If these are the ways of exam?

[ericmark]

Practical Guide to Inspection I tried the first and second quiz and am glad I have my C&G2391 because the way the questions are worded I found it hard.

I looked at first question on quiz 2 and thought sure answer is "Skilled" but that was not an option. Sure that "Competent" has now gone.

IP2X = 12.5mm and IPXXB is protected against finger I have always considered them to be same. Is there any point asking which one?

2) An Electrical installation certificate requires the due date of the first periodic inspection and test to be recorded by

OK the Designer sets out first test which is normally done as the installation is completed if the tester finds faults he can ask for a test earlier than what the designer asked for so the person carrying out the first test will set the date for second test and the first first periodic inspection and test is in fact the second inspection and test as the first is not the periodic. So there is no fixed answer.

Is 0.2 to 2MΩ to be read as 0.2MΩ to 2MΩ or 0.2Ω to 2MΩ if latter then two correct answers.

"a test on main protective bonding" does not really describe testing the resistance of an earth rod or DNO earth terminal.

Restrictive conductive location means conducting location with restricted movement it seems they are trying to confuse the student.


18 ) A metallic earth return path would be found in a
All but TT but

18 ) A dedicated metallic earth return path would be found in a
TN-S only. Again poor questions.

20. The trip rating of an RCD used for additional protection should be
Well because 300mA and 500mA were not options it had to be 30mA but should it not say if that additional protection is for personal or fire and if on a CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION SITE INSTALLATIONS or elsewhere?

I think the setters need to go and learn English and how to ask questions without ambiguity.

 

[JohnW2]

I think the setters need to go and learn English and how to ask questions without ambiguity.

Not a new problem. Very many moons ago, in the earliest days of MCQs, an exam I was meant to be taking was 'abandoned' after about 10 minutes because several of the braver (and more confident) candidates had pointed out to the invigilator that none of the first half a dozen or so questions were worded in such a way that they were actually answerable!

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes, I agree. I always have trouble with the wording.

As for this question (1.7); I disagree with the answer.
Assuming the ohms are the same for the first and second figures.

7. When carrying out a test for protective bonding continuity the test instrument should have a range of
(A) 0.2 to 2MΩ
(B) 0.01 to 100Ω
(C) 2.0 to 20Ω
(D) 0.2 to 2.0Ω

What do you think is the answer?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

IP2X = 12.5mm and IPXXB is protected against finger I have always considered them to be same.

I got that one wrong in Quiz 1 - picked IP2X

2) An Electrical installation certificate requires the due date of the first periodic inspection and test to be recorded by

I got that one wrong too - I misunderstood the wording. I interpreted "recorded by" to mean the person carrying out the first periodic inspection and test. Saying "recorded by" is talking about "recording" something, in this case I&T results. A designer does not "record" the date of the first test any more than he "records" the sizes of cables - he specifies them. Recording the size of the cables is what someone doing I&T does. He records the date he does it too....

I think the setters need to go and learn English and how to ask questions without ambiguity.

 

[JohnW2]

7. When carrying out a test for protective bonding continuity the test instrument should have a range of
(A) 0.2 to 2MΩ
(B) 0.01 to 100Ω
(C) 2.0 to 20Ω
(D) 0.2 to 2.0Ω
What do you think is the answer?

I would say that, given those choices, one hardly needs to look at the upper figures - (B) is surely the only one with a low enough 'bottom figure' to be suitable for the purpose mentioned?

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Very many moons ago, in the earliest days of MCQs, an exam I was meant to be taking was 'abandoned' after about 10 minutes because several of the braver (and more confident) candidates had pointed out to the invigilator that none of the first half a dozen or so questions were worded in such a way that they were actually answerable!

Been there, got the grumpy face.

When it's happened to me though it's been on the premises of one of those independent training/certification companies, so no invigilator to be able to talk to. And very strict rules about taking any notes away, so I had to try and remember which question(s) had 4 incorrect answers (and they really were - it wasn't a case of poor wording, or misinterpretation) so I could beat up the people who wrote the exam when I got back to base.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I would say that, given those choices, one hardly needs to look at the upper figures - (B) is surely the only one with a low enough 'bottom figure' to be suitable for the purpose mentioned?

You might think that.

So might I.

We'd both be wrong - apparently it's (D).

 

[EFLImpudence]

Yes, exactly.

Can anyone think why that may be correct?

 

[JohnW2]

I would say that, given those choices, one hardly needs to look at the upper figures - (B) is surely the only one with a low enough 'bottom figure' to be suitable for the purpose mentioned?

You might think that. So might I. We'd both be wrong - apparently it's (D).

I do think that, and I don't think I'm wrong.

At least some guidances (OSG? GN3?) suggest that the maximum acceptable resistance of an MPB conductor is 0.05 Ω - and you ain't going to be able to tell whether that'requirement' is satisfied with a meter than can only measure down to 0.2 Ω !

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

Yes, exactly. Can anyone think why that may be correct?

It could only be correct in the eyes of someone who believed that 0.2Ω (or fractionally below 0.2Ω ) was always going to be low enough for a protective conductor - and, as I've just written, at least some guidances would not see eye-to-eye with that!

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I do think that, and I don't think I'm wrong.

OK - I'll rephrase it.

You might think that.

So might I.

We'd both be marked down - apparently the answer you need to give to score a point is (D).

 

[JohnW2]

I do think that, and I don't think I'm wrong.

OK - I'll rephrase it. ... You might think that. ... So might I. ... We'd both be marked down - apparently the answer you need to give to score a point is (D).

I know - and that's why MCQs have caused me to tear out more hair than most other things - and why I so often felt the need to write 'qualifying statements' on the paper, even though I knew that no-one was going to read what I'd written!

The saving grace these days is that the marking/scoring algorithms are pretty intelligent. If results indicate that most of the candidates were more sensible/knowledgeable than the person who wrote the question, the question will either be ignored or else the matter of the 'correct answer(s)' will be revisited (and, if necessary, results re-scored accordingly).

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

Perhaps the question should have stated "should have a minimum range of".

However, that just supports Eric's point about the poor wording.

 

[stillp]

I was an invigilator, and also a student, when C & G first introduced multiple-choice exams. (No, I didn't get to invigilate myself!). There was a theory that a complete idiot would be bound to get a score of 25% with 4 choices. In fact when we looked at the results, there was a 'gap' in the scores around that value, because the idiots got 10 - 15%, lower than they would have achieved by ticking all the (a)s or all the (b)s, etc. However, a lot of work went into setting the questions in those days. If one knew the rules for question-setting, it was quite possible to achieve a pass without knowing anything of the subject - I managed a pass mark in Painting & Decorating, and in Horticulture, as well as a few others, in spite of being not qualified to sit the exam.

I've also been involved, as an invigilator, when a mistake was made in a question, leading to an unanswerable question. Frantic phone calls to C & G, and by them to all the other colleges!

 

[JohnW2]

I've also been involved, as an invigilator, when a mistake was made in a question, leading to an unanswerable question. Frantic phone calls to C & G, and by them to all the other colleges!

That reminds me of a hilarious and disturbing occurrence I witnessed. When I was doing one of my A-Levels, there were students in the same room doing History A-Level. There were apparently different History papers according to the options to study different periods of history and, you've guessed it, our school was sent the wrong one. It was an extraordinarily long period before any of them 'raised their hands' to point this out, and by that time most of the History candidates were already 'scribbling away'! As with your story, there were then frantic phone calls, and (in days before photocopiers and faxes) someone had to dictate the correct questions over the phone to a typist, who typed them onto a duplicator stencil (remember them? )

In that same year, before MCQs had been introduced, we were actually paid to (optionally) do an 'experimental' MCQ alongside A-Level Physics so that they could 'compare the results'!

Kind Regards, John