IB MYP Design – Criterion C – Creating the solution Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – the IB holds copyright in its own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available through your school or the IB store.

These practice questions cover Criterion C: Creating the solution for IB MYP Design. They are aligned to the International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Design, from 2014, which names Creating the solution as one of four equally weighted assessment criteria. MYP has no SL/HL split; the set suits MYP years 4 and 5, including the year 5 ePortfolio the IB moderates in each exam session. MYP has no prescribed content list – schools design their own units – so this page covers a skill the brief’s criteria name.

Every question trains Criterion C. Real MYP work is judged against criterion level descriptors (levels 1-8 in four bands), so the [1] points below are a revision aid, not IB marks. Your teacher will share the task-specific clarifications. All clients, prices and times are invented.

Revise first from the study guide or revision notes. Also see the IB MYP Design hub · printable checklist.

Questions

1. (Criterion C) State three different kinds of resource that a plan for making a prototype should list. [3]

2. (Criterion C) Explain the difference between a change to the design and a change to the plan. Give one example of each. [4]

3. (Criterion C, calculation) A student has 5 lessons of 60 minutes to make a prototype. The six planned steps take 45, 60, 35, 25, 40 and 30 minutes.

(a) Calculate the total planned time. [1] (b) Calculate the contingency in minutes and as a percentage of the time available. [2] (c) Suggest why a plan should include contingency time. [1]

4. (Criterion C) A student is making an acrylic desk lamp with an LED strip. The steps are listed out of order:

• A – Remove film and polish edges
• B – Laser-cut the parts
• C – Test the LED circuit on the bench
• D – Heat-bend the arm
• E – Fix the LED strip into the bent arm
• F – Check cut parts against the drawing

Put the steps into a logical order and justify one of your choices. [3]

5. (Criterion C, calculation) The specification for the lamp in question 4 sets a budget of £12.00. The planned materials are: 3 mm acrylic sheet £6.50, LED strip kit £3.20, USB cable £1.40, share of screws £0.60.

(a) Calculate the total cost and state by how much it is under or over budget. [2] (b) The student changes to 5 mm acrylic costing £8.90 to make the arm stiffer. Calculate the new total and state whether it meets the budget. [2] (c) Suggest one justified response. [2]

6. (Criterion C, calculation) Part of a student’s production log is shown.

Step	Planned (min)	Actual (min)
1 Mark out	30	35
2 Cut on scroll saw	50	80
3 Drill holes	40	40
4 Sand	20	25
5 Assemble	45	45

(a) Calculate the total overrun in minutes and as a percentage of the planned total. [2] (b) Identify the step with the largest percentage overrun and calculate that percentage. [2] (c) State what the student should record in the log about step 2. [1]

7. (Criterion C) A student writes: “I changed the handle from oak to pine.”

(a) Explain why this is not a full justification. [2] (b) Rewrite it as a full justification. You may invent reasonable details. [2]

8. (Criterion C) A student is making a quiz app for a fictional Year 7 science class. Describe four ways the design folder can show the technical skills used to build the app. [4]

9. (Criterion C, calculation) For the quiz app in question 8 the student has 6 lessons of 50 minutes and a plan totalling 260 minutes. In lesson 3 the client asks for a countdown timer, which the student estimates will take 45 minutes.

(a) Show that adding the timer means the plan no longer fits the time available. [2] (b) The student simplifies the colour-theme step, saving 15 minutes. Calculate the contingency now left. [1] (c) Write the change entry for the folder, justifying the change. [3]

10. (Criterion C, extended) A fictional client wants a wall-mounted key holder: a 9 mm pine board with five 6 mm dowel pegs and two keyhole hangers, varnished. You have 5 lessons of 50 minutes. Construct a logical plan for making it. [10]

11. (Criterion C, extended) A student making a wooden phone stand has 3 lessons of 50 minutes left. Remaining steps: assemble (40 min), sand (30 min), two coats of paint (40 min), test fit (20 min). A side panel then splits; re-cutting it takes 35 minutes.

(a) Calculate the contingency before the split, and the shortfall after it. [3] (b) The student replaces two coats of paint with one coat of Danish oil (15 minutes). Calculate the time left over. [2] (c) Justify this change, including its effect on the solution. [3]

Answers

1. Materials with sizes and quantities [1]; tools or machines [1]; software, people or money [1]. Examiner insight: “State” needs three distinct kinds; “saw, drill, sander” is three tools, one kind, and earns only one point.

2. A design change alters the product: material, size, joint or feature [1]. A plan change alters how or when it is made (order, timing, machine); the product stays the same [1]. Design example: dowel joints changed to biscuit joints [1]. Plan example: painting moved to after the hinges are fitted [1]. Examiner insight: If an example fits both categories (a new machine that forces a new joint), say which part is which, or the distinction is not shown.

3. (a) 45 + 60 + 35 + 25 + 40 + 30 = 235 min [1]. (b) Available = 5 × 60 = 300 min; contingency = 300 − 235 = 65 min [1]; 65 ÷ 300 × 100 = 21.7% [1]. (c) Making rarely goes exactly to plan (faults, re-cuts, absence); spare time lets the prototype still be finished [1]. Examiner insight: Take the percentage of the time available; 65 ÷ 235 = 27.7% answers a different question.

4. Order: B, F, A, D, C, E (C may come anywhere before E) [1]. Cut and check before bending; remove the film before heating, or it can melt onto the acrylic; test the circuit before fixing it [1]. Justification, e.g.: a faulty LED strip is hard to replace once fixed inside the bent arm [1]. Examiner insight: More than one order can be logical; without a reason, a correct order cannot earn full credit.

5. (a) 6.50 + 3.20 + 1.40 + 0.60 = £11.70 [1]; this is £0.30 under the budget [1]. (b) 11.70 − 6.50 + 8.90 = £14.10 [1]; this is £2.10 over budget, so it does not meet the specification [1]. (c) e.g. keep 3 mm acrylic and add a support rib to stiffen the arm [1], because this stays within the £12.00 budget in the specification [1]. (Or agree a higher budget with the client, recorded with the reason.) Examiner insight: Compare every total with the specification’s budget; a total with no comparison is half an answer.

6. (a) Planned = 185 min; actual = 225 min; overrun = 40 min [1]; 40 ÷ 185 × 100 = 21.6% [1]. (b) Step 2 [1]: (80 − 50) ÷ 50 × 100 = 60% [1]. (c) Why it overran, and where the time came from [1]. Examiner insight: Rank overruns by percentage when asked; a short step can have a small overrun in minutes but a large one in percentage (step 4 here is 25%).

7. (a) It says what changed but gives no reason or evidence [1], and no effect on the specification or the plan [1]. (b) e.g. “Changed the handle from oak to pine because no oak was in stock and ordering would take two weeks [1]. Pine is softer, so I will test the handle against the durability point in Criterion D; the change adds no time [1].” Examiner insight: “Justify” needs reasons and consequences; stating the change alone is description.

8. Annotated screenshots at each stage, not only the finished app [1]; code or block extracts explaining how each feature works [1]; a reason for each technique (e.g. a list stores questions so new ones are easy to add) [1]; evidence each feature was checked, such as a screenshot of the score updating [1]. (Also accept: bugs found and fixed.) Examiner insight: A finished screen alone shows little skill; the folder must show how it was built.

9. (a) Available = 6 × 50 = 300 min [1]; 260 + 45 = 305 min, which is 5 min more than available [1]. (b) 305 − 15 = 290 min, leaving 10 min of contingency [1]. (c) What: timer added; colour theme simplified [1]. Why: the client asked for it in lesson 3 (dated feedback) [1]. Effect: a new feature to test in Criterion D; contingency falls to 10 min [1]. Examiner insight: In “show that” questions every line of working must appear; writing only “it does not fit” earns nothing.

10. A model plan (5 × 50 = 250 min available):

#	Step	Min	Resources	Safety / check
1	Mark out board and peg holes	20	9 mm pine, rule, square	Holes 50 mm apart ±1 mm
2	Cut board	25	Tenon saw	Hands behind blade
3	Drill five 6 mm holes	30	Pillar drill, 6 mm bit	Goggles; clamp work
4	Cut pegs to 50 mm	20	6 mm dowel, saw	±1 mm
5	Sand	30	120/180-grit paper	Dust mask
6	Glue pegs; dry overnight	20	PVA	Pegs aligned
7	Varnish, two coats	30	Varnish, brush	Ventilated
8	Fit keyhole hangers	15	Hangers, screws	Level
9	Check against specification	15	Specification	Ready to test

Total = 205 min; contingency = 250 − 205 = 45 min (18%).

Credit, one each: workable order [1]; one action per step [1]; a time for every step [1]; total checked against 250 min [1]; contingency kept [1]; materials with sizes [1]; tools named [1]; safety controls [1]; quality checks with tolerances [1]; drying placed outside lesson time [1]. Examiner insight: A plan is judged on whether someone else could follow it; with no times or no checked total, it cannot be shown to be workable.

11. (a) Available = 3 × 50 = 150 min; remaining planned = 40 + 30 + 40 + 20 = 130 min [1]; contingency = 20 min [1]. With the 35 min re-cut, total = 165 min, a shortfall of 15 min [1]. (b) 165 − 40 + 15 = 140 min [1], leaving 10 min [1]. (c) Why: the 35 min re-cut means the plan no longer fits [1]. Effect on solution: oil gives a natural finish, not a painted colour, so the appearance point must be re-checked with the client and water resistance tested in Criterion D [1]. Effect on plan: finishing drops from 40 to 15 min; oil and a cloth replace paint in the resources [1]. Examiner insight: A change forced by time still needs its effect on the specification; saving time alone is not a justification.

Where marks are usually lost

• Steps too broad to show order, timing or checks.
• Materials without sizes or quantities.
• Contingency taken as a percentage of planned time, not time available.
• Planned times that exceed the lessons available.
• Photos with no annotation, or only of the finished product.
• “I followed the plan” with no dated log or actual times.
• Changes described but not justified.
• An unfinished prototype that cannot be tested in Criterion D.

Next steps

• Revision notes for weak areas.
• Study guide for full explanations.
• More practice: criteria in practice questions, design cycle questions.
• IB MYP Design hub and printable checklist.
• Try all free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

International Baccalaureate Organization, Middle Years Programme Subject Brief – Design, from 2014. Published by the International Baccalaureate Organization.