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ENGN1211 Discovering Engineering S1 2020
ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science, 2020
Exam revision

This document summarizes the learning outcomes for the course. All of these learning outcomes
are tested in the various assessment items for the course. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are
learning outcomes that may be tested on the final exam.

Learning outcomes for the course:

1. Engineering process
a) *Understand purpose of the engineering process and the steps in the engineering
process
b) *Understand what design criteria are and how they can be specified
c) Ability to generate and select concepts using a structured process
d) Ability to create a prototype and use it to test a design
e) *Ability to diagnose the cause of faults within a system using hypothesis testing.
f) *Ability to use datasheets as part of the design process
g) *Understand the concepts of accuracy and precision, and ability to use them to
design and apply tests to evaluate the performance of a prototype
h) Ability to use reflection as part of a process of continual improvement.


2. Computer-aided design (CAD):
a) *Understand the purposes of using CAD for engineering design
b) *Understand the main operations in CAD such as extrusion, rotation, revolution and
how they can be used to create complex 3D shapes.

3. Electronics and programming
a) *Understanding of the basic properties of resistors, light-emitting diodes, sonar
modules, motors and H-bridge integrated circuits.
b) Ability to design and build Arduino circuits using resistors, light-emitting diodes,
sonar modules, and H-bridge integrated circuits
c) *Ability to analyse Arduino circuits using resistors, light-emitting diodes, sonar
modules, and H-bridge integrated circuits
d) Ability to write algorithms and programs to control the functioning of Arduino circuits
using the above components
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e) *Ability to analyse algorithms and programs to control the functioning of Arduino
circuits using the above components

4. Professional skills
a) Ability to take responsibility for your own learning to extend your knowledge and
skills
b) Ability to work within a team and manage a project
c) Ability to communicate your work in a variety of ways.
d) *Understanding of and ability to apply the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics


Revision questions

1. Explain the steps that you would use to draw the shape below using CAD.







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2. On 20 April 2010, BP's mobile offshore drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. It resulted
in a massive offshore oil spill. Until the well could be sealed five months later, 780 million
litres of crude oil leaked into the gulf, polluting ocean and coastal ecosystems and killing
marine mammals, fish and seabirds in large numbers. When the rig exploded, it was drilling
at a water depth of about 1,500 meters. Nobody knew at that time how the leaking oil would
spread and where it would end up. In addition, the rig’s had complex emergency systems
with as many as thirty buttons to control a single safety system, and a detailed emergency
handbook describing so many contingencies it was hard to know which protocol to
follow. Furthermore, The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling commission,
appointed by President Obama, directly linked mismanagement by the well’s owner, British
Petroleum, with its drive for profit. "Analysis of the available evidence indicates that when
given the opportunity to save time and money—and make money—tradeoffs were made for
the certain thing—production—because there were perceived to be no downsides
associated with the uncertain thing—failure caused by the lack of sufficient protection."
Based on this information, which parts of the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics were not
adhered to? For each, explain your answer in 1-2 sentences.
.

3. Consider a rover with a width of 6cm, at a distance 100cm from the end of a maze, as
illustrated below. The exit has a width of 20cm. The rover has to drive straight in order to
exit the maze. What design specifications for driving straight are required in order that the
rover can exit the maze? Explain your answer.





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4. Suppose you have the following data about the performance of the rover in question 3.
When driving over a distance of 50cm, the deviation from a straight line was measured ten
times. The values in cm were: +1.1, -0.5, -2.0, +0.7, +0.2, -1.5, -0.3, +0.4, -1.0, +1.2. Do
these measurements meet the design criteria for question 3? Why or why not?



5. An engineering team is building an underwater rover that needs to be able to navigate a
bumpy lake bed and stop 3cm before it reaches a submerged wall (illustrated below in
cross-section). They have tested the rover and have found that it can’t currently do this.
They have also performed some other tests and found that:
1) the rover can navigate the same structure and stop at the required position when it is not
underwater,
2) the rover is waterproof
3) the rover can drive underwater across a flat lake bed when there is no submerged wall
4) the rover can not navigate the bumpy surface underwater when there is no submerged
wall, and
5) when underwater, after driving across a flat lake bed with a submerged wall, the rover
stops 15cm before the submerged wall.
Give at least 2 possible reasons for the behaviour of the rover when it is underwater, and
construct a hypothesis testing table to show how you could test whether each is the cause
of the problem. For each of the reasons, suggest how you could fix the problem.



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6. a) If you have a circuit where pin 11 is connected to a red LED, and pin 10 is connected to a
blue LED, explain what the following code does (Assume that the LEDs are correctly
connected through a resistor to ground).

int incomingByte = 0;

void setup() {

pinMode(11, OUTPUT);
pinMode(10, OUTPUT);

digitalWrite(11, LOW);
digitalWrite(10, LOW);

Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {

if (Serial.available() > 0) {

incomingByte = Serial.read();
}
if (incomingByte == 97) {

digitalWrite(11, HIGH);
} else if (incomingByte == 98){

digitalWrite(10, HIGH);
} else {

}

}




7. For this question refer to the datasheets in the Exam revision Wattle folder for AA batteries
and the H-bridge integrated circuits. Based on the datasheets, how many hours of
operation might we expect 4 AA batteries provide for a rover that uses an H-bridge? Assume
that the power requirements of a rover are similar to those of a toy. Explain your answer.