§-Engineering syllabus

Engineering syllabus, dot point by dot point

Every dot point in the QLD Engineering syllabus, in syllabus order, with a focused answer for each. Open any dot point for the answer, exam-style questions and links to related points.

Unit 3: Civil structures

Unit overview →

What types of load act on a civil structure and how do engineers account for them?

Identify and quantify the dead, live and environmental loads acting on a civil structure and combine them to find the total design load on a structural element

6 min read →

How do engineers describe and compare the properties of materials when selecting one for a civil structure?

Define and compare the mechanical properties of engineering materials, including strength, stiffness, ductility, hardness and toughness, and justify a material selection for a structural application

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How do engineers classify civil structures and decide which structural form suits a given problem?

Classify civil structures by form and load path, and explain how the choice of structural form responds to the function, site and social or environmental context of a project

6 min read →

How do engineers measure the mechanical properties of a material before they trust it in a structure?

Describe the standard destructive and non-destructive tests used to measure tensile strength, hardness, impact toughness and other mechanical properties, and interpret the data they produce

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How do engineers leave a margin between the load a structure carries and the load that would break it?

Apply the factor of safety to relate the maximum (failure) stress of a material to the allowable working stress, and select or verify a member size against the expected load

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How do engineers quantify how a material deforms under load using stress, strain and stiffness?

Calculate stress, strain and Young's modulus for a material under axial load, and interpret the elastic region, proportional limit and Hooke's law from a stress-strain diagram

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What can engineers read from the stress-strain curve of a material?

Interpret a stress-strain diagram to identify the proportional limit, yield point, ultimate tensile strength and fracture, and distinguish elastic from plastic behaviour and ductile from brittle materials

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How do engineers describe the internal effects of bending in a loaded beam?

Determine the shear force and bending moment at points along a simply supported beam under point and distributed loads, and relate maximum bending moment to the risk of structural failure

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How do engineers represent and resolve the forces acting on a static civil structure?

Apply the conditions of static equilibrium to determine unknown forces acting on a structure, using free-body diagrams and the resolution of forces into perpendicular components

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How do engineers find the reaction forces at the supports of a loaded structure?

Calculate the moment of a force about a point and apply moment equilibrium together with force equilibrium to determine the support reactions of a simply supported structure

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How do engineers find the internal force in each member of a loaded truss?

Analyse a statically determinate pin-jointed truss using the method of joints to find the magnitude and nature (tension or compression) of the force in each member

6 min read →

Unit 4: Machines and mechanisms

Unit overview →

How do engineers control a machine so it responds to its inputs and conditions?

Describe machine control using the input-process-output model, distinguish open-loop from closed-loop (feedback) control, and identify the role of sensors, controllers and actuators

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How do connected bars and pivots transmit and transform motion in a mechanism?

Explain how linkages and the four-bar mechanism transmit and change motion, identify common linkage types, and analyse the motion they produce from their geometry

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What kinds of motion do machines produce and how do mechanisms convert one into another?

Classify the four types of motion (linear, rotary, reciprocating and oscillating) and explain how mechanisms convert between them in real machines

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How does a cam turn steady rotation into a controlled pattern of back-and-forth movement?

Explain how a cam and follower converts rotary motion into a programmed reciprocating or oscillating motion, and interpret the displacement diagram that describes the follower's movement

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How do engineers move from an ill-defined problem to a justified, tested machine solution?

Apply the engineering problem-solving process to a machine or mechanism brief, explaining how data, prototyping and evaluation against criteria drive the development of a justified solution

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How do simple machines let a small input force move a large load, and at what cost?

Calculate mechanical advantage, velocity ratio and efficiency for simple machines such as levers, pulley systems and inclined planes, and explain the trade-off between force and distance

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How are turning force, rotational speed and power related in a machine?

Calculate torque as the turning effect of a force, and relate torque and rotational speed to mechanical power transmitted by a rotating shaft

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How do belt and chain drives transmit motion between shafts that are not touching?

Calculate the speed ratio of a belt or chain drive from the pulley or sprocket diameters, and compare belt and chain drives for slip, distance and load capacity

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How do gear trains change the speed and turning force transmitted through a machine?

Calculate the gear ratio, output speed and output torque of a simple and a compound gear train, and explain how gears trade rotational speed against torque

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How do levers and other simple machines multiply force, and what distinguishes the three classes of lever?

Analyse the three classes of lever using the principle of moments, and identify how simple machines such as levers, pulleys, wheel-and-axle and inclined planes provide mechanical advantage

6 min read →