Maintenance, Lubrication & Friction is one of 9 topics in the Grade 12 Mechanical Technology CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. What is preventative maintenance?
Maintenance carried out on a planned schedule, before a failure occurs, based on expected component wear life
Maintenance only carried out after a component has already failed
Maintenance that requires no scheduling at all
A type of maintenance that applies only to electrical systems
Answer: Maintenance carried out on a planned schedule, before a failure occurs, based on expected component wear life — Preventative maintenance is planned, scheduled maintenance carried out before a failure occurs, based on a component's expected wear life, rather than waiting for a breakdown.
Easy
2. What happens to bearings when a belt drive is run with the belt too tight?
The bearings become overloaded
The belt slips excessively
The pulleys automatically realign
Nothing changes for the bearings
Answer: The bearings become overloaded — A belt that is too tight overloads the bearings it runs on, while a belt that is too loose slips and wears prematurely.
Medium
3. Name the small gap between meshing gear teeth that should be checked and kept within an acceptable range as part of gear drive maintenance.
Answer: backlash — Backlash is the small gap between meshing gear teeth, which must be checked and kept within an acceptable range as part of preventative gear maintenance.
