IB Design Technology SL · 2016 to 2025 (outgoing guide)
Unit 6: Process in practice
19 past paper questions from 16 papers across 11 exam sessions. See what repeats, then practise the same skills with AI marking.
SL archive · 2016 to 2025
Unit 6: Process in practice
Latest exam session: May 2025
- questions
- 19
- questions
- papers
- 16
- papers
- exam sessions
- 11
- exam sessions
- micro-topics
- 3
Topics in Unit 6: Process in practice
In syllabus order. The ring is the share of the marks each one carries.
6.1
The design process
43% of marks26 of the 61 marks across the 36 Design Technology SL papers analysed (43%) were on this topic. A past-paper pattern, not a guarantee for your next paper. · 5 questions
6.2
Modelling and prototyping
57% of marks35 of the 61 marks across the 36 Design Technology SL papers analysed (57%) were on this topic. A past-paper pattern, not a guarantee for your next paper. · 14 questions
Exam pattern
How often each micro-topic has been examined, year by year. Each label is explained under the grid.
Does it repeat?
Questions per year for each micro-topic.
fewermore
| Micro-topic | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ·Finite element analysis, 2016: 0 questions | 1Finite element analysis, 2017: 1 question | 1Finite element analysis, 2018: 1 question | 2Finite element analysis, 2019: 2 questions | 2Finite element analysis, 2020: 2 questions | 1Finite element analysis, 2021: 1 question | 2Finite element analysis, 2022: 2 questions | 2Finite element analysis, 2023: 2 questions | 2Finite element analysis, 2024: 2 questions | 1Finite element analysis, 2025: 1 question | |
| ·Defining the problem, 2016: 0 questions | 4Defining the problem, 2017: 4 questions | ·Defining the problem, 2018: 0 questions | ·Defining the problem, 2019: 0 questions | ·Defining the problem, 2020: 0 questions | ·Defining the problem, 2021: 0 questions | ·Defining the problem, 2022: 0 questions | ·Defining the problem, 2023: 0 questions | ·Defining the problem, 2024: 0 questions | ·Defining the problem, 2025: 0 questions | |
| 1Design specifications, 2016: 1 question | ·Design specifications, 2017: 0 questions | ·Design specifications, 2018: 0 questions | ·Design specifications, 2019: 0 questions | ·Design specifications, 2020: 0 questions | ·Design specifications, 2021: 0 questions | ·Design specifications, 2022: 0 questions | ·Design specifications, 2023: 0 questions | ·Design specifications, 2024: 0 questions | ·Design specifications, 2025: 0 questions |
- Frequently testedin at least a quarter of all papers, and still appearing in the last two years
- Less commonin fewer than one paper in fifteen
Past paper generator
Generate Design Technology SL past paper questions
Choose what to revise and build a set in one click. Every question stays whole, so multi-part questions come as they appeared in the exam.
- 1Pick any unit, topic or micro-topic
- 2Generate whole exam questions from the archive
- 3Practise the same skills with AI marking
Questions on Unit 6: Process in practice, by exam session
Which papers asked about Unit 6: Process in practice, and which question numbers. Open a paper to see them highlighted.
May 2025
1 question across 1 paper
May 2024
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2023
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2022
1 question across 1 paper
May 2022
1 question across 1 paper
November 2021
1 question across 1 paper
November 2020
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2019
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2018
1 question across 1 paper
May 2017
2 questions across 2 papers
November 2016
1 question across 1 paper
Every Unit 6: Process in practice question, unlocked
Generate all 19 questions in this unit at once, practise every one with AI marking, and see how each mark is awarded.
- Every past-paper question in any unit, topic or micro-topic
- Generate sets of 20 or all questions, as often as you like
- Unlimited practice with AI marking and worked answers
- See how every mark is awarded for each question
- Predicted papers and crash courses built from the same data
Used by IB students preparing for Nov 2026, May 2027 and May 2028
From €6/mo. 14-day money-back guarantee. Cancel anytime.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers about this page.
Which Design Technology SL exam sessions are covered for Unit 6: Process in practice?
18 exam sessions from 2016 to 2025, the latest May 2025. Every Paper 1 and 2 in every timezone is read and classified in full, which gives 16 papers in this archive.
Which Unit 6: Process in practice topic comes up most?
Finite element analysis (6.2.4): in 39% of papers, last seen May 25 P1 TZ1. Usually "other", worth about 2.5 marks in a paper that includes it.
Can I see the original question and mark scheme?
No. The wording belongs to the IB. You get the citation, the marks, the command term and the skill tested, plus our own matched practice questions with worked answers and AI marking.
What do "banker", "due" and "rising" mean?
Banker: examined in at least one sitting in four and still appearing. Due: regular before, but absent for the last two exam sessions. Rising: clearly more common in the last two years. Our classification of real papers, not an IB statistic.
What is free and what needs Pro?
Reading this page and the exam pattern is free. A free account generates three sets of ten questions and launches one practice set. Pro opens every question in any scope, sets of twenty or all, and unlimited practice.
Keep going
More Design Technology SL exam preparation
Every question, by paper
What each Design Technology SL paper tests across all its sittings: the marks by unit and the micro-topics it keeps coming back to.
Open the paper analysis
All IB past papers
Every subject we have classified by topic, with the same exam-pattern analysis.
Browse subjects