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Where the answers liveFour habits that win marks in an open-book exam.
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Exactly as they are on the site.
The kinds of question the exam asks, and where each answer lives. The value isn't the answers. It's seeing where each answer lives, and how long it takes to get there.
| Where the answer lives | Answer |
|---|---|
| 542.1.2 · supply arrangements | TN-S |
| 544.1.1 · main protective bonding | Maximum 25 mm² copper |
| Chapter 55 · 552 · rotating machines | Motors over 0.37 kW (370 W) need overload protection in their control equipment — 552.1.2 |
| Part 5 | An arrangement with separate switches for each supply |
| 560.4.1 · safety services | The changeover-time classes: no-break, very short break (≤ 0.15 s), short break (≤ 0.5 s), medium break (≤ 15 s), long break (> 15 s) |
| Part 6 / prior knowledge | MEIWC — Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate |
| Part 6 | Should be corrected before certifying |
| 651 | To determine if it is in a satisfactory condition for continued service |
| Chapter 65 | Condition of appliances (the one that is not a consideration) |
| 701 · bath/shower | Circuits serving the location and/or passing through zones 1 and 2 |
| 702 · pools and fountains · SELV · 702.410.3.4.1, p.263 | 12 V AC in zone 0 · 25 V AC in zone 1 of fountains |
| 714 · outdoor lighting | Telephone kiosk — the one accessible to the public |
| Part 7 · EV charging | IP44 — both digits, not IP4X or IPX4 |
| 703 · saunas | Cables shall withstand a minimum of 170 °C |
| 704 + its scope · construction sites | Canteen — needed two separate places in the book |
| 705 · agricultural · conduit impact | 5 J where vehicles and machines could strike the wiring (AG3), conduits to BS EN 61386-21 · Reg 705.522.16 |
| 823 · PEI concepts | Special locations (the odd one out) |
| 824 · operating modes | Upstream mode (not a mode) |
| 826 | Able to be operated in any intended operating mode |
| Appendix 2 · p.436 | +10 % / −6 % |
| Appendix 3 · BS 88-2, 80 A, 0.4 s | 750 A |
| Appendix 4 · Table 4B1 · 70 °C cable, 40 °C ambient | CA = 0.87 |
| Appendix 5 · impact, low severity | AG1 |
| Appendix 17 — deleted from the current book | Not in the current book — Chapter 81 covers energy efficiency without that value |
Four habits worth taking from it
- Budget time across the paper, not per question. Some answers you'll know on sight — 25 mm² tails need a 16 mm² earthing conductor, and you don't open the book. Every question answered in 20 seconds buys you time for one that needs two different places in the book and could genuinely take four or five minutes.
- Read the whole question. A classic catch: you see "impact", go to external influences, and miss that the question said conduit — which puts the answer somewhere else entirely. And read the flipping question.
- Check the units. A question can give the options in watts where the book prints kilowatts. The answer is right there; you just have to convert it.
- Narrow before you search. On the +10 % / −6 % question, most people know it is plus-and-minus but not which way round — that's four options down to two before you've opened anything, then a ten-second lookup to confirm. A 30–60 second question.
✋Don't memorise answer letters. On the practice papers here, the questions and the answer positions are shuffled every time. There is no point remembering "that one was C" — remember what the answer was and where you found it.
On the wording. The regulations aren't written to be easy to read, and the exam questions aren't either. Here's a fair example: one regulation says a PME facility shall not be used as the means of earthing for anything within the scope of 704, and then the scope itself says the section does not apply to administrative locations such as offices and canteens. So a canteen can be on PME — but only by reading two places and putting them together. That's the skill, and it comes from repetition.
60 questions · 2 hours · open book, not in book order 704 · scope · PME and administrative locations
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Sparky Study Notes is the whole Level 3 syllabus written up like this: the explanation, the worked example, and where it is in your book. With a video lesson for every part and a practice paper for every exam.
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- 18th Edition
- Building Regs
- PAT
- Fundamental Inspection & Testing
- Initial Verification
- Periodic Inspection & Testing