NCEA Level 3 Technology case studies
NCEA Level 3 Technology · Put your knowledge to work in context.
NCEA Level 3 Technology is the final senior-secondary year of the New Zealand technology learning area, assessed through standards administered by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). It is intended for Year 13 students who are building a technological outcome - a product, system, or design solution - and who want to demonstrate sustained technological thinking rather than isolated workshop skills. The NCEA Level 3 Technology case studies are 5 cases and about 4,436 words.
1The 14-Day Pouch Problem
At a Canterbury secondary school, a Year 13 student has a brief to make 30 insulated lunch pouches for a kōhanga reo. The kōhanga needs packed lunches to stay below 8°C for four hours on a February day (ambient 26°C).
935 words, about 5 min2The Stand That Would Not Fit
A two-person design-and-build firm in Wellington has a contract to supply 12 public bicycle repair stands for a council-owned coastal trail. The budget is NZ$9,500 for all 12, installed.
887 words, about 4 min3The Stage That Passed the Wrong Test
A school is building eight portable stage modules for its hall: each 2.4 m × 1.2 m, 600 mm high, with a 400 mm riser at the back. The brief requires each module to support 12 students (design load 100 kg per person, including a dynamic factor), to be liftable by two people (maximum 28 kg per module), and to cost no more than NZ 220 in materials.
950 words, about 5 min4The 40-Litre Overdose
A school's 6 m × 12 m hydroponic greenhouse has 240 lettuce plants in four nutrient-film channels and a 1,000 L reservoir. A Year 13 technology team built a controller: a low-cost PLC reads one pH probe and one electrical-conductivity (EC) probe, then runs two peristaltic pumps for pH-down and nutrient concentrate.
810 words, about 4 min5The Catchment Data Deal
A small NZ technology company wants to commercialise a water-quality app for councils. It has negotiated access to 40 years of handwritten rainfall, turbidity and E.
854 words, about 4 min