Solving the Respirator Parts Problem

The first step in solving the three questions is to identify the task required. After looking at the questions, the test-taker is better able to frame the ‘requested’ information (the answer to the question) in language that matches the ‘given’ information (the question itself). The answer can be found on a page from a respirator manual which shows an exploded view of a respirator with the various parts numbered for reference. Above the picture of the respirator, two four-column tables relate the reference numbers in the illustration to catalog numbers and part descriptions.

Question number 1 asks for a catalog number of a named part. In terms of reading skills it asks the test taker to ‘scan’ the chart for the words: ‘basic facepiece,’ ‘medium,’ and ‘7700 series.’ As the search terms are in the exact language used in the chart, no inference is required. However, some understanding of row and column information is needed to ‘extract’ the answer. Note that the task of finding the catalog number requires the test taker to search the final ‘description’ list, which is actually ordered according to the number shown in the illustration. For the purpose of this question it is ordered ‘randomly’ and presents a more difficult search task than if the list had been organized alphabetically. There are three mentions of ‘facepiece’ in the Complete Assembly chart (a different ‘node’ than that containing the answer) and three mentions in the ‘Component’ chart (in the same node as the answer). Five of these ‘facepiece’ mentions are distractors for the given search term.

The second question adds the requirement for visual discrimination to the search task. It also asks the test taker to combine information from two source documents and two information formats (the exploded view of the respirator and the four-column nested list above it). The test taker has to first locate the pictured part in the illustration, then ‘recycle’ the part number the ‘given’ for the next search. This search uses the numerically ordered list in the first column of the table—an easier search task than scanning the randomly ordered list in the first question. There are five ‘round’ objects in the illustration, four are distractors for the ‘given’ picture of the part.

The third question adds another level of difficulty to question two. Unlike the ‘inhalation connector’ in question two, the ‘cradle suspension system’ shown in question three has different catalog numbers for the 5500 and 7700 models. The test taker has to select the correct sub-heading from the two possibilities nested under the ‘Catalog Number’ heading. The second catalog number for the inhalation connector is a distractor for the correct number in the adjacent column.

In spite of the specific setting, the skills demonstrated in this problem are all transferable skills which can be applied to other situations and other contexts. TOWES tests the wide range of applied reading, document use, and numeracy skills found in all jobs.