Practical / Laboratory Skills and Project Work
Practical / Laboratory Skills and Project Work
This domain tests hands-on competence: safe use of tools, measurement with instruments, circuit assembly, cable termination, testing and project documentation.
Core rules
- Prepare the work area, identify hazards, and use the correct tool for the job. Never work alone on mains-powered equipment.
- A digital multimeter must be set to the correct function and range. For resistance, isolate the component; for current, break the circuit and connect in series.
- Solder joints should be shiny and cone-shaped, not dull or balled. Avoid bridges and cold joints.
- Cable termination requires correct pinout, untwisted length and strain relief. Test continuity and, for data cable, performance.
- Record readings, methods and faults in a log. A project report should state aim, apparatus, procedure, observations, result and conclusion.
Worked example
A resistor is marked 4.7 kΩ with ±5% tolerance. The acceptable range is 4700 ± 235 Ω, or 4465–4935 Ω. If a DMM reads 4.52 kΩ, it is within tolerance; 4.40 kΩ is out of tolerance. Before measuring, the resistor is removed from the circuit so parallel paths do not affect the reading. The reasoning uses the tolerance band and confirms that the meter reading is interpreted in the same units as the marking.
Traps that cost marks
Measuring resistance in a live circuit; connecting an ammeter in parallel; using a continuity buzzer as a precise resistance test; leaving solder bridges; and submitting a project without raw data or a labelled circuit.