Exam Paper Layout
Higher Level Leaving Cert Engineering
(Answer Question 1 - Section A and Section B and four other questions)
Each Question = 50 marks...............6 x 50 = 300 marks.
(Remember 50% of the Exam is already complete with Practical and Project)
Project 150 marks 25%
Practical 150 marks 25%
Theory 300 marks 50%
Read the paper fully before you start answering any questions, select your questions carefully.
Do not leave the exam early. Do any extra question if you have extra time. Examiner will mark all answers.
Answer Question 1 - Section A and Section B and four other questions.
Draw diagrams in pencil to help illustrate your answer and label diagrams. Draw neat and accurate graphs.
Start each question on a new page and label all parts clearly. Use bullet points.
Look over past exam papers, marking schemes and sample answers on www.examinations.ie
Question 1 - Section A
Section 1 (Short Questions – Summary of the Course, look over past exam papers, marking schemes and sample answers on www.examinations.ie)
Safety symbols, safety with toxic materials, effects of toxic materials, disposal of waste plastic
Corrosion, sacrificial protection, oxidation, electro-chemical corrosion, environment corrosion, protection against corrosion – protective coating (paint, plastic dipping),
anodising of aluminium, hot dipping, electro painting, galvanising
Joining materials with adhesives, preparing materials for joining with adhesives, joint design, types of adhesives, safety hazards when using adhesives
Joining Methods – Mechanical Joining (screw fasteners, compression joints, riveting, sheet metal folding), Welding, Bonding (soldering, brazing, adhesive bonding)
Manufacturing processes – drop forging, calendaring, casting (pattern), sand casting, investment ‘lost wax’ casting, die casting, gravity die casting, pressure die casting,
continuous casting, extrusion, drop forging, press forming, blanking, piercing, punching, bending, drawing, deep drawing
Robots in industry – assembly lines, multipurpose capabilities, production, advantages & disadvantages, work envelope, safety
Machining – generating, forming, shaping, turning, milling
Pneumatic symbols - 3-2 valve (three port valve), 5-2 valve (five port valve), double & single acting cylinders, push button switch, roller switch, lever switch, plunger switch, solenoid
operation, pressure sensitive switch, air supply, exhaust, spring return, reservoir, shuttle valve, flow regulator (see diagram)
Forces - torsion, shear, compression, tension, bending
Thread forms
Electrical symbols – LDR, LED, capacitor, thermistor. Electronic terms – heat sink, breadboard
Separation of ores – pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, thermo-electrometallurgy
Inventors - (see table below)
Ore dressing/ore concentration – flotation, magnetic separation, amalgamation, metal extraction, smelting & refining, reduction, reduction-oxidation
Mining – open cast mining, underground mining, open pit mining, dredging in shallow water, solution mining
Types of materials – polymers, metals, elastomers
Properties of materials – tensile strength, shear strength, malleability, creep, hardness, toughness, ductility, elasticity, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, thermal
expansion, compressive strength, density, proof stress, magnetic characteristics, resistance to corrosion, colour, machinability, melting point
Crystal defects (vacant site, substitute defect, interstitial defect), line defects dislocation), covalent bonding, ionic bonding, metallic bonding, crystal patterns - FCC, BCC,
CPH, slip in BCC & FCC, crystalline & amorphous structures, dendritic growth, allotropy, crystal structures
Computer terms – CPU, CD-RW, E-mail, Input & output devices, hardware & software, RAM, ROM
Measuring instruments – limits, tolerance and allowances, limits & fits – (hole & shaft basis of fits), clearance, transition and interference fits
Linear measuring instruments – vernier callipers, micrometer, slip gauges, sine bar, precision cylinders & precision balls, gap gauge, plug gauge
Mechanisms – cams & follower, gears (rack & pinion, worm & wormwheel, bevel gears, gear train, idler gear), crank and slider
Corrosion of Metals – Oxidation, electro-chemical corrosion, sacrificial/cathodic protection, stress corrosion, protection against corrosion (corrosion resistance, anodising
of aluminium, painting, plastic coating, hot dipping, powder cementation, metal spraying, metal cladding, electro-plating), corrosion prevention factors
Pneumatic symbols
Question 1, Section B - Specialist Topic
Nuclear Power
Question 2 - MATERIAL TESTING
Destructive Testing
Toughness - Izod and Charpy (how the test piece is held)
Hardness – Brinell and Vickers (type of indentor)
Principle of the test
Type of indentor
How the test piece is held, How the tests are set up
Advantages
Expected results
Tensile Testing - Draw graph (stress v strain), Stress, Strain, Proof Stress, Young’s Modulus,
Elastic Limits, Modulus of Elasticity, Tensile Strength, specimen used in test
Non Destructive Testing (NDT)
Visual Inspection / Thermal Testing / Ultrasonic / Radiographic or X-Ray / Magnetic Particle /
Dye Penetrant / Eddy Current Testing
Name the test, purpose/principle of the test, what materials (ferrous/non ferrous metal), test
procedure, type of flaws (surface, just below surface, internal), results
Fatigue, fatigue failure, creep, micro and macro examination, ductile and brittle fracture
Question 3 - IRON – CARBON EQUILIBRIUM DIAGRAM (FERROUS METALS)
Label regions on Iron - Carbon Diagram and describe structure - ferrite, pearlite, austenite,
cementite, martensite, eutectic point, solidus line, liquidus line, liquid (page 58 & 59 in text book)
Heat Treatments
Hardening, Flame Hardening, Induction Hardening, Age Hardening, Case Hardening, Carburising,
Annealing, Normalising, Tempering, Quenching, Stress Relieving, Soaking
Solid Solution Alloys (interstitial, substitution)
Upper and lower critical temperatures, eutectic and eutectoid points, allotropy of carbon steel
Instruments for measuring temperature in furnace – thermo-electric or thermocouple pyrometer
and optical pyrometer, describe how pyrometer operates
Blast furnace (iron), electric arc & basic oxygen furnace (steel,) open hearth furnace, cast iron,
cupola furnace, cast iron moulding, grey cast iron and white cast iron
Question 4 - THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM DIAGRAMS (NON FERROUS METALS)
Be able to label diagrams, state what lines represents, mark eutectic point on graph
Solvus line, liquidus line, solvus line, cooling curve, latent heat of fusion
Solid solution alloys - substitutional solid solution and interstitial
Stages of Metal Solidification. Allotropy of iron – BCC
FCC / BCC
Atomic imperfections in metals, line defects in crystals (dislocation), slip in BCC and FCC, crystal
point defects (vacant site (vacancy), substitute defect, interstitial defect), solidifying metal,
dendritic growth, allotropy - FCC, BCC, CPH, crystalline & amorphous structure, bonding of atoms
– covalent, ionic/electrovalent and metallic, states of matter (solid, liquid, gas)
Question 5 - WELDING
Manual Metal Arc Welding (MMA), Gas Welding, Tungsten Arc Gas Shielded Welding (TAGS),
Metal Arc Gas Shielded Welding (MAGS), Seam Welding, Electro Slag Welding, Oxy Acetylene
Welding, Submerged Arc Welding, Resistance Welding, Resistance Spot Welding, Resistance
Seam Welding
Name the process, equipment required, method of operation, applications (uses)
MMA - function of electrode, function of slag, electrode coating, bridge rectifier, transformer,
ground clamp, safety (flashback arrestor)
TAGS – non consumable tungsten electrode, inert gas shields the weld, filler metal is required and
is feed by hand, used to weld aluminium and stainless steel
MAGS – electrode is a bare wire and is fed continuously from a spool through the welding gun,
weld is shielded by inert gas, no slag, often performed by robots, used for car assembly
Oxy Acetylene - identify and explain equipment, dissolved acetylene, oxidising, carburising and
neutral flames, gas hose pipes, flashback arrestors, welding torch, gas pressure regulators,
pressurised cylinders of gas, dissolved acetylene
Multi-run, single run welds, function of the slag, electrode coating, safety precautions when
welding, preparation of materials for welding, transformer, rectifier
Advantages of Robots, work envelope, applications, advantages of robots, safety factors when
using robots, industries where robots are used, work envelope, advantages of using robots in
electrical circuit industry
Question 6 – POLYMERS AND POLYMERISATION
Natural plastics (amber, animal horn, natural rubber, shellac), Modified natural plastics (cellulose, casein), synthetic plastics (by-products of coal)
Stabilisers, catalysts, promoters, inhibitors, plasticisers, colour pigments, antioxidants, flame, retardants, lubricants, fillers
cross-linking, van der vaals forces, monomers, elastomers
Additional, condensation polymerisation and copolymerisation + diagram
Vacuum forming, blow moulding, injection moulding, compression moulding, rotational moulding,
transfer moulding, calendaring, extrusion, welding, machining, lamination, foaming. Name process, type of polymer used, describe process, application, end product
3 main groups of polymers – thermoplastics, thermosetting, elastomers – chemical bonding,
internal structure and properties
Additives – fillers, plasticizers, colour pigments, stabilisers, antioxidants, flame retardants,
lubricants
Thermoplastics (polyethylene, ABS, acetals, polypropylene, PVC, polystyrene, PTFE, Polyamides,
polymethymethacrylate)
Thermosetting (bakelite, amino plastics, epoxy resin, polyesters, polyurethanes, silicones,
elastomers)
Question 7 - MACHINING
Milling – parts of milling machine, types of milling machines (horizontal, vertical universal, turret)
milling cutters, up-cut & down-cut milling, gang & straddle milling, work-holding (direct clamping,
machine vice, dividing head, rotary table, magnetic chuck
Shaping – parts of shaping machine, shaping operations, set-up of machine, work holding, quickreturn
feature, table feed mechanism
Grinding – parts of grinding machine, grinding wheel (abrasive, bond, grade, structure), wheel
mounting, loading, glazing, dressing of grinding wheel, balancing of grinding wheel, surface &
cylindrical grinding, internal grinding, work-holding (magnetic chuck, universal vice, sine chuck)
Turning – parts of the lathe, wedge, rake & clearance angle, shear plane, chip formation
(continuous, discontinuous, BUE), measuring forces on cutting wheel (dynamometer), tool wear
(flank, crater, spalling/chipping, plastic deformation), tool life, machinability, cutting forces,
surface finish, Cutting forces - orthogonal (axial, tangential force) and oblique cutting (axial,
tangential & radial force), working holding (collet chuck, faceplate, three & four jaw chuck,
mandrels, turning between centres, lathe steadies), processes (parallel turning, facing, form
turning, drilling, parting off/grooving, boring, taper turning, knurling, screw cutting), cutting data
(cutting speed, spindle speed, cutting depth, feed rate)
Cutting Fluids – reduce friction & head between work & tool, flush away chips
Workholding – magnetic chuck, chuck block, universal vice, sine chuck
Cutting Tool Material – Carbon steel, high speed steel, cemented carbide, cast alloys, ceramics,
cubic boron nitride, diamond
Forming and generating
Clearance, interference fit, limits & fits
Metrology - direct and comparative measurements (measuring instrument & gauges page 3)
CNC machining – G codes, M codes, canned cycles, pecking, absolute & incremental dimensioning,
test run, tool part position, advantages & disadvantages, safety, compare CNC to manual lathe,
stepper motor
Question 8 – GENERAL MECHANISMS
Mechanisms – Gears (rack & pinion, worm & wormwheel, bevel gears, gear train, idler gear), crank
and slider, cam & follower, ratchet & pawl, universal joint, pulleys, non return valve, dividing head,
slider crank mechanism, quick return mechanism, power hacksaw
Mechanical Joining – screw fasteners
Electronic circuits – explain how the circuits operates
Measuring instruments – limits, tolerance and allowances, limits & fits – (hole & shaft basis of
fits), clearance, transition and interference fits
Linear measuring instruments – vernier callipers, micrometer, slip gauges, sine bar, precision
cylinders & precision balls, gap gauge, plug gauge