Term 3 Assessment — The Component Mixer

Week 24 Term 3 Assessment Week

Assessment Objective

Demonstrate mastery of Term 3 by combining hazard and soil sensing, the LCD display, flowchart logic, and your first Rule Engine automations into working systems that run without you.

Assessment Overview: From Operator to Programmer

What You Learned in Term 3

Term 3 was the term you stopped being the brain of the MakerBuddy and taught the MakerBuddy to think for itself. You added two safety-critical senses, learned to report information to a screen, learned to plan logic on paper, and then wrote your first real automations.

Week	Topic	What you must be able to do
17	Gas & Air Quality (MQ-2)	Read air quality and identify a safe baseline vs. an alert level.
18	Smart Agriculture (Soil Moisture)	Read soil moisture and judge when a plant needs water.
19	Visual Output (LCD Display)	Show live sensor values on the 16×2 LCD using wildcards.
20	Algorithmic Thinking	Draw a correct flowchart with a decision diamond before you build.
21	Rule Engine & 4 Loop Modes	Choose the right Loop Mode and explain the priority order.
22	"No Loop" & Multi-Step Sequences	Build a one-shot rule with several steps and correct delays.
23	Forever Loops	Build a repeating pattern and explain output locking.

The Component Mixer Challenge

This assessment is called "The Component Mixer" because you will be mixing sensing, display and automation together. In earlier weeks you focused on one component at a time. Now you must make several parts cooperate inside a single system — and, crucially, make that system keep working after you close the dashboard.

Assessment Structure

Part 1: Individual Skills (40%) — prove baseline competence with each Term 3 skill.
Part 2: Integration Project (40%) — build the Safety & Growth Monitor to specification.
Part 3: Creative Challenge (20%) — design and build an automation of your own.

For Teachers

The decisive question this term is no longer "can the student make the hardware work?" but "can the student make the hardware work without them?" Insist that every rule is drawn as a flowchart before it is typed into the Rule Engine — the paper plan is assessable evidence of the thinking, and it is where most mistakes are cheapest to catch. Note that Condition mode has not been taught yet; it arrives in Term 4. Students should reach their goals here using No Loop and Forever only.

Part 1: Individual Skills (40%)

Complete at least 5 of the following 7 tasks. Each should take only a few minutes.

Air Quality Baseline: read the MQ-2 gas card, record the normal classroom value, then safely raise it (an unignited gas lighter held nearby) and record the alert value.
Soil Moisture Range: show the soil sensor reading in air, in damp soil and in water, and state the threshold at which you would water the plant.
LCD Wildcards: display two live sensor readings on the LCD at once — for example Temp: {temp}C on line 1 and Soil: {soil}% on line 2.
Flowchart: on paper, draw the logic for "if the room gets smoky, sound the buzzer". Use the correct shapes: oval for start/stop, rectangle for actions, diamond for the decision.
Loop Mode Choice: given four scenarios read out by your teacher, name the correct Loop Mode for each and justify one of your answers out loud.
One-Shot Rule: build a working No Loop rule with at least 3 steps that ends with the servo returning to a known home position.
Repeating Rule: build a working Forever rule with 2 steps that makes the RGB LED alternate between two colours, then demonstrate stopping it to regain manual control.

Remember: the Rule Engine will not accept a step delay below 100 ms. If Save does nothing and a field turns red, check your delays first.

Part 2: Integration Project (40%)

Project: The Safety & Growth Monitor

Build a station that watches over a small greenhouse: it reports conditions on its own screen and runs a visible warning pattern without any help from the dashboard.

System Requirements:

Plan first: hand in a flowchart of your system before you build it.
Sensing: use at least 2 sensors, and at least one must be the MQ-2 gas sensor or the soil moisture probe.
Reporting: an LCD step that shows two live readings using wildcards.
Startup rule: a No Loop rule with 3 or more steps that puts the system into a known state and confirms it is ready (for example: RGB white, one short beep, servo to 0°).
Warning rule: a Forever rule with at least 2 steps producing a visible or audible repeating pattern.
Independence test: close the dashboard completely. Your rules must keep running. Reopen it and show they are still active.
Documentation: a short written note listing each rule, its Loop Mode, and which component it owns.

Worked Example

A greenhouse station reading soil moisture and DHT11 temperature. Rule 1 (No Loop, runs at startup): RGB White → delay 1000 → Buzzer On → delay 200 → Buzzer Off → delay 100 → LCD shows Soil: {soil}% / Temp: {temp}C. Rule 2 (Forever): LED On 255 → delay 1000 → LED Off → delay 1000, giving a steady "system alive" heartbeat. The two rules own different components, so they never fight.

Marking Guide:

10% — flowchart submitted and matches the finished build
10% — both sensors reading correctly and sensibly interpreted
10% — both rules built, saved and running as specified
5% — LCD shows live values with correct wildcards
5% — passes the independence test with the dashboard closed

Part 3: Creative Challenge (20%)

Design and build an automation of your own using any components you like. It must include at least one saved rule, and you must be able to explain why you chose that Loop Mode. This is your chance to solve a problem you actually care about.

Project Ideas:

Plant Health Display — LCD dashboard cycling soil, temperature and light readings
Kitchen Gas Warning Beacon — a Forever rule flashing red as a permanent visual reminder
Morning Routine Starter — a No Loop startup rule that greets you with light, sound and a message
Classroom Attention Signal — a repeating colour pattern the whole room can see
Interactive Art Installation — an endless RGB colour cycle with a matching LCD caption

Presentation (2 minutes each): show your system working, then answer two questions — "Which Loop Mode did you choose and why?" and "Which component does each of your rules own?"

Coming Up Next Term:

Week 25: Time-Based Automation — Term 4 opens with the Timer mode, and your MakerBuddy learns to work to a schedule.