Disaster And Failure Final

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Disaster And Failure Final - Quiz

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Questions and Answers
  • 1. 
    A Truss is a
    • A. 

      A load bearing column that holds a bridge up

    • B. 

      A strongly held anchor a bridge is secured with

    • C. 

      Lattice works used to relieve the deck of tension and compression forces

    • D. 

      Span between piers which caries a live load

  • 2. 
    To design and build a safe bridge, an engineer must understand all of the following except
    • A. 

      The forces caused by things that interact with the bridge

    • B. 

      How the materials will react to the forces over the life of the bridge

    • C. 

      The force of gravity

    • D. 

      Aesthetically pleasing architecture

  • 3. 
    The relative ease of using the materials wood, stone, concrete and steel (From poorest to best) are
    • A. 

      Wood, stone, concrete, steel

    • B. 

      Stone, steel, concrete, wood

    • C. 

      Wood, concrete, steel, stone

    • D. 

      Stone, steel, wood, concrete

  • 4. 
    Which bridge is best suited for carrying heave loads such as trains
    • A. 

      Suspension

    • B. 

      Arch

    • C. 

      Cable-stayed

    • D. 

      Cantilever

  • 5. 
    One o the major problems leading to the Tay Bridge Disaster of 1879 was
    • A. 

      Use of poor steel quality

    • B. 

      Use of pier and beam bridge where a truss bridge was called for

    • C. 

      Lack of inspection during construction as well as after the bridge went into service

    • D. 

      The hiring of an incompetent job foreman

  • 6. 
    Which of the following was NOT a major factor in the Quebec bridge construction disaster
    • A. 

      Attempts to cut construction costs

    • B. 

      Lack of on site experience personal

    • C. 

      Use of substandard quality materials

    • D. 

      Failure to test design changes

  • 7. 
    Torsion forces tend to
    • A. 

      Tear structures apart (like two people pulling your arms in opposite directions)

    • B. 

      Push structures in on themselves (like the crushing effect of a head-on car collision)

    • C. 

      Twist structures apart (like having the top half of your body twisted in one direction and the bottom half twisted in the opposite way)

    • D. 

      Tear structures like ripping pages

  • 8. 
    Static equilibrium refers to forces which
    • A. 

      Equal force pushing in opposite directions that exactly balance each other

    • B. 

      Balance achieved with electromagnetic forces

    • C. 

      Are stronger than gravitational forces

    • D. 

      Result from the dead load of a bridge

  • 9. 
    Which of the following statements concerning the Silver Bridge Disaster (1967) is NOT true
    • A. 

      It was the worst bridge disaster in US history

    • B. 

      It was sort of, but not exactly, a suspension bridge

    • C. 

      It was aggravated by heavy Christmas Traffic

    • D. 

      The resulting bridge inspection program continues to ensure safe bridge today

  • 10. 
    The Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster (1940) was due, in part, to
    • A. 

      The use of excessively wide deck spans

    • B. 

      The construction material was too light

    • C. 

      Ice build up around the piers in cold weather

    • D. 

      The difficulty in securing the 2 cantilever arms

  • 11. 
    A hypothesis is
    • A. 

      Plan

    • B. 

      Fact

    • C. 

      Theory

    • D. 

      Law of nature

  • 12. 
    Systematic error in a set of measurements is usually the result of....
    • A. 

      Some limitation in the data collection process

    • B. 

      Some uniform problems in the data collection

    • C. 

      Improper measurement techniques

    • D. 

      A problem with the system being observed

  • 13. 
    Which of the following is NOT a category of knowledge gained by studying disasters according to our class notes?
    • A. 

      How we build things

    • B. 

      The quality of our technical education system

    • C. 

      Our understanding of science

    • D. 

      Insight into ourselves

  • 14. 
    A suspicious coin comes up head 70 times in 100 flips. What is a good estimate for the probability of heads occuring
    • A. 

      30%

    • B. 

      50%

    • C. 

      70%

    • D. 

      Can't decide on the basis of the data provided

  • 15. 
    A scientist is most apt to engage in which of the following activities
    • A. 

      Advancing our understanding of natural phenomena

    • B. 

      Only accepting what can be proven true

    • C. 

      Application of knowledge to solve problems

    • D. 

      Arguing the absolute truth of strongly held beliefs

  • 16. 
    Random error is usually addressed by
    • A. 

      Using better equipment

    • B. 

      Rounding the least significant measured digits

    • C. 

      Taking fewer measurements

    • D. 

      Taking more measurements

  • 17. 
    In testing a hypothesis, if discrepancies between the tests and hypothesis occur one may have too... 
    • A. 

      Modify the hypothesis to account for the new behavior discovered in testing

    • B. 

      Abandon the hypothesis for being wrong

    • C. 

      Use a different set of test for the hypothesis

    • D. 

      Ignore the data not fitting the hypothesis

  • 18. 
    For normally distributed values, approximately how many fall within 1 standard deviation of the mean
    • A. 

      68%

    • B. 

      80%

    • C. 

      95%

    • D. 

      99%

  • 19. 
    All but ONE of the following represent some of the tools used in testing a hypothesis. Which one isn't? 
    • A. 

      Perform a simulation of the problem

    • B. 

      Report the problem in scholarly journals in the hope that someone else has solved it

    • C. 

      Use of models or prototypes

    • D. 

      Use of well-accept scientific laws

  • 20. 
    If there is a 5% chance of some event occurring, then the probability of occurrence is... 
    • A. 

      5

    • B. 

      .5

    • C. 

      .05

    • D. 

      .005

  • 21. 
    The apollo 13 accident started with 
    • A. 

      Capsule tiles loosened during liftoff

    • B. 

      Human error during a guidance maneuver

    • C. 

      Loss of battery power in the lunar module

    • D. 

      The explosion of 1 of 2 oxygen tanks

  • 22. 
    The order (First to last) of the US space programs
    • A. 

      Mercury, gemini, Apollo

    • B. 

      Mercury, Apollo, Gemini

    • C. 

      Gemini, Mercury, Apollo

    • D. 

      Gemini, Apollo, Mercury

  • 23. 
    The shuttle has prove to have? 
    • A. 

      A effort of limited engineering success

    • B. 

      Provided great insight into interplanetary flight

    • C. 

      Be costly to than earlier launch vehicles

    • D. 

      A string of disasters similar to those of Apollo

  • 24. 
    Prior to the use of shuttles, American astronauts were recovered using which technique
    • A. 

      Flying a capsule to Edwards AFB

    • B. 

      Parachuting a capsule to an ocean landing

    • C. 

      Parachuting a capsule onto land

    • D. 

      Parachuting a capsule onto an aircraft carrier

  • 25. 
    NASA has been criticized in both the Apollo and shuttle disasters for
    • A. 

      Lacking talented engineers and scientists

    • B. 

      Fixing problems after they arise rather than avoiding them in the first place

    • C. 

      Over reliance on outside review panels

    • D. 

      "Sweeping problems under the rug"- that is, ignoring them until it is too late

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