The big idea: Analysing an electronic product means finding the main component parts that let it do its job, and saying what each contributes.
Work it as input → process → output, plus the power supply and any feedback — five things to look for on any board.
The model, then three real products through the same four boxes.
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| Look for | How to recognise it | What it contributes |
|---|---|---|
| The power supply | A transformer or a switched-mode module, large capacitors, a fuse, and often the only part with mains-spaced tracks | Everything else depends on it, and a fault here looks like a fault everywhere |
| Input devices | Anything connected to the outside: switches, sensors, sockets, an aerial | They turn a change in the world into a signal the rest of the board can read |
| Signal conditioning | Small resistors and capacitors clustered around an op-amp near the sensor | Amplifies and filters a tiny signal so the processing stage can use it |
| The processing stage | The largest integrated circuit, often with a crystal and a programming header beside it | Decides what happens — usually a microcontroller running software |
| Output drivers | Transistors, relays or driver chips, with thicker tracks and a heatsink | Carry far more current than a chip pin can, so the load can actually be switched |
Track width tells you where the current is: Thin tracks carry signals; thick tracks carry power.
So the widest tracks on a board lead from the supply to the output devices, and following them is the fastest way to find what the product actually DOES.
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Four sentences that make an analysis
What it senses, and with what
Name the device and the signal: a thermistor whose resistance falls as it warms, in a divider giving a rising voltage.
What decides, and on what basis
A comparator against a preset, or a microcontroller running a program with a threshold and a delay.
What acts, and how it is driven
A motor through a transistor, a mains load through a relay, an LED through a series resistor.
Whether anything measures the result
If something does, it is closed loop. If only a timer runs, it is open loop — and that is a finding about the product.
How this is tested — analysing simple electronic products and circuits to identify the main component parts. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — multiple choice
- Identify the stage a named component belongs to.
- Choose the part that performs a stated function.
Paper 2 — analysing a product
- Analyse a named electronic product and identify its main parts.
- Explain the contribution of each stage to the product's function.
The trap: Listing components. The marks are for what each one CONTRIBUTES, and for placing it in the input, process or output stage.
An electric shower switches on a heating element and a pump when a flow of water is detected. Analyse its electronic system.
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