Learn by Novus · Open practice pack v1

Technical reasoning: applied practice: open practice pack: learner worksheet

20 untimed questions across 4 authored sections.

This is untimed educational practice for one applied skill. It is not a clinical, diagnostic, employment, or professionally recognized assessment, it does not produce a score or credential, and for the judgement and safety families it is not a substitute for your employer's own policies, training, or legal duties.

Learner worksheet

Each item gives you a tool, a drawing convention, a specification, or a symptom, and asks what follows from it. The skill under test is disciplined inference, reading exactly what the evidence says and no more, rather than trade knowledge. Nothing here is timed.

Choose one answer for each item. On a judgement item, more than one option is often defensible. Pick the one you would rate most effective, then check the worked explanation for why the runner-up is weaker.

Tools, fasteners, and measurement

Begin with the vocabulary of technical work: choosing an instrument that can actually resolve the quantity you need, and reading a fastener or a tolerance correctly.

1. technical-reasoning-applied-s01-q01

You need to measure the outside diameter of a shaft to within about 0.02 mm. Which instrument is appropriate?

  1. A steel rule
  2. A tape measure
  3. A try square
  4. A vernier caliper

Answer:

2. technical-reasoning-applied-s01-q02

What is a torque wrench for?

  1. Releasing seized fasteners with extra leverage
  2. Tightening a fastener to a specified torque so the clamping force is correct and repeatable
  3. Measuring the length of a bolt before fitting
  4. Cutting a new thread in a blind hole

Answer:

3. technical-reasoning-applied-s01-q03

A fastener is specified as M10 x 1.5. What does the 1.5 refer to?

  1. The bolt's length in centimetres
  2. A strength grade of 1.5 times standard
  3. The thread pitch: the distance between adjacent crests, in millimetres
  4. The across-flats size of the head

Answer:

4. technical-reasoning-applied-s01-q04

Why is a plain washer fitted under a nut on a soft or oversized-hole joint?

  1. It spreads the clamping load over a larger area and protects the surface finish
  2. It increases the effective thread pitch
  3. It prevents corrosion along the bolt shank
  4. It lubricates the thread so less torque is needed

Answer:

5. technical-reasoning-applied-s01-q05

A drawing calls for a hole of 20.00 mm with a tolerance of plus 0.05 mm and minus 0.00 mm. Which measured hole is within tolerance?

  1. 19.98 mm
  2. 20.03 mm
  3. 20.07 mm
  4. 19.95 mm

Answer:

Drawings and specifications

Read a drawing or a written specification for exactly what it states. A specification is met at its stated duty point, not on average.

6. technical-reasoning-applied-s02-q01

On an engineering drawing, a dimension shown in round brackets, such as (150), is:

  1. A maximum permitted value
  2. A minimum permitted value
  3. A reference dimension, given for information and not to be worked or inspected to
  4. A conversion from imperial units

Answer:

7. technical-reasoning-applied-s02-q02

A drawing is marked 'SCALE 1:5'. A feature measures 40 mm on the printed sheet. What is its real size?

  1. 200 mm
  2. 8 mm
  3. 45 mm
  4. 35 mm

Answer:

8. technical-reasoning-applied-s02-q03

On an orthographic drawing, an edge hidden behind the material is drawn as:

  1. A long-dash short-dash chain line
  2. A thick continuous line
  3. A freehand wavy line
  4. A line of short evenly spaced dashes

Answer:

9. technical-reasoning-applied-s02-q04

A drawing is in third-angle projection. Where is the view taken from the right-hand side of the object placed?

  1. To the left of the front view
  2. To the right of the front view
  3. Directly above the front view
  4. Directly below the front view

Answer:

10. technical-reasoning-applied-s02-q05

A specification requires a pump to deliver 'not less than 40 litres per minute at 3 bar'. A candidate pump is rated 38 L/min at 3 bar and 45 L/min at 2 bar. What follows?

  1. It meets the specification, because 45 exceeds 40
  2. It meets the specification on average across its range
  3. Nothing can be determined without the motor rating
  4. It does not meet the specification: at the stated duty point it delivers only 38 L/min

Answer:

Systems thinking and fault isolation

Move from a symptom to the smallest set of possible causes. Notice which observations already rule something out before you test anything.

11. technical-reasoning-applied-s03-q01

A conveyor stops. The motor hums audibly and gets warm, but the belt does not move. What should be checked first?

  1. Whether the drive train is jammed or a coupling has failed, since the motor is clearly receiving power
  2. Whether the motor needs replacing
  3. Whether the supply fuse has blown
  4. Whether the controller program has been corrupted

Answer:

12. technical-reasoning-applied-s03-q02

What does the half-split method of fault-finding achieve?

  1. It tests the cheapest components first
  2. It tests the historically most likely component first
  3. It avoids having to dismantle anything
  4. Each test eliminates half of the remaining suspect area, so the fault is located in far fewer tests

Answer:

13. technical-reasoning-applied-s03-q03

On a running hydraulic system, the pressure gauge reads zero, yet the ram extends and lifts its normal load. What is the most likely explanation?

  1. The pump has failed
  2. The gauge or its isolating valve is at fault, because the ram lifting its load proves pressure exists
  3. The relief valve is set too high
  4. The reservoir has been overfilled

Answer:

14. technical-reasoning-applied-s03-q04

A machine works perfectly from cold and develops an intermittent fault only after an hour of running. What class of cause does that pattern point to?

  1. A software defect in the control program
  2. An incorrectly rated supply fuse
  3. Something whose behaviour changes with temperature, such as a loose terminal expanding or a marginal component drifting
  4. Operator error during start-up

Answer:

15. technical-reasoning-applied-s03-q05

A repair has been made and the machine now runs. What is the correct final step?

  1. Re-test under the conditions that produced the fault, confirm the symptom is gone, and record what was found and done
  2. Return the machine to service immediately to recover lost output
  3. Replace the neighbouring components as a precaution
  4. Clear the fault counter so the log starts clean

Answer:

Maintenance, fits, and materials

Close with the judgements that keep equipment working: when to intervene, how parts are meant to fit, and how materials behave together.

16. technical-reasoning-applied-s04-q01

What is the principal advantage of planned preventive maintenance over run-to-failure?

  1. It always costs less in parts over the life of the machine
  2. The work happens at a chosen time, which reduces unplanned downtime and the consequential damage a failure causes
  3. It removes the need to hold spare parts
  4. It eliminates failures entirely

Answer:

17. technical-reasoning-applied-s04-q02

A shaft measures 24.98 mm and the bore it enters measures 25.02 mm. What kind of fit is this?

  1. An interference fit
  2. A transition fit
  3. A clearance fit
  4. No fit is possible

Answer:

18. technical-reasoning-applied-s04-q03

Why is a lubricant specified by a viscosity grade rather than simply as 'oil'?

  1. Viscosity decides whether a film thick enough to separate the surfaces survives at the operating temperature and load
  2. It is a purchasing convention with no functional meaning
  3. A higher grade is always better for every application
  4. It identifies the dye colour so oils are not mixed

Answer:

19. technical-reasoning-applied-s04-q04

An aluminium bracket is bolted directly to stainless steel in a damp outdoor location. What should be expected, and what is the usual control?

  1. The stainless steel corrodes first, so it is painted
  2. Neither corrodes provided both surfaces are clean
  3. Corrosion is prevented by painting the stainless steel only
  4. The aluminium corrodes preferentially at the joint, so the two metals are separated by an insulating washer or coating

Answer:

20. technical-reasoning-applied-s04-q05

A rolling bearing runs hot and noisy within minutes of being replaced, having been quiet before the old one failed. What is the most likely cause?

  1. Normal running-in, which will settle within a few hours
  2. The shaft speed is now too low for the bearing
  3. It was fitted with the wrong preload, or the housing and shaft are misaligned
  4. The housing has been painted on the outside

Answer: