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← Unit 7: Technology, Environment, Society and Careers

TEJ3M · Unit 7 test review

Technology, Environment, Society and Careers: Test Review

Everything for the Unit 7 test on one page: the key facts from all 3 lessons, the mistakes that cost the most marks, and a practice test that points you back to the lessons you need.

Key facts

Environmental Impact and E-Waste

  • Manufacturing a laptop usually consumes more energy than it will use in its working life.
  • Embodied energy is everything spent before the product reaches the user.
  • E-waste contains lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants — all hazardous.
  • It also contains gold, silver, copper and palladium in higher concentrations than natural ore.
  • RoHS restricts hazardous substances; WEEE makes producers fund recycling; Energy Star certifies efficiency.
  • The hierarchy is reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, dispose — in that order.
  • Wipe or destroy a drive before disposal; deletion does not remove the data.

Societal Impact, Ethics and Security

  • The digital divide covers access, affordability, connection quality, literacy and accessibility.
  • PIPEDA governs private-sector handling of personal information in Canada.
  • Copyright is automatic on creation; patents must be applied for.
  • Open-source software is licensed, not unowned — MIT is permissive, GPL is copyleft.
  • The CIA triad: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability.
  • Most successful attacks exploit vulnerabilities that already had patches.
  • Unauthorized access to a computer system is a criminal offence in Canada, regardless of intent.

Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers

  • Unplug and hold the power button for five seconds before opening a case.
  • Never open a power supply or CRT monitor — their capacitors hold lethal charge.
  • ESD damages chips at around 30 V; you cannot feel a charge below about 3000 V.
  • WHMIS 2015 has three parts: labels, Safety Data Sheets and worker training.
  • A soldering iron runs at about 350 °C and looks the same hot or cold — always use the stand.
  • Ontario OHSA gives every worker the right to know, to participate, and to refuse unsafe work.
  • Technician = 2-year diploma; technologist = 3-year diploma; P.Eng. = accredited degree plus licence.

Where marks get lost

  • Judging a device's footprint only by its power rating, ignoring embodied energy. (Environmental Impact and E-Waste)
  • Assuming a newer, more efficient device is always the greener choice. (Environmental Impact and E-Waste)
  • Treating recycling as the first option. Reduce, reuse and repair all come before it. (Environmental Impact and E-Waste)
  • Putting electronics in household waste, which is illegal in Ontario for most regulated items. (Environmental Impact and E-Waste)
  • Donating a computer without securely wiping the drive. (Environmental Impact and E-Waste)
  • Believing "the cloud" has no physical footprint — it is data centres consuming power, water and hardware. (Environmental Impact and E-Waste)
  • Thinking the digital divide is only about owning a device — connection quality, cost, literacy and accessibility all count. (Societal Impact, Ethics and Security)
  • Assuming open-source code can be used with no obligations. It is licensed, and some licences have real requirements. (Societal Impact, Ethics and Security)
  • Believing "I have nothing to hide" settles the privacy question. Privacy is about control over your information, not about concealment. (Societal Impact, Ethics and Security)
  • Treating security as purely technical. Most breaches begin with a person being deceived, not a cipher being broken. (Societal Impact, Ethics and Security)
  • Assuming good intentions make unauthorized access legal. Under the Criminal Code they do not. (Societal Impact, Ethics and Security)
  • Arguing that automation either destroys all jobs or costs none. The real issue is who bears the transition and how fast it happens. (Societal Impact, Ethics and Security)
  • Opening a power supply to investigate a fault — its capacitors can be lethal long after unplugging. (Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers)
  • Skipping the antistatic strap because no shock was felt. ESD damage happens a hundred times below the threshold you can detect. (Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers)
  • Putting a hot soldering iron on the bench "for a second". (Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers)
  • Spraying contact cleaner into a powered device — a flammable aerosol meeting a live circuit. (Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers)
  • Assuming a school lab is exempt from OHSA. The right to refuse unsafe work applies to co-op placements too. (Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers)
  • Using "engineer" and "technologist" interchangeably. In Ontario, "Professional Engineer" is a protected legal title. (Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers)

Practice test

18 questions from across the unit. Each one shows the lesson it comes from.

  1. Environmental Impact and E-Waste
    1
    For a typical laptop, which stage of its lifecycle consumes the most energy?
  2. Environmental Impact and E-Waste
    2
    A working four-year-old laptop is replaced with a more energy-efficient one. What is the environmental flaw in this reasoning?
  3. Environmental Impact and E-Waste
    3
    Which substance found in older electronics is most associated with damage to the nervous system?
  4. Environmental Impact and E-Waste
    4
    Order the waste hierarchy from most preferred to least.
    1. 1Reuse — pass it to someone who needs it
    2. 2Recycle — recover the materials
    3. 3Repair — fix what is broken
    4. 4Reduce — do not buy it at all
  5. Environmental Impact and E-Waste
    5
    What must be done to a hard drive before donating a computer?
  6. Environmental Impact and E-Waste
    6
    Match each standard to what it governs.
    RoHS
    WEEE
    Energy Star
    EPEAT
  7. Societal Impact, Ethics and Security
    7
    Which Canadian law governs how private companies handle personal information?
  8. Societal Impact, Ethics and Security
    8
    A student finds they can view other students' grades by changing a number in a URL. What should they do?
  9. Societal Impact, Ethics and Security
    9
    Code released under the GPL is used inside a product that the company then sells and distributes. What obligation follows?
  10. Societal Impact, Ethics and Security
    10
    Which measure most reduces the risk of a successful attack on a typical organization?
  11. Societal Impact, Ethics and Security
    11
    Match each form of intellectual property to what it protects.
    Copyright
    Patent
    Trademark
    Trade secret
  12. Societal Impact, Ethics and Security
    12
    Which statement about automation and employment is the most defensible?
  13. Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers
    13
    Why should a power supply never be opened, even when unplugged?
  14. Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers
    14
    What does WHMIS stand for?
  15. Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers
    15
    Which is a worker's right under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act?
  16. Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers
    16
    Order these steps before installing an expansion card.
    1. 1Unplug the mains cord
    2. 2Attach a grounded antistatic wrist strap
    3. 3Hold the power button to drain the capacitors
    4. 4Shut down the operating system
  17. Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers
    17
    Which Grade 12 courses are normally required for admission to an Ontario engineering program?
  18. Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers
    18
    What is the correct handling of a soldering iron between joints?

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