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Leaving Cert Technology: Quality, reliability & life cycle

How often Quality, reliability & life cycle comes up on the Technology papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 8 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. most years

OL Asked on 6 of the last 9 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

Quality, reliability & life cycle, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on Quality, reliability & life cycle.

(a)On the bathtub curve, what causes the high failure rate early in a product's life?
  1. Parts wearing out with age (wear-out)
  2. Faulty parts or assembly (infant mortality)
  3. Random failures in normal use (useful life)
(b)What is a cause-and-effect (fishbone) diagram used for?
  1. Showing sales over each stage of a product's life cycle
  2. Scheduling tasks in a project against time
  3. Finding possible causes of a quality problem
(c)Which is the correct order of the product life cycle?
  1. Introduction, growth, maturity, decline
  2. Introduction, maturity, growth, decline
  3. Growth, introduction, decline, maturity
Show the answers

(a) Faulty parts or assembly (infant mortality)

(b) Finding possible causes of a quality problem

(c) Introduction, growth, maturity, decline

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Quality, reliability & life cycle.

Higher Level

Asked on 8 of the last 9 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025B2c
2024B2d
2023A8, B2c
2022B2c, B3d
2021B2d
2019A7
2018Not asked
2017B3d
2016A8

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Quality, reliability & life cycle questions

Quality, reliability & life cycle, 3 marks

A kettle whose spare parts are easy to get and fit scores well on which dimension of quality?

  1. Aesthetics
  2. Perceived quality
  3. Serviceability
Show the answer

Serviceability

Serviceability covers how easily, quickly and cheaply a product can be repaired. It extends product life, which also helps sustainability.

Quality, reliability & life cycle, 2 marks

Five measured lengths are 48, 52, 50, 47 and 53 mm. What is their range?

  1. 5 mm
  2. 6 mm
  3. 50 mm
Show the answer

6 mm

Range = largest − smallest = 53 − 47 = 6 mm. It is a simple measure of spread; the mean (50 mm) shows the centre.

Quality, reliability & life cycle, 2 marks

Why does a company recall a product?

  1. A fault makes it unsafe, so it is fixed or replaced
  2. Its sales have reached the maturity stage
  3. It has sold out and new stock is needed
Show the answer

A fault makes it unsafe, so it is fixed or replaced

A recall brings back products with a safety or quality fault. It is costly and harms the brand, which is why quality is built in at the design stage.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 6 of the last 9 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2024. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2025Not asked
2024A11, B2d
2023A9
2022B2a
2021Not asked
2019B2c
2018Not asked
2017B2d, B3d
2016B2c

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Quality, reliability & life cycle questions

Quality, reliability & life cycle, 2 marks

What does the CE mark on a product show?

  1. It was made in a European country and not imported
  2. It is carbon neutral across its whole life
  3. It meets EU health, safety and environmental rules
Show the answer

It meets EU health, safety and environmental rules

CE stands for Conformité Européenne. The maker declares that the product meets EU requirements so it can be sold across the EU. It does not show where it was made.

Quality, reliability & life cycle, 2 marks

Which of these is a quality attribute of a product?

  1. The number of competitors
  2. Durability
  3. Its advertising budget
Show the answer

Durability

Quality attributes are features customers judge a product by: performance, reliability, durability, safety, finish and appearance.

Quality, reliability & life cycle, 2 marks

A fishbone (cause-and-effect) diagram is used to…

  1. Find possible causes of a quality problem
  2. Show a project timeline
  3. Plot sales of a product over time
Show the answer

Find possible causes of a quality problem

The problem (effect) is the fish head. The bones group possible causes under headings such as materials, methods, machines and people.

Other Technology topics

All of Leaving Cert Technology