What term refers to a sample or model built to test a concept or process?

• A. Scale drawings
• B. Prototypes
• C. Sketches
• D. Projection drawings

Answer: (B)

A prototype is a sample or model built to test a concept or process, allowing you to explore how a design will work in practice and to identify changes needed before final production. It can be simple or functional, enabling hands-on evaluation of form, fit, behavior, manufacturing feasibility, and user interaction. Testing a prototype helps you learn what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be changed, guiding iterative refinements of the design. Representations like scale drawings, sketches, and projection drawings aid planning and communication, but they don’t function as testable, working models of the concept in the same way a prototype does.