§-Engineering Studies syllabus
NSW · NESA← Engineering Studies
Engineering Studies syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the NSW Engineering Studies syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Aeronautical Engineering
Module overview →Engineering electricity: How are aircraft electrical and avionics systems engineered to power flight controls, lighting, communications and navigation?
Describe the architecture of an aircraft electrical system, identify the role of generators, batteries and bus bars, calculate electrical loads and voltage drops, and outline the role of fly-by-wire avionics
Engineering materials: Why are aluminium alloys the traditional structural material for airframes, and how are alloys selected for different parts of the aircraft?
Describe the production, heat treatment and key properties of aluminium alloys 2024 and 7075, identify their use in airframe structures, and compare them with structural steel and titanium
Historical and societal influences: How has Australian aeronautical engineering shaped the national aviation industry, from the Government Aircraft Factories to the current Boeing-Qantas partnership and the F-35 sustainment programme?
Outline the historical development of Australian aeronautical engineering, identify major Australian aviation projects, and describe the current engineering capability supporting Qantas and the Royal Australian Air Force
Engineering mechanics: How is lift generated by an aerofoil, and how do Bernoulli's principle and the lift equation predict the magnitude of the lift force?
State Bernoulli's principle, describe how an aerofoil generates lift, and apply the lift equation to calculate the lift on a wing at different speeds and altitudes
Engineering materials: How are composite materials used in modern aircraft like the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350, and what advantages do they provide over aluminium?
Describe the structure, properties and manufacturing of carbon fibre reinforced polymer used in modern airframes, identify advantages over aluminium, and apply this knowledge to the Boeing 787 and Qantas operations
Engineering mechanics: How are the four forces of flight (lift, weight, thrust, drag) balanced in steady level flight, climb and descent?
Identify the four forces of flight, apply equilibrium conditions to steady level flight, climbs and descents, and calculate net force and acceleration during accelerated phases
Engineering systems: How does a turbofan jet engine generate thrust, and what are the main components and processes of the Brayton cycle?
Describe the components and operating principle of a turbofan jet engine, identify the four stages of the Brayton cycle, and calculate thrust from mass flow rate and exhaust velocity
Civil Structures
Module overview →Engineering communication: How are civil structures specified for fabrication using third-angle orthogonal projection and Australian Standard AS1100?
Read and produce engineering drawings of civil structures in third-angle orthogonal projection in accordance with AS1100, including sectional views, dimensioning, line types and symbols
Engineering practice: How do civil engineers act as managers across project planning, design, procurement, safety and ethical practice?
Describe the role of civil engineers as managers across project lifecycle stages, identify the ethical and professional responsibilities of engineers in Australia, and apply this to a major Australian civil project
Engineering mechanics: How are forces and reactions distributed through beams, trusses and frames in civil structures?
Apply equilibrium of forces and moments to analyse simply supported beams and pin-jointed trusses, calculate support reactions and internal member forces, and identify members in tension and compression
Historical and societal influences: How have Australian civil engineering projects shaped national infrastructure and engineering practice?
Outline the historical development of civil engineering in Australia and the societal influences on major projects, with reference to Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the Sydney Opera House
Engineering materials: Why is concrete reinforced and pre-stressed, and how do these techniques exploit the strengths of concrete and steel?
Describe the structure, properties and applications of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete, identify why steel and concrete are used in combination, and apply this knowledge to Australian civil engineering examples including dams and bridges
Engineering materials: How are stress, strain and Young's modulus used to characterise structural materials and predict their behaviour under load?
Define and calculate stress, strain and Young's modulus, interpret stress-strain curves for ductile and brittle materials, and apply the relationships to typical civil engineering materials
Engineering materials: How are structural steel grades, sections and connections selected to carry loads in buildings and bridges?
Describe the production, grades and structural sections of steel used in civil engineering, identify common connection methods, and relate selection decisions to Australian standards and case studies
Preliminary Module: Lifting Devices
Module overview →Engineering practice: How are tower cranes, mobile cranes and ship-to-shore cranes engineered to safely lift large loads at scale across Australian construction and logistics?
Compare the engineering of tower cranes, mobile cranes and ship-to-shore container cranes, identify the structural and mechanical engineering principles in each, and apply this to Australian construction and port case studies
Engineering electricity: How do DC and AC electric motors produce the rotational torque needed for hoists, cranes and lifts, and how is motor speed controlled?
Describe the construction and operating principle of DC, AC induction and three-phase synchronous motors, calculate motor torque and power, and identify the role of variable-speed drives in modern lifting
Engineering communication: How are mechanical assemblies for lifting devices represented in engineering drawings, including assembly views, sectional views and standard symbols?
Read and produce engineering drawings of mechanical assemblies in third-angle orthogonal projection and isometric pictorial views, apply AS1100 sectional views and standard symbols for fasteners and welds, and prepare an assembly drawing with a parts list
Engineering mechanics: How are gear trains used to multiply torque in cranes and hoists, and how is the resulting load capacity calculated?
Apply gear ratio and efficiency relationships to multi-stage gear trains in cranes and hoists, calculate motor torque required to lift a given load, and identify the role of worm gears in self-locking lifting applications
Engineering systems: How is Pascal's principle used to lift heavy loads with hydraulic cylinders in jacks, excavators and forklifts?
Apply Pascal's principle to hydraulic lifting circuits, calculate output force and piston travel from input pressure and piston areas, and describe the role of relief valves and check valves in lifting safety
Engineering mechanics: How do pulley systems achieve mechanical advantage to lift large loads with smaller applied forces?
Define and calculate mechanical advantage and velocity ratio in single fixed, single movable, block-and-tackle and compound pulley systems, and apply efficiency to find actual mechanical advantage
Engineering materials: How are wire ropes constructed and selected for lifting applications, and how is the factor of safety determined under Australian standards?
Describe the construction and properties of steel wire ropes, calculate the safe working load from minimum breaking load and a factor of safety, and identify inspection requirements under AS1418
Personal and Public Transport
Module overview →Engineering systems: How do hydraulic disc and drum brake systems convert pedal force into wheel deceleration, and how is brake force distributed across the vehicle?
Describe the hydraulic disc brake system, calculate brake torque and stopping distance, and explain the role of ABS and electronic brake-force distribution in modern vehicles
Engineering materials: How are composite materials used in vehicle bodies and structures to balance strength, mass and energy absorption?
Describe the structure and properties of fibre reinforced polymer composites, identify their use in vehicle bodies and crash structures, and justify the selection of composites over steel or aluminium in specific applications
Engineering systems: How do electric and hybrid drivetrains convert stored chemical energy into traction force, and how do they compare to internal combustion engines?
Describe battery electric and hybrid drivetrain architectures, calculate range from battery capacity and energy consumption, and compare electric and internal combustion drive systems
Engineering mechanics: How do gear ratios in a vehicle transmission convert engine torque and speed to wheel torque and speed?
Calculate gear ratios in single-pair and compound gear trains, relate input and output speeds and torques, and explain the role of transmission ratios in matching engine output to road conditions
Engineering systems: How does an internal combustion engine convert fuel chemical energy into useful mechanical work?
Describe the four-stroke and two-stroke cycles, explain the role of the major engine components, and calculate engine output quantities including power and brake mean effective pressure
Engineering systems: How are public transport systems engineered for high capacity, energy efficiency and low operating cost?
Describe the engineering of light rail and metro public transport systems, calculate passenger-carrying capacity and energy use per passenger-kilometre, and compare with private vehicles
Engineering mechanics: How are Newton's laws used to analyse acceleration, braking and crash performance of vehicles?
Apply Newton's laws of motion to road vehicles, calculate accelerating and braking forces, and analyse impulse and momentum in crashes
HSC Module: Telecommunications Engineering
Module overview →How do engineers convert continuous analogue signals into digital data, and what trade-offs govern sample rate, bit depth and coding?
Investigate analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue conversion, the Nyquist sampling theorem, quantisation and noise, pulse-code modulation and its alternatives, companding, line codes, and error detection and correction
How do communication systems convert, transmit and receive information, and how do engineering principles inform their design?
Investigate the elements of a communications system (information source, transmitter, channel, receiver, destination), analyse analogue and digital signals, and apply principles such as modulation, bandwidth, signal-to-noise ratio, attenuation and multiplexing
What does NESA expect in an engineering report, and how do drawing and diagram conventions support engineering communication?
Investigate the structure and purpose of engineering reports in HSC Engineering Studies, the Australian drawing standards (AS 1100 series, orthographic projection, IEC circuit symbols), block diagrams and data sheets, and the application of these conventions to a telecommunications subsystem
How do modulation techniques (AM, FM, PM, digital) shape what a signal can carry and how robustly?
Investigate modulation techniques including amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, phase modulation, and digital modulation (ASK, FSK, PSK, QAM), and the engineering trade-offs between bandwidth, complexity, power efficiency and noise immunity
How are telecommunications networks structured, and how do cellular networks scale to billions of users?
Investigate network topologies (star, bus, ring, mesh, tree), local-area vs wide-area networks, and the engineering principles behind cellular networks (cells, frequency reuse, handover, generations 2G-5G) and satellite communications
What safety hazards and regulatory frameworks apply to telecommunications engineering practice, and how do engineers reconcile security, privacy, performance and cost?
Investigate the safety considerations in telecommunications engineering (electrical, RF exposure, optical, heights, trenching), the Australian and international regulatory framework (ACMA, ARPANSA, ICNIRP, ITU, Standards Australia, TIO, Privacy Act 1988), and current debates including the 2018 Huawei 5G ban and lawful-interception requirements
Which engineering materials enable modern telecommunications, and what properties are decisive in each context?
Investigate the engineering materials used in telecommunications (copper, aluminium, silica glass, semiconductors), the components built from them (amplifiers, filters, antennas, transceivers), and the properties (conductivity, attenuation, purity, dielectric strength) that govern their selection
How do copper, optical fibre and free-space radio compare as transmission media, and what engineering criteria select between them?
Compare transmission media (twisted-pair copper, coaxial copper, optical fibre, free-space radio) on bandwidth, attenuation, distance, cost, electromagnetic immunity, and installation; justify the medium choice for a given application