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. A space that has territorial markers - opportunities for surveillance - and clear indications of activity and ownership.






2. A method of illustrating relationships and patterns in system behaviors by representing two or more system variables in a controlled way.






3. A process of repeating a set of operation until a specific result is achieved.






4. A phenomenon of memory in which information that is analyzed deeply is better recalled than information that is analyzed superficially.






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






6. A phenomenon of memory in which noticeably different things are more likely to be recalled that common things. (AKA Isolation/Novelty Effect)






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






8. There are three ways to organize materials to support a load or to contain and protect something: Mass structures - frame structures - and shell structures.






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






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






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






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






13. The relative ease with which a destination - idea - or concept may be reached.






14. A technique for bringing attention to an area of text or image.






15. The process of organizing information into related groupings in order to manage complexity and reinforce relationships in the information.






16. A tendency to see people and things iwth baby- faced features as more naive - helpless - and honest than those with mature features.






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






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






19. There are five ways to organize information: Category - time - location - alphabet - and continuum.






20. A technique for preventing unintended actions by requiring verification of the actions before they are performed.






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






22. A tendency to interpret shaded or dark areas of an object as shadows resulting from a light source above the object.






23. A property of visual equivalence among elements in a form.






24. The ratio of face to body in an image that influences the way the person in the image is perceived. (High = intelligent / Low = physical)






25. A process in which similar characteristics evolve independently in multiple systems.






26. The level of control provided by a system should be related to the proficiency and experience levels of the people using the system.






27. 1) Physiological 2) Safety 3) Love 4) Self-Esteem 5) Self-Actualization


28. A property in which a form is made up of parts similar to the whole or to one another.






29. A technique of combining many units of information into a limited number of units or chunks - so that the information is easier to process and remember.






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






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






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






33. 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.






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






35. 80% of the effects generated by any large system are caused by 20% of the variables.






36. An activity will be pursued only if its benefits are equal to or greater than the costs. (ie. How much reading is too much to get the point of a message?)






37. The tendency for people to behave differently when they know they are being studied






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






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






40. A phenomenon of visual processing in which certain line orientations are more quickly and easily processed and discriminated than other line orientations.






41. People understand and interact with systems and environments based on mental representations developed from experience.






42. A preference for a particular ratio of waist size to hip size in men and women. Men prefer 0.7 in women. Women prefer 0.9 in men.






43. Repeated exposure to stimuli for which people have neutral feelings will increase the likeability of the stimuli.






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






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






46. Patients experience treatment effects based on their belief that a treatment will work.






47. 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.






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






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






50. Elements that are connected by uniform visual properties - such as color - are perceived to be more related than elements that are not connected.