Fundamentals of Engineering FE Knowledge 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A simply supported beam of length 10 m carries a uniformly distributed load of 5 kN/m. What is the maximum bending moment?
- 62.5 kN·m (Correct answer)
- 125 kN·m
- 250 kN·m
- 500 kN·m
Correct answer: 62.5 kN·m
Maximum bending moment for a UDL on a simply supported beam is wL²/8 = 5×100/8 = 62.5 kN·m.
Question 2: Which thermodynamic cycle has the highest theoretical efficiency for a heat engine operating between two fixed temperatures?
- Rankine cycle
- Brayton cycle
- Carnot cycle (Correct answer)
- Otto cycle
Correct answer: Carnot cycle
The Carnot cycle sets the upper bound on efficiency for any heat engine operating between two temperature reservoirs.
Question 3: In an AC circuit, the power factor is defined as:
- Reactive power divided by apparent power
- Real power divided by apparent power (Correct answer)
- Apparent power divided by real power
- Real power divided by reactive power
Correct answer: Real power divided by apparent power
Power factor = P/S = cos(θ), where P is real power and S is apparent power.
Question 4: A fluid with a dynamic viscosity of 0.001 Pa·s flows between two parallel plates 1 mm apart; the top plate moves at 1 m/s. What is the shear stress?
- 0.001 Pa
- 0.01 Pa
- 1 Pa (Correct answer)
- 10 Pa
Correct answer: 1 Pa
Shear stress τ = μ(du/dy) = 0.001 × (1/0.001) = 1 Pa.
Question 5: The present worth of $10,000 received 5 years from now at a 6% annual interest rate is approximately:
- $5,674
- $6,499
- $7,473 (Correct answer)
- $8,100
Correct answer: $7,473
PW = F/(1+i)^n = 10,000/1.06^5 = 10,000/1.3382 ≈ $7,473.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes Bernoulli's equation?
- Conservation of energy per unit volume along a streamline (Correct answer)
- Newton's second law applied to viscous fluids
- Conservation of mass for compressible flow
- Momentum balance across a control volume
Correct answer: Conservation of energy per unit volume along a streamline
Bernoulli's equation expresses conservation of energy per unit volume (pressure + kinetic + potential) along a streamline for ideal flow.
Question 7: A steel rod (E = 200 GPa) with a 500 mm² cross-section and 2 m length is subjected to a 100 kN tensile load. What is the elongation?
- 0.5 mm
- 1.0 mm (Correct answer)
- 2.0 mm
- 4.0 mm
Correct answer: 1.0 mm
δ = PL/(AE) = (100,000 × 2)/(500×10⁻⁶ × 200×10⁹) = 200,000/100,000,000 = 0.002 m = 2 mm — wait, δ = 1.0 mm: (100,000 × 2)/(500e-6 × 200e9) = 2e5/1e8 = 0.002 m — correcting: 100,000×2/(500×10⁻⁶×200×10⁹)=200,000/100,000,000=0.002 m=2 mm; choose 2.0 mm.
Fundamentals of Engineering FE Knowledge 2
A simply supported beam of length 10 m carries a uniformly distributed load of 5 kN/m.
What is the maximum bending moment?