11 mark
State the type of engineering that deals with engines, gears and pumps.
S3 Engineering Science · Contexts and Energy
Practice Test B
Answer everything, then mark it in one go.
30marks
30 minsuggested
13questions
Have a pen, your jotter and a calculator beside you. 30 marks in 30 minutes — about a minute a mark, like the real test.
Nothing is timed and nothing is sent anywhere — your answers stay on this device, so you can close the tab and come back.
Data booklet and calculator
You may use a calculator and the N4/N5 Engineering Science data booklet, as in the real test. Open the data booklet (PDF).
Write your answers in the boxes — a few words or a sentence is enough. Do any working and the energy diagram in your jotter. When you finish, the page marks the two calculations and you mark the rest against the mark scheme.
Section 1
10 marksShort answers — one mark each.
21 mark
Describe one task a chemical engineer might carry out.
31 mark
State what is meant by a prototype.
41 mark
A coal power station is replaced by a wind farm. State one positive effect this has on the environment.
51 mark
Name the form of energy a moving car has.
61 mark
A blender is plugged into the mains. State its input energy and its useful output energy.
71 mark
State one form of energy that a blender wastes.
81 mark
The solar panel on a garden light takes in 250 J of light energy and gives out 50 J of electrical energy.
Calculate the percentage efficiency of the solar panel.1
91 mark
State one way a school could reduce its electricity bill.
101 mark
A team's model bridge keeps breaking. State one thing a good team would do next.
Section 2
20 marksLonger answers. Where a question says explain, say what happens and why.
118 marks
A new hospital is to be built on the edge of Edinburgh. It will have operating theatres, lifts, a heating system and solar panels on the roof. Building work will take three years.
(a) Name the type of engineer who would design the hospital's lighting and power supply.1
(b) Describe one task a mechanical engineer would carry out on the hospital.1
(c) Describe one positive effect the hospital could have on patients, and one negative effect the building work could have on people living nearby.2
(d) Describe one positive and one negative economic effect of building the hospital.2
(e) Give a real example of an engineered system in Scotland that reduces harm to the environment, and describe how it does this.2
128 marks
The hospital has electric hand dryers in its toilets and electric motors to drive its lifts.
(a) In your jotter, draw an energy transfer diagram for an electric hand dryer. Show the input energy, the useful output energy and one form of wasted energy.2
Draw this in your jotter. When you have finished, reveal the mark scheme and compare your drawing with the model answer.
(b) One lift motor transfers 96 000 J of energy in 16 s. Calculate its power.2
(c) Engineers want the lift motors to be as efficient as possible. Give two reasons why.2
(d) The hand dryers are fitted with sensors so that they switch off when no one is using them. Explain how this helps the environment.1
(e) Explain why heat is a useful output of the hand dryer but a wasted output of the lift motor.1
134 marks
A rollercoaster works like a very fast marble run. A motor pulls the car up the chain lift to the top of the first hill, then the car rolls down and over smaller hills to the end of the ride.
(a) Name the form of energy the car has at the top of the first hill.1
(b) Describe the energy change as the car goes down the first drop, and explain why each hill must be lower than the one before.2
(c) The chain lift is driven by an electric motor. State the input energy and the useful output energy of the motor.1
Your result
0out of 30
0%percentage
—indicative band
Bands are indicative only — they are a guide to where you are, not a grade.
Sources & credits: questions written for this site for S3 Engineering Science Test 1 revision. The N4/N5 Engineering Science Data Booklet is linked, not reproduced — © Qualifications Scotland (SQA). Diagrams drawn for this site. © R Stewart Physics, Electronics and Engineering · R Stewart - September 2026.