NEA
Module overview →- How do you generate, develop and model ideas in the NEA, and plan the manufacture of a final prototype?Generating, developing and modelling ideas in the NEA: producing a range of design ideas, developing the best against the specification, using modelling and prototyping to test ideas, communicating with sketches, drawings and CAD, and planning manufacture.9 min answer →
- How do you investigate a context and user in the NEA, and turn the findings into a brief and specification?Investigating the context and user in the NEA: primary and secondary research, identifying the user and wider stakeholders, analysing existing products, and writing a design brief and a measurable specification that the project will be judged against.9 min answer →
- How do you make a final prototype safely and accurately, and test and evaluate it against the specification?Making, testing and evaluating in the NEA: manufacturing a final prototype safely and accurately with suitable processes and finishes, testing against the specification and the user, and writing a final evaluation that judges fitness for purpose and suggests improvements.9 min answer →
- What is the Eduqas design and make task, and how do you respond to a WJEC contextual challenge?The design and make task (Component 2): the structure and weighting of the NEA, the WJEC contextual challenges released on 1 June, how the task is assessed against the assessment objectives, and how to choose and interpret a challenge.9 min answer →