BUILD IT BETTER · PROTOTYPE HANGAR: The Resilient Systems Challenge is almost ready for its final failure test. Before that happens, your design needs one integrated build. Assemble the structural, mechanical, electrical and control parts, expose the system to pressure, then use the result to make a final evidence-led improvement.
ACTIVE OBJECTIVEBUILD IT BETTER · PROTOTYPE HANGAR: The Resilient Systems Challenge is almost ready for its final failure test. Before that happens, your design needs one integrated build. Assemble the structural, mechanical, electrical and control parts, expose the system to pressure, then use the result to make a final evidence-led improvement.
WORLDSYSTEMS LAB
SEQUENCE01 / 08
REWARDGAME BREAK
BEFORE YOU START
Get set for this mission.
You can complete the essential lesson on this page. You do not need to print anything.
YOU NEED
Required: a device with this page open.
Optional: headphones for video or read-aloud.
Optional: pen + paper for rough working if that helps you think.
HOW TO DO IT
Read or listen to the Briefing + Learn.
Do the interactive mission.
Use the reading and maths/data evidence.
Make your decision and add the Project HQ step.
Play the weekly game if you want, then complete Check-in.
WORK YOUR WAY
Short bursts are fine. Use Learning Tools for easier reading, read-aloud, less on screen, stronger contrast, no-rush and quieter-screen options.
If a question feels hard, go back to the worked teaching, use the hint/feedback, and try one step at a time.
SCIENCE SAFETY: The science investigations in this Senior mission are designed as virtual/screen-based activities unless the page clearly says otherwise. Do not improvise mains electricity, heating or chemical experiments at home.
PROJECT NOTE: Your project can stay digital. Physical making is optional unless you choose that format.
MISSION BRIEFING
BUILD IT BETTER · PROTOTYPE HANGAR: The Resilient Systems Challenge is almost ready for its final failure test. Before that happens, your design needs one integrated build. Assemble the structural, mechanical, electrical and control parts, expose the system to pressure, then use the result to make a final evidence-led improvement.
✓Identify inputs, processes and outputs inside an engineered system and explain how they connect.
✓Define a testable design criterion and distinguish it from a vague preference.
✓Combine structural, mechanical, electrical and digital/control choices in a simplified prototype.
✓Use baseline and stress-test data to identify a weakness, make one justified revision and retest.
✓Explain at least one trade-off created when a design improves one performance measure.
◈
INTERACTIVE LEARN MODE
No passive video this week.
This mission is deliberately built around its simulator, investigation, decision room or prototype instead of an external video.
LEARN
BUILD → TEST → FIND WEAKNESS → REVISE → RETEST
Engineering systems combine parts that must work together. INPUTS provide energy, information or materials. PROCESSES transform or move those inputs, and OUTPUTS are the results the system produces. A useful design also has CRITERIA that can be tested and CONSTRAINTS that limit what is possible. Engineers rarely get a perfect first version. They use BUILD → TEST → FIND WEAKNESS → REVISE → RETEST. Strong iteration changes a design for a reason supported by evidence, while tracking trade-offs such as mass, material use, energy, cost, speed or complexity.
Engineering systems combine parts that must work together. INPUTS provide energy, information or materials. PROCESSES transform or move those inputs, and OUTPUTS are the results the system produces. A useful design also has CRITERIA that can be tested and CONSTRAINTS that limit what is possible. Engineers rarely get a perfect first version. They use BUILD → TEST → FIND WEAKNESS → REVISE → RETEST. Strong iteration changes a design for a reason supported by evidence, while tracking trade-offs such as mass, material use, energy, cost, speed or complexity.
LEARNING BUILD
Refresh → Teach → Worked example → We do → You try
Build the idea before you enter the specialist lab. The point is to understand the reasoning, not just get through the buttons.
English / communication:Procedural and technical writing, design justification and evidence-led evaluation.
Maths / data:Measurement, comparison, geometry and performance data.
Topic knowledge:Mechanical, electrical, structural and digital systems; input-process-output; criteria, constraints and iteration.
This week’s first target:Identify inputs, processes and outputs inside an engineered system and explain how they connect.
Quick evidence refresh: which source is a defensible starting point?
Choose a source that can directly support part of the investigation. More than one source may be useful, but start with evidence that does not outrun its support.
TEACH 1 · CORE MODEL
Engineering systems combine parts that must work together. INPUTS provide energy, information or materials. PROCESSES transform or move those inputs, and OUTPUTS are the results the system produces. A useful design also has CRITERIA that can be tested and CONSTRAINTS that limit what is possible. Engineers rarely get a perfect first version. They use BUILD → TEST → FIND WEAKNESS → REVISE → RETEST. Strong iteration changes a design for a reason supported by evidence, while tracking trade-offs such as mass, material use, energy, cost, speed or complexity.
TEACH 2 · WHAT TO NOTICE
Identify inputs, processes and outputs inside an engineered system and explain how they connect.Define a testable design criterion and distinguish it from a vague preference.
TEACH 3 · CONNECT + TRANSFER
Combine structural, mechanical, electrical and digital/control choices in a simplified prototype. Use baseline and stress-test data to identify a weakness, make one justified revision and retest. Explain at least one trade-off created when a design improves one performance measure.
WORKED EXAMPLE · EVIDENCE
BASELINE BUILD
The guided fictional transfer system begins with a light frame, standard motor and manual stop carrying a 20 kg load under normal conditions. The run provides a baseline for later comparisons.
Reasoning: Start with exactly what the source establishes. Connect it to the relevant concept, then stop before the claim becomes broader than the evidence. Now compare it with WEAK ITERATION: A fictional design log says “I changed everything and the score went up”. Because several variables changed together, the log gives weak evidence about which change caused the improvement.
Why caution still matters:This item is weak evidence for a broad conclusion: its claim or implication reaches beyond what the available support can establish.
WORKED EXAMPLE · MATHS / DATA ROUTE
A baseline model has stability 72/100. After one justified revision it reaches 86/100. By how many points did the stability score increase?
This week’s maths/data focus:Measurement, comparison, geometry and performance data.
Name the variable or relationship, keep the units visible, calculate or compare, then interpret the result as evidence about the system. A result can support an explanation without proving every possible cause.
Worked solution:Find the point increase: 86 − 72 = 14. The stability score increased by 14 points.Answer check:14 points. Now return the result to the question and state what it means in context.
WE DO · GUIDED PRACTICE
Which source needs the most caution before it is used to support a broad conclusion?
Choose any source whose claim outruns its support.
YOU TRY · INDEPENDENT PRACTICE
For Build It Better, explain one core idea in your own words. Use one named source or observation from this page, then add one sentence saying what that evidence does NOT prove.
Write at least 18 words. Name the evidence or data you are using and keep the claim inside what it can support.
MISCONCEPTION CHECK
WEAK ITERATION:A fictional design log says “I changed everything and the score went up”. Because several variables changed together, the log gives weak evidence about which change caused the improvement.
This item is weak evidence for a broad conclusion: its claim or implication reaches beyond what the available support can establish.
HELP
Try: “The system part/variable ___ changes ___. The evidence is ___. This suggests ___. One limit is ___.”
STRETCH · OPTIONAL
Add a second source, data point or test. Explain whether it strengthens, weakens or qualifies your first conclusion.
BUILD IT BETTER · PROTOTYPE HANGAR⚙
BUILD IT BETTER
Build it. Test it. Improve it.
Assemble a guided emergency supply-transfer system, test it under changing load and conditions, then make one evidence-led improvement.
INPUT → PROCESS → OUTPUT
LINK 1
A battery supplies electrical energy to the lifting motor.
LINK 2
The motor and pulley convert supplied energy into movement.
LINK 3
The package reaches the delivery platform safely.
EMERGENCY SUPPLY TRANSFER · VERSION 1
Configure the system, then test it.
STANDBY
The simulator is an idealised engineering model. It combines structural, mechanical, electrical and digital choices so you can investigate interactions rather than build a real lifting device.
STABILITY—/100DELIVERY TIME—secondsENERGY USE—model unitsRESULT—system status
BASELINENOT LOGGED
Light frame · standard motor · manual stop · 20 kg · normal.
STRESS TESTNOT LOGGED
Run any 30 kg or crosswind test.
IMPROVED BUILDNOT LOGGED
Change at least one design choice after a baseline/stress result.
Log the baseline, expose the system to pressure, then revise at least one design feature and test again.
DESIGN CRITERIA
Which criterion is testable?
ITERATION
What makes a redesign an engineering improvement rather than a guess?
TRADE-OFF CHECK
A reinforced frame improves stability but adds mass and material. What does this show?
Classify the three system links, log baseline + stress + improved builds, then pass the criteria, iteration and trade-off checks.
OPEN THE WEEK 8 EVIDENCE FILES
SOURCE 1
BASELINE BUILD
The guided fictional transfer system begins with a light frame, standard motor and manual stop carrying a 20 kg load under normal conditions. The run provides a baseline for later comparisons.
SOURCE 2
PRESSURE TEST
Increasing load to 30 kg or adding crosswind reduces stability and may increase delivery time in the teaching model, exposing a weakness the learner can target.
SOURCE 3
REINFORCED FRAME
The reinforced-frame option improves stability in the model but adds mass and energy demand. This is a design trade-off rather than a free improvement.
SOURCE 4
SENSOR CONTROL
The fictional sensor-stop option improves position control but adds another component and some energy use. Real sensors also introduce calibration and failure issues not represented here.
SOURCE 5
WEAK ITERATION
A fictional design log says “I changed everything and the score went up”. Because several variables changed together, the log gives weak evidence about which change caused the improvement.
INVESTIGATE + ENGLISH · EVIDENCE CASE
A better build is one you can explain, not just one with a higher score
The final prototype combines several subsystems. Its frame carries load, the drive creates movement, the electrical supply powers the system and the control method determines when movement stops. These choices interact. A reinforced frame may improve stability but increase mass. A stronger drive may reduce delivery time but use more energy. A sensor may improve control but create another dependency. The engineering challenge is therefore not to maximise every number. It is to define what matters, test the system under pressure, identify the weakest point and make a change that can be justified by the evidence.
MAKE THE CALL
Choose the final configuration you would take into next week’s System Failure mission. Use baseline, stress-test and improved-build evidence to justify the configuration, then identify one remaining weak point that could still fail under a new pressure.
BUILD YOUR CASE CONCLUSION1. Make the call. 2. Use at least two relevant pieces of evidence. 3. Explain one limitation or uncertainty. 4. Finish with what can responsibly be concluded.Strong structure: My judgement is… The strongest evidence is… However, we still do not know… Therefore…
CASE CONCLUSION: Write 190–250 words documenting your final Year 7 engineering build. Describe the input-process-output chain, state one measurable criterion, compare the baseline and stress-test results, identify the weakness you targeted, explain the revision you made and describe one trade-off or limitation that remains.
0/190 words minimum for this writing mission.
CLAIMEVIDENCELIMITATIONCONCLUSION
MATHS + DATA LAB
Check the numbers.
HOW TO SUCCEEDRead the situation first. Estimate what a sensible answer should look like, choose an efficient calculation, then use the feedback to check your reasoning.For data questions, explain what the number shows — and what it does not prove.
A baseline model has stability 72/100. After one justified revision it reaches 86/100. By how many points did the stability score increase?
Estimate first, then choose the answer.
MISSION 05 · MATHS + DATA LAB
DATA TRAINING
FRACTIONS + PERCENT · YEAR 7 CORE
6 PROBLEMS
QUICK METHODFRACTIONS + PERCENT
Convert between fractions, decimals and percentages, then calculate from the whole.
GUIDED · Q01–Q03Use the quick method, then check the explanation.
Q01
What is 25% of 200?
25% of 200 = 0.25 × 200 = 50.
Q02
Which fraction equals 50%?
50% means 50 out of 100, which simplifies to 1/2.
Q03
0.25 as a percentage is…
Multiply a decimal by 100 to convert it to a percentage: 25%.
INDEPENDENT · Q04
Which is largest?
0.6 = 60%, which is larger than 55%, 50% and 45%.
INDEPENDENT · Q05
A $80 item is reduced by 25%. What is the discount?
25% is one quarter; one quarter of $80 is $20.
INDEPENDENT · Q06
After a 25% discount on $80, what is the new price?
$80 − $20 discount = $60.
OPTIONAL CHALLENGE · OPEN RESPONSE
Create a real-life problem that uses a percentage and solve it.
0 words · optional
KEEP YOUR SKILLS SHARP
YOUR WEEKLY TRAINING
Four short sessions to spread across your week. Each has six problems and a reasoning mission. Allow about 10–15 minutes per session, and take longer when you need it.
Use paper for working. Enter numbers only; units are shown beside each answer. These are fictional practice scenarios.
0 / 24 correctSESSION 1 · NUMBER CHECK0 / 6
LEARN THE METHOD
Use brackets first, then powers, multiplication/division, and addition/subtraction. For fractions, use a common denominator.
WORKED EXAMPLE
18 + 4 × 3 = 18 + 12 = 30. But (18 + 4) × 3 = 66.
Use a hint
Multiply first: 8 × 3 = 24; add 109 to get 133.
Use a hint
Brackets first: 117 × 3 = 351.
Check the method after trying
8² = 64; subtract 3.
Check the method after trying
One quarter is 106; multiply by 3.
Check the method after trying
1/2 = 2/4, so 2/4 + 1/4 = 3/4 = 0.75.
Check the method after trying
(875 − 3) ÷ 8 = 109.
Compare your reasoning after trying
Multiplication is done before addition unless brackets change the order. For example, 2 + 3 × 4 = 14, but (2 + 3) × 4 = 20.
Your example may differ. Check your calculations and whether you explained why.
SESSION 2 · BUILD + MEASURE0 / 6
LEARN THE METHOD
Rectangle area = length × width; perimeter = 2 × (length + width). Triangle area = base × perpendicular height ÷ 2. Cuboid volume = length × width × height.
WORKED EXAMPLE
For an 8 m × 3 m rectangle: area = 24 m² and perimeter = 22 m. A 6 m × 4 m rectangle has the same area but perimeter 20 m.
m²
Use a hint
Length × width = 110 × 3.
m
Use a hint
2 × (110 + 3) = 226.
cm²
Check the method after trying
Base × height ÷ 2 = 220 × 3 ÷ 2.
cm³
Check the method after trying
Multiply the three dimensions.
°
Check the method after trying
180 − 43 − 64 = 73.
m²
Check the method after trying
Whole area 330 minus uncovered area 4.
Compare your reasoning after trying
For example 12 × 2 and 6 × 4 both have area 24 square units. Their perimeters are 28 and 20 units. Area and perimeter measure different things.
Your example may differ. Check your calculations and whether you explained why.
SESSION 3 · DATA INVESTIGATOR0 / 6
LEARN THE METHOD
Mean = total ÷ count. Median is the middle ordered value (average the middle pair if needed). Mode is most frequent. Range = maximum − minimum.
WORKED EXAMPLE
For 2, 4, 4, 6, 9: mean = 25 ÷ 5 = 5; median = 4; mode = 4; range = 9 − 2 = 7.
Use a hint
Total 456 ÷ 4 = 114.
Use a hint
Ordered: 111, 113, 114, 115, 120; take the middle.
Check the method after trying
119 − 109 = 10.
Check the method after trying
112 occurs three times.
Check the method after trying
Average the middle two: (113 + 117) ÷ 2 = 115.
Check the method after trying
Old total = 444; new total = 575; divide by 5.
Compare your reasoning after trying
A large outlier raises the total and mean. A larger sample can still be biased if it only includes one kind of respondent; selection matters as well as size.
Your example may differ. Check your calculations and whether you explained why.
SESSION 4 · RULE DECODER0 / 6
LEARN THE METHOD
A letter stands for a number. Substitute its value; multiplication comes before addition. To solve, undo operations in reverse order on both sides.
WORKED EXAMPLE
3x + 5 = 26. Subtract 5 on both sides: 3x = 21. Divide by 3: x = 7. Check: 3 × 7 + 5 = 26.
Use a hint
Subtract 5 from both sides.
Use a hint
Divide both sides by 5.
Check the method after trying
Substitute: 2 × 112 + 5 = 229.
Check the method after trying
Add 5 each time.
Check the method after trying
Subtract 5, then divide by 2.
Check the method after trying
Exactly 112 is not greater than 112, so use the otherwise rule.
Compare your reasoning after trying
For example, 2x + 3 = 13 and 3x − 2 = 13 both have x = 5. Substitution checks each solution.
Your example may differ. Check your calculations and whether you explained why.
Answers and reasoning save on this device when browser storage is available.
PROJECT HQ · TERM 3
PROJECT HQ · PROJECT FILE 08
FINAL BUILD.
Start something real. Build an idea, test it, improve it, and share it. Make your move.
FINAL BUILD your Resilient Systems Challenge. Lock the revised design, show the evidence chain from weak point to improvement, identify one remaining vulnerability and prepare the build that will enter System Failure next week.
WEEK 8 · FINAL BUILD · Lock the version you will carry into System Failure. Show exactly how your evidence changed the design and what weakness still remains.
Complete all five fields. Your final build is saved into the Resilient Systems Challenge record.
Project sharing will be optional. A future upload system must keep private submission separate from public-showcase/marketing permission.
CHECK-IN
What changed in your thinking?
26ICONIC GAMES
YOUR WEEKLY GAME · TERM 3 / WEEK 8
Guitar Rhythm
Hit the coloured frets as notes meet the line. Hold the long notes.
01BRIEF
02LEARN
03INVESTIGATE
05DECIDE
07PROJECT
08CHECK-IN