Deconstructing Exam Questions

1. Senior Science Deconstructing Exam Questions LAZSTA 2010 Greg Pitt LAZSTA 2010 Greg Pitt

2. Assess the impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of three different types of artificial heart valves. (5 marks) Analyse* the question *break it down into its parts and see how they are related

3. Assess the impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of three different types of artificial heart valves. (5 marks – 14 lines) The initial analysis consists of three steps… 1. Look for the “verb” – circle it. Jot down the glossary meaning. 2. How many marks is the question worth? 3. How many lines are provided to answer the question? These provide essential clues about the depth of the required answer.

4. Assess the impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of three different types of artificial heart valves. (5 marks – 14 lines) Now start to break the question down… “Assess” what? Underline this key part of the question. Assess the impact of… …on the development of three different types of artificial heart valves. [something]

5. Assess the impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of three different types of artificial heart valves. (5 marks – 14 lines) Identify what you have to assess the impact of … Note that “advances” is plural Assess the impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of three different types of artificial heart valves.

6. Now the question begins to look like this (in your mind) Assess the impact of… advances in understanding… how the body works and [advances in understanding] the properties of materials …on the development of three different types of artificial heart valves. Now the paragraphs begin to take shape

7. Make a note of three different types of artificial heart valves. Assess the impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of three different types of artificial heart valves.

8. Begin to construct the question concisely (you have 14 lines) The impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of the ball and cage valve, the tilting disk valve and the bileaflet valve has been very significant.

9. Outline how understanding how the body works aided the development of artificial heart valves. The impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of the ball and cage valve, the tilting disk valve and the bileaflet valve has been very significant.

10. Outline how understanding how the body works aided the development of artificial heart valves. The impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of the ball and cage valve, the tilting disk valve and the bileaflet valve has been very significant. Consider the first area of advances – “how the body works”… • One-way blood flow • What causes clotting (and what can prevent it) • The types of materials the body rejects / biocompatible • Improvements in diagnosis – understanding regurgitation, stenosis • Solving problems relating to smooth blood flow, central flow

11. Outline how understanding how the body works aided the development of artificial heart valves. The impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of the ball and cage valve, the tilting disk valve and the bileaflet valve has been very significant. Construct sentences which show relationships… • The development of an understanding of the one-way flow of blood was necessary in the development of all artificial heart valves, since they had to replicate this function.

12. Outline how understanding how the body works aided the development of artificial heart valves. The impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of the ball and cage valve, the tilting-disk valve and the bileaflet valve has been very significant. The development of an understanding of the one-way flow of blood was necessary in the development of all artificial heart valves, since they had to replicate this function. Construct sentences to show relationships… • An understanding of how blood clots and the dangers of that led to the improvement of valves from the ball and cage design—which caused blood clots to form—to the tilting-disk design which reduced that type of damage.

13. Outline how understanding the properties of materials aided the development of artificial heart valves. The impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of the ball and cage valve, the tilting-disk valve and the bileaflet valve has been very significant. The development of an understanding of the one-way flow of blood was necessary in the development of all artificial heart valves, since they had to replicate this function. An understanding of how blood clots and the dangers of that led to the improvement of valves from the ball and cage design, which caused blood clots to form to the tilting-disk design which reduced that type of damage. Understanding the properties of materials… • Need for lightweight, biocompatible materials • Low-friction materials – Teflon, pyrolytic carbon • Durable materials – metals which do not break due to fatigue

14. Outline how understanding the properties of materials aided the development of artificial heart valves. The impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of the ball and cage valve, the tilting-disk valve and the bileaflet valve has been very significant. The development of an understanding of the one-way flow of blood was necessary in the development of all artificial heart valves, since they had to replicate this function. An understanding of how blood clots and the dangers of that led to the improvement of valves from the ball and cage design, which caused blood clots to form to the tilting-disk design which reduced that type of damage. Understanding the problem of rejection of foreign materials by the body led to the use of biocompatible materials such as titanium, special plastics and pyrolytic carbon to minimise these problems. Understanding the properties of materials… • Understanding the properties of materials helped scientists to develop or use materials such as pyrolytic carbon, which had low-friction properties and which therefore contributed to the smooth flow of blood in tilting-disk and bileaflet valves.

15. Make a concluding statement which focuses on the structure of your answer. The impact of advances in understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of the ball and cage valve, the tilting-disk valve and the bileaflet valve has been very significant. The development of an understanding of the one-way flow of blood was necessary in the development of all artificial heart valves, since they had to replicate this function. An understanding of how blood clots and the dangers of that led to the improvement of valves from the ball and cage design, which caused blood clots to form to the tilting-disk design which reduced that type of damage. Understanding the problem of rejection of foreign materials by the body led to the use of biocompatible materials such as titanium, special plastics and pyrolytic carbon to minimise these problems. Understanding the properties of materials helped scientists to develop or use materials such as pyrolytic carbon, which had low-friction properties and which therefore contributed to the smooth flow of blood in tilting-disk and bileaflet valves. These four examples illustrate the importance of understanding how the body works and the properties of materials on the development of artificial heart valves.