WACE Philosophy Ethics ATAR case studies
WACE Philosophy Ethics ATAR · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Western Australian Certificate of Education Philosophy and Ethics ATAR is a senior secondary course and external examination for students in their final two years of schooling in Western Australia who want a humanities-rich, argument-driven subject counted toward their ATAR and university entrance. It suits students who enjoy reading primary texts closely, constructing and criticising arguments, and thinking through contested moral and metaphysical questions rather than memorising settled answers. The WACE Philosophy Ethics ATAR case studies are 5 cases and about 3,204 words.
1The Trolley at the Reservoir
A dam inspector named Priya has 40 minutes before a scheduled controlled release. She discovers that the release gate is jammed and will open fully, flooding a lower valley where 12 workers are repairing a levee.
664 words, about 3 min2The Algorithmic Waiting List
A public hospital uses a software triage system to rank patients for elective surgery. The vendor's model was trained on five years of historical data in which older patients and patients from a rural region received surgery later, partly because of travel distances and partly because of clinician bias in referral letters.
686 words, about 3 min3The Student, the Essay Mill and the Confession
A university philosophy department discovers that 14 of 300 submitted essays contain passages generated by an AI tool. The department's policy says plagiarism results in automatic failure and a misconduct record.
638 words, about 3 min4The Watchmaker's Apprentice
In a class debate, a student, Marcus, argues: 'The universe is fine-tuned for life. The constants fall within a narrow life-permitting range.
548 words, about 3 min5The Town That Banned the Mine
A regional council must vote on a lithium mine. The mine would supply battery material for a national renewable-energy target, create 400 local jobs in a town with 18% unemployment, and generate A$60 million annually in royalties.
668 words, about 3 min