Course Details
Related Pages
Engineering Science is a study of the roles of engineers in society, and of the knowledge and skills modern engineers are likely to have.
Topics and skills covered in the course include:
- Engineering contexts and challenges – types of engineering and engineering projects, economic, social and environmental impacts of engineering; emerging technologies; energy and efficiency.
- Systems and control – the systems approach to engineering; energy systems; open and closed loop control; two state control; proportional control incorporating negative feedback.
- Electronic systems – analogue electronics, including Ohm’s law, Kirchoff’s laws, resistors in series and parallel, electrical power, voltage dividers, and transistor switching circuits, including BJT and MOSFET functions, transistors as drivers, op-amp functions and circuit design; digital electronics including logic circuits (AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR), truth tables, Boolean expressions and NAND equivalents; microcontrollers including high-level programming techniques (including pulse width modulation, ramping, incremental counts and other logic operations).
- Mechanical systems– motion and forces; mechanisms and drive systems; pneumatic systems (including cascading, group air and electrical control); beams and frame structures; and material properties (including analysis of test results).
National 4 is assessed by passing a series of units. Once units are completed, a final project must be completed to obtain a course “pass”.
National 5 is assessed by completing a project worth 31% of the final mark. The remaining 69% is assessed by a written examination. The scores are added to determine grades A-D.
Higher is assessed by completing an engineering assignment worth 40% of the final mark. The remaining 60% is assessed by a written examination.
Expectations
- Engineering Science is recommended as a pupil choice along with Mathematics, Physics and Computing Science – it should not be seen as a replacement for other science subjects.
- Strong skills in Mathematics are required to succeed in Engineering Science.
- There will be regular past paper question homework.
- Meeting deadlines and being resilient are important features of being successful in this course – you will be expected to carry out tasks in your own time.
- For entry to Higher, pupils will normally have a National 5 pass at grades A-C. S6 “crash” Highers will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Progression Routes
Pupils returning into S5/6 may progress on to Higher following attainment of a passing N5 grade.
College courses that Engineering Science will support entry into include:
- Electrical & Electronic Engineering
- Engineering Systems & Renewables
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Mechanical & Automotive Engineering
- Robotics and Automation
- Petroleum Engineering
University courses that Engineering Science will support entry into include:
- Aeronautical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Electronic Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Structural Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Product Design Engineering
