| Date | May 2019 | Marks available | 3 | Reference code | 19M.3.HL.TZ0.2 |
| Level | HL | Paper | 3 (model questions) | Time zone | no time zone |
| Command term | Explain | Question number | 2 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Students should be provided with the pre-release document ahead of the May 2019 HL paper 3 examination, this can be found under the "Your tests" tab > supplemental materials > May 2019 HL paper 3 pre-release document: AV.
Mobility challenges for the elderly, young, disadvantaged, and handicapped.
Source 1: Miketon
Miketon is a small town with a population of 5000. It has one taxi company with two drivers who are about to retire. There are no plans for the taxi company to continue. The town council is aware that this will create problems for the elderly citizens who live in the community. The council predicts that this problem will grow, as there are increasing numbers of elderly people retiring to the area.
Miketon is 20 km from the regional centre, Towbro, which has a population of 300 000. As a result of this closeness, it is also popular with young families, as it is within commuting* distance (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Map showing the locations of Miketon and Towbro
The loss of the taxi service and an infrequent bus service to Towbro will create problems for both the elderly, who need access to the hospital, and for teenagers who wish to attend cultural and sporting events in Towbro.
* Commuting: to travel some distance between one's home and place of work on a regular basis.
Source 2: Miketon Town Council
Miketon Town Council wants to solve this problem and has two suggestions they will put forward at the next council meeting.
- A fleet of autonomous vehicles is purchased by the council that could be used by anyone in the town at a subsidized rate. All bookings would be made through the council website or the council transport app. The autonomous vehicles would easily cover the distances between the regional centre and other locations.
- A ride-share company is invited to start operations in Miketon. To entice companies and local drivers to participate, the council would subsidize the trips by paying a surcharge (an amount added to the fare), which would be credited to the ride-share drivers and company.
Both suggestions have advantages as well as limitations.
Source 3: Readiness for autonomous vehicles
Each country can be graded using criteria that determine how ready it is for autonomous vehicles. The grade can be either very ready, ready, or not ready. Four of the criteria used to determine the readiness of the country in which Miketon is located are shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Criteria and scores for the country in which Miketon is located
Source 4: A pilot study of a ride-sharing scheme called Rideshare
The findings of the Rideshare pilot scheme (see Figure 3), show that by carefully designing the integration of ride sharing with public transport services, the ride-sharing scheme can be successful to a significant extent.
Figure 3 Rideshare board
Three features of the Rideshare pilot scheme were:
- It was developed and implemented with the support of the local council and citizens.
- Ride-sharing notice boards with information about the services were placed at local bus stops and in railway stations to promote the use of these services in an integrated way.
- The pricing strategy ensured that ride sharing was so expensive that it deterred people from using it and not too cheap that it stopped people using public transport.
Explain how Miketon Town Council could encourage its citizens to use the ride-sharing app.
Explain why an autonomous vehicle may not choose the best route from Miketon to Towbro, the regional centre.
Markscheme
Answers may include:
- Create a pricing structure that is competitive…
- this could be done by subsidizing the user…
- to ensure the ride share is cheap enough to be used / priced appropriately.
- Provide the council with autonomous vehicles that can be used by ride-share drivers…
- this could be done by creating a pool of autonomous vehicles…
- that could be hired / rented on demand.
- Promote the availability of the new interventions…
- by the use of price subsidies / introductory offers…
- so the use of autonomous vehicles gains traction in Miketon.
Award [1] for identifying the action taken by the council, [1] if the action is described in the context of the village and ride-share app and [1] if its action explains how it would encourage the use of the ride-share app up to [3] max.
Answers may include:
Basic process by the autonomous vehicle guidance system:
- The autonomous vehicle guidance system will use digital maps to determine a choice of routes…
- routes will be selected based on shortest distance and traffic…
- details of traffic may not be accurate in rural areas compared to the more populated areas.
- The autonomous vehicle guidance system will use digital maps to determine a choice of routes…
- routes will be selected based on shortest distance and traffic…
- country lanes may be slower than the published speed, e.g., tractors driving between farms, lots of bends and narrow roads make overtaking harder.
- The autonomous vehicle guidance system will use digital maps to determine a choice of routes…
- routes will be selected based on shortest distance and traffic…
- the shortest route may take the autonomous vehicle on unsuitable roads with poor lane markings.
- The autonomous vehicle guidance system will use digital maps to determine a choice of routes…
- routes will be selected based on shortest distance and traffic…
- the autonomous vehicle guidance system may not have been updated with recent changes to the roads.
Award [1] for identifying how and/or why the autonomous vehicle chose the route, [1] for describing how the problem occurs and [1] for explaining why it is not the best route up to a maximum of [3].
No reference to the autonomous nature of the car, award maximum [2] marks.
Examiners report
Syllabus sections
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21M.1.SL.TZ0.4a.i:
In addition to a voice sensor, identify two sensors that would be found in Pepper.
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19M.1.SL.TZ0.3a.i:
In addition to adaptable font size, identify two features of the e-voting graphical user interface (GUI) that could be customized to make it accessible for all voters.
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19M.2.SL.TZ0.4:
To what extent do you agree that the advantages of implanting microchips in humans outweigh the concerns? Use all the sources and your own knowledge.
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22M.1.SL.TZ0.2a.i:
Identify three sensors that may be used to detect data about the weather conditions.
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21N.1.HL.TZ0.6:
Smart warehouse
Greenwood Industries’ warehouse uses a smart storage solution for the picking of products from the shelves of the warehouse. Robots are used in this automated picking process.
Currently, these robots are programmed to access a knowledge base* that enables these robots to use the most efficient route for the picking of products.
Greenwood Industries claims the picking process would be improved if the expert system was replaced by an artificial neural network (ANN).
Discuss whether Greenwood Industries should replace the existing system with one that uses an artificial neural network (ANN).
* knowledge base: a set of rules that are manually input into an expert system.
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20N.1.SL.TZ0.3c:
The development of mobile health apps has changed the way citizens manage their own health and well-being.
Discuss whether citizens like Jaime should rely only on the advice of a health app to manage their own health and well-being.
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18M.3.HL.TZ0.3:
The students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) want to be included in school activities and have appropriate access to the curriculum.
The two interventions influence a student’s identity in the classroom.
Evaluate the impact of educational digital technologies, such as social robots and assistive technologies, on the identity of students with SEND in Tayton School.
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17N.1.SL.TZ0.4a.i:
Identify two sensors that Robbi could use.
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18N.1.HL.TZ0.5:
App or intuition?
Apps have been developed that allow a customer to submit a trip request to a taxi company on their smartphone. These apps allow the customer to select the starting point and final destination of the journey as well as add other information, such as the time of journey and number of passengers.
The developers of the taxi journey app claim it can capture the real-time details of a journey, including the starting point, route, distance travelled, the speed of the car and the final destination. The app integrates this information with real-time traffic information, such as closed roads or accidents. Fares can be estimated before the journey, and the customer can pay digitally with their credit card or by PayPal.
Some traditional taxi drivers in cities such as Paris and Rio de Janeiro have campaigned against the introduction of these apps in taxi companies. Based on previous journeys recorded by the app, the taxi company recommends that their taxi drivers rely on the taxi journey app rather than their own knowledge of the city when determining the best route.
Discuss whether the taxi driver should rely on the taxi journey app, rather than their own knowledge of the city, when determining the best route.
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18M.1.HL.TZ0.5:
Can digital technologies be used sustainably?
Many organizations claim that the most efficient use of information technology (IT) equipment, such as laptops and printers, is to replace them on a regular basis. For example, an organization’s strategy may be to do this every three years.
Other organizations purchase IT equipment that can easily be upgraded by increasing the storage and memory or upgrading the processing capabilities only when required. They claim they do not need to replace their IT equipment on such a regular basis and believe this is a more sustainable practice.
Evaluate the sustainability of these two strategies.
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20N.1.SL.TZ0.4a.ii:
Identify two sensors that the passenger’s bracelet may use.
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19N.1.SL.TZ0.3b:
There are two possible methods for ensuring students use the TailorEd online learning system responsibly. They are:
- restricting access to sites that may be considered inappropriate
- educating the students about acceptable use.
Analyse these two methods.
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18M.3.HL.TZ0.4:
With reference to the stimulus material and your own inquiries, recommend whether Tayton School should use social robots and/or assistive technologies to ensure students with SEND can be further integrated into the school.
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19M.3.HL.TZ0.1b:
Identify two characteristics of ride-sharing apps that have made them popular
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19M.1.SL.TZ0.1a.i:
Identify two characteristics of a haptic interface.
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19M.1.HL.TZ0.5:
How to appropriately interact in an online environment
Increasing numbers of parents are claiming digital technologies that monitor online activities are the best way to protect their children from offensive content. A number of companies, such as mSpy and Qustodio, have developed online monitoring apps.
Other parents claim it is not necessary to monitor their children’s online behaviour, preferring to encourage their children to develop the knowledge and skills to make appropriate choices.
Parents can consider two different interventions to ensure their children use the online environment appropriately:
- Monitor their children’s online behaviour using apps
- Encourage their children to develop the knowledge and skills to use the online environment and make appropriate choices.
With reference to real-life scenarios, evaluate these two interventions.
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21N.1.SL.TZ0.1a.i:
Identify two hardware devices that Rajesh could use to view his internet protocol television (IPTV) channels.
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21N.1.HL.TZ0.5:
Smart farming
A government in East Africa is using the expertise of scientists at a university in the region to promote the culture of smart farming and increase the productivity of farmers (see Figure 5). To do this, they have developed an app that the farmers can use to assist them in their decision-making.
Figure 5: An example of farming in East Africa
[Palmer, N., 2010. A farmer at work in Kenya’s Mount Kenya region [image] [online] Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2DU_Kenya_86_(5367322642).jpg (CC BY-SA 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en [Accessed 18 May 2020].]
Unfortunately, the scientists who developed the app have received many complaints from farmers who have been unable to use it. They are considering two options:
- making the existing system more user-friendly
- educating the farmers to use the existing system.
The scientists claim by making changes to the app it will make the app more user-friendly for the farmers. However, the farmers claim it would be better to provide them with education, such as training, so they can use the existing app.
Evaluate these two claims.
