An advantage of “fly by wire” aircraft control systems is that they eliminate the need for cockpit crews to make decisions.
a. true
b. false
Q2. The term telegraphy refers to the electronic communication of information over long distances.
a. true
b. false
Q3. The term horsepower, when it was coined by James Watt, referred to:
a. The amount of work a horse could do in one day, working one acre of land
b. The amount of work a brewery horse could do (33,000 foot-pounds per minute)
c. The amount of work a horse could do while pulling a one ton load
d. Watt was using the term metaphorically, it did not refer to any specific activity carried out by horses
Q4. Up until recent times, the possession of good drawing skills was considered an important competency that capable engineers should possess.
a. true
b. false
Q5. Engineering is primarily concerned with design and development, while science is concerned with understanding.
a. true
b. false
Q6. The principle of the steam engine was first demonstrated by the English inventor, Thomas Newcomen, in the early 18th century.
a. true
b. false
Q7. Boeing’s experience with the 777 showed that there are big advantages to starting development work behind competitors (in this case, behind development work on the MD-11).
a. true
b. false
Q8. Which of the following types of engineers is most likely to play a lead role in defining processes employed when refining crude oil into gasoline?
a. Chemical engineer
b. Mechanical engineer
c. Electrical engineer
d. Aeronautical engineer
Q9. An important factor holding up the commercial success and wide spread use of fax machines was tied to:
a. government regulations
b. difficulties in overcoming technological barriers
c. lack of financial backing
d. the lack of standards
Q10. The engineering discipline of soil mechanics was stimulated, in part,
a. by attempts to employ dirt ramps in the building of the Egyptian pyramids
b. by engineering developments in materials science
c. by attempts to reduce soil erosion during the Dust Bowl era of the Great Depression
d. by attempts to deal with landslide problems in the building of the Panama Canal
Q11. Experience in building complex systems, such as aircraft or bridges, suggests that once final drawings have been agreed upon, change orders should be denied.
a. true
b. false
Q12. Up through the 1830s, a major constraint in building steamships to cross the Atlantic was:
a. the lack of capacity in the ships to carry enough coal to fuel the steam engines
b. the lack of power of the steam engines to work against the strong ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean
c. the lack of investment capital to finance the building of steam ships
d. the absence of international agreements governing the use of steamships over international waters
Q13. When was facsimile technology first demonstrated?
a. In the middle of the 19th century
b. During World War I
c. During World War II
d. In the 1960s
Q14. Beginning in the 1960s, Japan surged ahead of the US in developing and commercializing fax technology. Thomas Edison foresaw this development in the 19th century, because:
a. Japanese companies saw value in fax technology, because it lent itself to transmitting Japanese kanji characters
b. The Japanese had always dominated research in the area of fax technology
c. The US government restricted development of fax technology because of anti-trust concerns
d. US publishers, who could take advantage of fax technology, never saw its value
Q15. In the aircraft industry, a firm commitment to move ahead with detailed design development requires:
a. government approval of the conceptual design
b. successful test flights of prototypes
c. technology advances by competitors
d. a customer committed to buying a certain number of new airplanes
Q16. One reason Japanese manufacturers focused more attention than American manufacturers on perfecting fax technology is that they found it to be a good way to transmit Kanji pictographic characters.
a. true
b. false
Q17. The failures of the first commercial aircraft – the Comet – were tied to metal fatigue caused by going through flight cycles where the airplane skin was subject to cycles of pressurization and depressurization.
a. true
b. false
Q18. In the aircraft industry, the principal way for aircraft manufacturers to launch a new aircraft is to build the aircraft, demonstrate their effectiveness and then get commitments from customers to buy them.
a. true
b. false
Q19. Which of the following types of engineers is most likely to work on configuring the circuitry of a power plant?
a. Chemical engineer
b. Mechanical engineer
c. Electrical engineer
d. Aeronautical engineer
Q20. All engineering design efforts require:
a. the establishment of failure criteria
b. the employment of mathematical modeling
c. that work efforts be carried out by Professional Engineers (PEs)
d. the use of computer-aided design (CAD) tools
Q21. A crucial step in the development of the steam engine was understanding the power of a vacuum created in cylinders fitted with pistons.
a. true
b. false
Q22. It is generally acknowledged that VHS technology became the dominant videotape technology because it provided superior results to Sony’s Beta technology.
a. true
b. false
Q23. One of the most significant innovations associated with the development of the Boeing 777 is:
a. use of fly-by-wire technology
b. the heavy involvement of customers in providing input during the conceptual design stage
c. internal combustion engines
d. cost-benefit analysis
Q24. One of the great civil engineering contributions to improving public health dramatically was:
a. improving the speed with which hospitals can be built
b. developing systems to handle waste water
c. building roads that facilitate reaching distressed communities
d. improving roadways in urban areas
Q25. To most engineers, form and function are equally important.
a. true
b. false
Q26. When we talk about inputs going into a system, leading to outputs, the system is treated as:
a. an open system
b. a closed system
c. a dynamic system
d. a black box
Q27. Engineering is a practical discipline. Its application can extend beyond technology. This is illustrated by the fact that an engineer used engineering principles to revolutionize:
a. Management by objectives
b. Investment banking
c. Self-directed work teams
d. Parliamentary procedures
Q28. Women first began patenting inventions in the USA at the outset of the twentieth century.
a. true
b. false
Q29. George Washington Gale Ferris’s design of the first Ferris wheel was based on a thorough understanding of scientific principles.
a. true
b. false
Q30. In cybernetics, negative feedback refers to the situation where:
a. corrective action is taken to reduce the amount of an error
b. the performance of a system is subject to criticism by peers
c. it is necessary to experience the amplification of a signal
d. magnetic pulses that have a negative charge
Q31. It took a revolution to get an agreement signed that would enable the Americans to begin work on the Panama Canal.
a. true
b. false
Q32. Engineering advances often require an understanding of underlying scientific principles. For example, why pencil tips break can be explained by understanding the principle of:
a. the laws of thermodynamics
b. chemical bonding
c. the cantilever beam
d. the keystone’s support of an arch
Q33. The building of the Panama Canal provides a good example of how major projects can be carried out quickly once an economic need is identified.
a. true
b. false
Q34. Studies show that engineering students retain knowledge best when engineering courses offer:
a. insights into the most advanced aspects of design
b. war stories describing the real world of engineering
c. insights into the scientific roots of engineering practice
d. descriptions of the key tools available for engineering problem-solving
Q35. To a large extent, the progress of engineering has been based on attempts to remedy engineering failures.
a. true
b. false
Q36. Much of the engineering efforts in the early years of radio technology focused on overcoming the broadcasting feature of radio transmission, which enabled anyone with a receiver to acquire the radio message.
a. true
b. false
Q37. The majority of computer engineering activity focuses on developing application software.
a. true
b. false
Q38. Drawings are an important component of patents.
a. true
b. false
Q39. To develop advanced engineering capabilities, most of the great engineers studied engineering at the doctoral level.
a. true
b. false
Q40. We often think of basic scientific knowledge ultimately finding practical applications, but there are cases where a purely technological development led ultimately to scientific understanding. For example, the attempt to increase the operating efficiency of early steam engines led to the creation of:
a. Boyle’s Law
b. The laws of thermodynamics
c. internal combustion engines
d. cost-benefit analysis
