Test your basic knowledge |

Design Principles

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. People tend to prefer savanna- like environments to other types of environments. Open areas - scattered trees - water - and uniform grassiness rather than other natural environments such as desert - jungle - and complex mtns.






2. An attribute of an object that allows people to intuitively know how to use it






3. A technique of composition in which a medium is divided into thirds - creating aesthetic positions for the primary elements of a design.






4. A sequence of numbers in which each number is the sum of the preceding two.






5. Designs should help people avoid errors and minimize the negative consequences of errors when they do occur.






6. 1) Functionality 2) Reliability 3) Usability 4) Proficiency 5) Creativity. In order for design to be successful - it must meet ppl's basic need before it can attempt to satisfy higher- level needs.






7. The act of measuring certain sensitive variable in a system can alter them - and confound the accuracy of the measurement.






8. Teachers treat students differently based on their expectations of how students will perform.






9. The deliberate use of a weak element that will fail in order to protect other elements in the system from damage.






10. A Gestalt law of organization; elements arrange in a straight line or a smooth curve are perceived as a group - and are interpreted as being more related than elements not on the line or curve.






11. Using more elements than is necessary to offset the effects of unknown variables which may cause a system failure.






12. A Gestalt principle of organization holding that aspects of perceptual field that move or function in a similar manner will be perceived as a unit






13. An original model on which something is patterned






14. A method of presentation in which information is presented in descending order of importance. (Critical information presented first).






15. Successful products typically follow four stages of creation: requirements - design - development - and testing.






16. The usability of a system is improved when its status and methods of use are clearly visible.






17. Pictures are remembered better than words.






18. A tendency to prefer environments with unobstructed views (prospects) and areas of concealment and retreat (refuges).






19. A diagram that describes the general pattern followed by the eyes when looking at evenly distributed - homogeneous information.






20. The use of simplified and incomplete models of a design to explore ideas - elaborate requirements - refine specifications - and test functionality.






21. The usability of a system is improved when similar parts are expressed in similar ways.






22. A method of managing system complexity that involves dividing large systems into multiple - smaller self- contained systems.






23. As the flexiblity of a system increases - its usability decreases.






24. A technique used to asociate a stimulus with an unconscious physical or emotional response.






25. The use of more elements than necessary to maintain the performance of a system in the event of failure of one or more of the elements.






26. A state of mental focus so intense that awareness of the 'real' world is lost - generally resulting in a feeling of joy and satisfaction.






27. A method of reorganizing information to make the information simpler - more meaningful and easier to remember. (ie. First Letter - Keyword - Rhyme - Feature Name)






28. Tendency to form an overall positive impression of a person on the basis of one positive characteristic






29. The process of using spatial and environmental information to navigate to a destination.






30. The tendency to perceive objects as unchanging - despite changes in sensory input. (such as perspective - lighting - color or size)






31. Hierarchical organization is the simplest structure for visualizing and understanding complexity.






32. Given a choice between functionally equivalent designs - the simplest design should be selected.

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33. The quality of system output is dependent on the quality of system input.






34. The ratio of relevant to irrelevant information in a display. The highest possible signal- to- noise ratio is desirable in design.






35. Teh act of copying properties of familiar objects - organisms - or environments in order to realize specifice benefits afforded by those properties.






36. A technique used to teach a desired behavior by reinforcing increasingly accurate approximations of the behavior.






37. A phenomenon in which mental processing is made slower and less accurate by competing mental processes.






38. It is often preferable to settle for a satisfactory solution - rather than pursue an optimal solution.






39. An ability to detect threatening stimuli more efficiently than nonthreatening stimuli.






40. All products progress sequentially through four stages of existence: introduction - growth - maturity - and decline.






41. A tendency to prefer faces in which the eyes - nose - lips and other features are close to the average of a population.






42. The greater the effort to accomplish a task - the less likely the task will be accomplished successfully.






43. A point of physical or attentional entry into a design. (Minimal Barriers - Points of Prospect - Progressive Lures)






44. A relationship between variables in a system where the consequences of an event are fed back in order to modify the event in the future.






45. The tendency for people to perform better or worse based on the expectations of another.






46. Elements that are close together are percieved to be more related than elements that are farther apart.






47. A phenomenon in which perception and behavior changes as a result of personal expectations or the expectations of others. (Halo effect - Hawthorne effect - Pygmalion effect - Placebo effect - Rosenthal effect - Demand characteristics.)






48. A phenomenon of memory in which items presented at the beginning and end of a list are more likely to be recalled than items in the middle of a list.






49. Elements that are similar are perceived to be more related than elements that are dissimilar.






50. A term used to describe a set of data - that when plotted - forms a symmetrical - bell- shaped curve.