CSAT Vocational Inquiry study plan
CSAT Vocational Inquiry · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Mechanical Engineering & Common Core: Vocational Foundations and Workplace Safety
Map the mechanical engineering syllabus into a one-page checklist of subtopics, then rank them by your current confidence from 1 to 5.
Solve 30 mechanical calculation items covering force, torque, stress, strain, and safety factor, and log every error with its cause.
Read workplace safety standards on hazard identification, lockout/tagout, and personal protective equipment, then write a 10-line summary in your own words.
Build a formula sheet for mechanical engineering that fits on two sides of one A4 page.
Your checkpoint
A two-page mechanical formula sheet plus an error log listing at least 20 solved items with the reason for each mistake.
Mechanical Engineering & Common Core: Vocational Foundations and Workplace Safety
Practice 25 items on power transmission (gears, belts, shafts, bearings) and compute gear ratios and torque transfer by hand without a calculator shortcut.
Explain the difference between tolerance, allowance, and fit in writing, with one worked example of each.
Draft a one-page emergency response procedure for a workshop accident involving a rotating machine.
Time yourself on a 20-item mixed mechanical set and record completion time and accuracy.
Your checkpoint
A timed 20-item mechanical practice set scored at 80% or higher, with a written note on which subtopics still need review.
Electrical and Electronic Engineering & Common Core: Vocational Foundations and Workplace Safety
Draw from memory the symbols for resistor, capacitor, inductor, diode, transistor, and ground, and verify each against a reference table.
Solve 20 direct-current circuit problems using Ohm's law and series-parallel reduction, showing every step.
State the safety rules for working near energized equipment and describe the correct response to electric shock.
Convert 15 values between unit prefixes (kilo, milli, micro, nano) without errors.
Your checkpoint
A hand-drawn circuit symbol reference card plus 20 fully worked DC circuit solutions.
Electrical and Electronic Engineering & Construction
Solve 15 alternating-current items covering impedance, reactance, and power factor, and identify which step you most often get wrong.
Summarize the operating principle of a transformer and a three-phase induction motor in under 150 words each.
List the main structural elements of a building (foundation, column, beam, slab, wall) and state the load each carries.
Interpret a simple floor plan description and answer 10 questions on dimensions and structural layout.
Your checkpoint
A mid-plan diagnostic test of 30 mixed items across domains 9, 10, 11, and 12, scored and reviewed item by item.
Construction & Agricultural and Life Industries
Solve 20 construction items on concrete mixing ratios, curing, and reinforcement placement, and note the standard values you must memorize.
Explain the difference between reinforced concrete and steel-frame structures with one advantage and one limitation of each.
Describe the stages of crop cultivation from soil preparation to harvest and match each stage to its main risk factor.
Compare protected and open-field cultivation and list three environmental controls used in greenhouse farming.
Your checkpoint
A comparison table covering construction materials and agricultural cultivation methods, with at least 15 rows of key facts.
Agricultural and Life Industries & Food and Nutrition
Outline the nutrient cycles of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in soil and state the role of each in plant growth.
Solve 20 food and nutrition items on the six nutrient groups, energy values, and recommended intake concepts.
Identify the main causes of food spoilage and match three preservation methods (refrigeration, drying, fermentation) to their mechanisms.
Apply hazard analysis principles to a simple food preparation scenario and list five critical control points.
Your checkpoint
A one-page nutrient and food-safety summary sheet with at least 12 key facts you can recall without notes.
Commercial Information & Industrial Technology
Solve 20 commercial information items on double-entry bookkeeping, debits and credits, and the accounting equation, verifying each entry balances.
Prepare a simple income statement and balance sheet from a list of eight transactions.
Describe the purpose of a bill of materials and a production process chart in industrial technology.
List four types of automated production equipment and state one function of each.
Your checkpoint
A fully balanced set of financial statements built from eight given transactions, plus a one-page industrial production process diagram.
Fisheries and Marine Industries & Human Development and Services & Creative and Design Industries & Common Core: Vocational Foundations and Workplace Safety
Review the lighter domains by solving 10 items each in fisheries and marine industries, human development and services, and creative and design industries.
Recall the key safety obligations common to all workplaces and write them from memory in 10 bullet points.
Re-take every previously missed item from weeks 1 through 7 and confirm each is now answered correctly.
Complete two full-length timed mock exams and record the score for each domain.
Your checkpoint
Two completed timed mock exams with a domain-by-domain score report and a final list of no more than 10 remaining weak points.
Milestones
Week 2: You can solve a 20-item mechanical set within the time limit at 80% or higher accuracy, and your error log shows fewer than five unresolved calculation mistakes.
Week 4: Your 30-item diagnostic across domains 9 through 12 scores at least 70%, and you can name the two subtopics that cost you the most points.
Week 6: You can write the nutrient and food-safety summary sheet from memory with at least 10 of 12 facts correct, and your construction and agriculture comparison table is complete.
Week 8: Both full-length mock exams are finished under time pressure, the weaker-domain list is down to 10 items or fewer, and every item you previously missed is now answered correctly.