Little cause to worry in 'manageable' test

Leaving Certificate Engineering (Materials and Technology) candidates had little cause to worry about their exam yesterday.

The paper was 'fine and very manageable' at ordinary level, while higher level was straightforward and ran along expected lines.

There was a lot of pressure off students before they even started the written exam because 50pc of the marks went to their practicals and project work.

Kenny Donagher, of ASTI and Summerhill College, Sligo, thought students would have enjoyed the topical nature of the question on the accelerometer, which detects motion, and its use in mobiles and airbags.

He also thought the question was very well phrased, and liked the scientific bent in some aspects of it.

But, Mr Donaghar said in question 2 candidates needed to know their stuff.

'There was a section where they had to calculate something that they might not have had to calculate the year before.

'You couldn't read it straight from the graph. It is something they would be expected to know, but might not be used to doing the question that way.'

Welding and mechanics are the two most popular topics, but, this year, candidates needed broad knowledge to answer them 'because there were a lot of things involved,' he said.

Engineering candidates make a model machine for their project and there is a question on the exam paper that links to that, but Mr Donagher said the link this year was not as strong as other years.

- Katherine Donnelly

Irish Independent