US College Department of Civil Engineering

Model Exam

Course title; Construction Material

Course code; ----------

Academic year 2015e.c

Name of student……………………………………………… id no…………….

Choose the best answers from a given alternatives

1) -----------------is a process of assembling of infrastructure like a road, bridge, dam, apartment

place, an airport, and commercial or residential building
A) Construction Industry B) construction C) project D all
2) -----------------is involved in the planning, execution and evaluation of all types of civil
works.
A) Construction Industry B) construction management C) construction project
D all
3) ----------------provides a project’s owner with effective management of the project’s schedule,
cost, quality, safety, scope and function.
A) Construction Industry B) construction management C) construction project D) all
4) One of the following functions of management is correctly ordered.
A) Planning, Organizing, Procuring & staffing, directing, and Controlling.
B) Planning, Procuring & staffing, Organizing, Controlling and directing.
C) Planning, Organizing, Procuring & staffing, directing, and Controlling.
D) Planning, Organizing, Procuring & staffing, Controlling and directing.
E) none
5) ------------- is that part of managing that involves establishing an intentional structure of roles
for people to fill in an organization.
A. Planning B) directing C) organizing D) controlling
6) One of the following CI category performs Hydropower development, transmission lines,
wind power, irrigation projects and etc
A) Transport and Communication Sector
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B) Transport sector
C) Water and Energy Works sector
D) Building and Energy Works sector
7) The main parties in CI are
A) Consultant B) client C) contractor D) owner E) all
8) One of the following is Negative impact of CI
A) Connecting society
B) Decreases protection against radiation in the environment
C) Social, economical and political development
D) Basis for the production and distribution of goods and services
9) A main building stakeholder engaged by owner to carry out and complete the works?
A) Consultant B) client C) contractor D) owner E) all
10) Which one of the following is third party stakeholder?

A) Consultant B) client C) contractor D) None

11) The one who transfers the wish of the owner into realizable form and makes the study, design
and possibly the supervision.

A) Consultant B) client C) contractor D) All

12) …….provides the working capital ,bid bond performance bond and payment bonds in the
construction.

A) Supplier B) Public agencies C) Financers D) ALL

13) -------is used to guarantee a contractor’s intentions in the case of complicated or large-scale
projects.
A) Performance bond B) Bid bond C) Payment bond
14) Payment bond is……..?
A) Required for bidding on a contract and guarantees that if awarded the contractor will
execute the job at the bid they have submitted.
B) Typically required for projects on a state level.
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C) Contractors must post a performance bond when they are awarded a projects to secure
they will perform according to the conditions of the projects.
D) A sum of money safeguard against defective or non-conforming work or materials
provided by the contractor.
15) Which one is correctly ordered for stages of civil engineering construction

1) Tendering Stage

2) Designing Stage

3) Briefing stage

4) Commissioning Stage

5) Construction Stage

A) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 B) 3 , 2 ,4 ,1, and 5 C) 3 ,2, 1, 5 and 4 D) 3, 2, 1, 4 and 5

16) Which one of the following is roles of consultant during tendering stage
a) Estimates cost and Examine user’s requirement.
b) Assess environmental and political impacts.
c) Examine different site conditions, drainage, water supply, sewerage and electricity.
d) Evaluate bid and select contractor
e) none
17) one of the following is NOT the function of contractors during construction stage
A) Prepare working drawing and schedules
B) Prepare materials, plant and manpower schedules
C) Prepare budget cash flow and fore
D) modify drawings in advance of work
18) one of the is the Project management process groups for any project
A) Initiating and Planning Process
B) Executing Process
C) Monitoring and Controlling Process
D) Closing Process
E) All
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19) The process of tracking, reviewing, and reporting the progress to the meet the performance
objectives defined in the project management plan is…..?
A) Planning Process
B) Executing Process
C) Monitoring and Controlling Process
D) None
20) ………has a definite beginning and a definite end to Construct a infrastructure or facility.?
A) Construction
B) Project
C) Construction management
D) All
21) One of the following is NOT the Project management knowledge areas
A) Project integration management
B) Project scope management
C) Project time management
D) Project quality management
E) none
22) The process of developing a document that formally authorizes the existence of a project and
provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to the
project activities is….
A) Project Execution
B) Project Management Plan
C) Project Scope Statement
D) Project charter
23) Construction Site Layout Planning is prepared and organized by
A) contractor B) consultant C) owner D) all
24) ………is applying the planned, systematic quality activities to ensure that the project
employs all processes needed to meet requirements.
A) Quality Control B) Quality Planning C) Quality Assurance D) all
25) Project Communications Management includes except
A) Communication planning B) Manage budget resource C) Manage stakeholders
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D) Performance reporting
26) A Project site planning is required for
A) Optimization of time, cost and transport
B) Minimization of damages , accidents and work safety
C) Maximization of work and efficiency operations
D) Minimization of transport times, resource consumptions and Material loss.

27) The processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs so that
the project can be completed within the approved budget.

A) Project Cost Management

B) Project scope management
C) Project risk management
D) Project procurement management

28) Which one the following is NOT Characteristics of the construction site which influences
project site planning

A) Soil type B) Project site size C) Topography D) Structure and materials.

29) In preparing a site layout, the important considerations includes except

A) Find out the restrictions on the use of the site

B) Analyze the construction methods
C) Analyze the contract drawings and documents in detail
D) none

30) Procurement & Contract Mgt. process includes

A) Contract Planning
B) Procurement Management
C) Contract Management
D) All

31) Contract Management includes except

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A) Contract type
B) Contract Administration
C) Contract Closing
D) Contract Formulation

32) A process of ensuring the employer and the contractor fulfill all obligations they agreed
upon while signing the contract

A) Contract Planning
B) Contract Administration
C) Contract Management
D) Procurement Management

33) Which one of the following is role of Contracts manager procurement process and contracts
management?

A) Administer contract changes

B) Know the procurement process and Understand contract terms and conditions
C) Identify contractual responsibilities of stakeholder Mediate disputes
D) All

34) A project delivery system is often promoted if the Project Owners believe that there is a
comparative advantage in quality, cost and time.

A) Design-Bid-Build.
B) Force account
C) Design-Build, DB
D) Design-Build-Operate

35) Which one of the following NOT true about Design-Bid-Build project delivery system?

A) Provides the owner with a high degree of control

B) Provides the lowest initial price that competitive bidders can offer
C) Provides the owner with a single point of contact for project responsibilities
US College Department of Civil Engineering

D) Where the designer does not require detailed knowledge of the means and methods
of construction.

36) Which one of the following is advantage of Design-Build project delivery system?

A) Fewer competitors and increased risk may result in higher initial costs
B) Reduced opportunities for smaller, local construction firms
C) minimizing owner’s exposure to design errors and omissions
D) Elimination of traditional checks and balances

37) Assembling project team and assigning their responsibilities are done during which phase of
a project management?

A) Initiation
B) Planning
C) Execution
D) Closure

37) A horizontal bar chart that shows project tasks against a calendar is called

A) Milestone B) goal C) Gantt chart D) PERT chart

38) While assessing your project processes, you have identified some uncontrolled process
variations. Which of the following would be the appropriate chart you may use for this purpose?

A) Pareto diagram
B) PERT chart
C) Control chart
D) HR personnel chart

39) Due to the rapid expansion of your company, your boss decides to establish a project
management office (PMO) within the company and asks you to take the lead. According to the
PMBOK guide, to be the ideal PMO you can do which of the following?

A) Speed up a specific ongoing project.

B) Find opportunities for collaborative project management.
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C) Reassign the resources that have been assigned to ongoing projects.

D) Reduce the assigned resources to existing projects.

40) Why does the creation of processes for developing teams, establishing priorities, and
distributing work and tasks require different sets of skills?

A) Because resources on the project management team may view it as permanent

B) Because resources on the project management team may view it as temporary
C) Because resources on the project team are not aware of the technical aspects of the
initiative.
D) Because members of the project management team are not aware of the knowledge and
skills of the other people working on the project.

41) What is the first step in developing a risk management plan?

A) Analyses the risks.

B) Estimate the likelihood of the risks occurring.
C) Identify potential project risks.
D) Develop a risk mitigation plan.

42) Which of the following statements about achieving a common understanding of the project
purpose is true?

A) A common understanding means building a consensus and disagreement regarding a

project’s purpose is often fatal to project execution.
B) Developing a common understanding involves defining project success, determining
potential barriers to success, establishing milestones, and identifying decision-makers.
C) The methods and processes employed to develop a common understanding depend on
the duration of the project.
D) Irrespective of the complexity of the project, developing a common understanding
usually involves informal discussions that last a few hours.

43) A critical path network diagram does NOT:

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A) Help determine the amount of float

B) Identify the particularly important activities
C) Calculate earned value
D) Calculate the duration of the whole project

44) The project life cycle consists of

A) Understanding the scope of the project

B) Objectives of the project
C) Formulation and planning various activities
D) All of the above

45) Reasons why estimating time and cost are important include all of the following except:

A) To schedule work
B) To determine how long the project should take and cost
C) To develop cash flow needs D
D) All of the above are valid reasons

46) Which of the following would be considered a direct project cost?

A) Labor
B) Materials
C) Equipment
D) A, B, and C are all considered direct costs

47) The process of forecasting or approximating the time and cost of completing project
deliverables is called

A) Budgeting
B) Predicting
C) Estimating
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D) Planning

48) During feasibility analysis it is necessary to examine several alternative solutions because

(i) A comparison of alternatives will lead to a cost-effective solution

(ii) A pre-conceived single solution may turn out to be unimplementable

(iii) It is always good to examine alternatives

(iv) Management normally looks at alternatives

A) i and iii
B) i and iv
C) i and ii
D) ii and iv

49) Which of the following statements is true?

A) PERT is considered as a deterministic approach and CPM is a probabilistic technique.

B) PERT is considered as a probabilistic techniques and CPM is considered as a
deterministic approach.
C) PERT and CPM are both probabilistic techniques.
D) PERT and CPM are both considered as deterministic approaches.

50) A portfolio can best be defined as:

A) a group of projects and programs carried out within an organization

B) a group of programs carried out under the sponsorship of an organization
C) a group of projects carried out under the sponsorship of an organization
D) a range of products and services offered by an organization

51) In Project crashing, rent and overheads are treated as

A) Significant Cost
B) Insignificant costs
C) Direct Costs
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D) Indirect Costs

52) Project crashing is the method for -------------

A) Shortening the project duration by reducing the time of one or more critical activities
B) Adding resources at critical points
C) Doing technical analysis of the finished work for review
D) Adding duration to each activity

53) Feasibility study determines -----------------

A) Whether the project is possible with resources

B) Comparing the project with world class manufacturing norms
C) Calculate the cost crashing each unit
D) Add duration to each unit

54) Five dimensions that must be managed on a project

A) Constraint, Quality, Cost, Schedule, Staff

B) Features, Quality, Cost, Schedule, Staff
C) Features, priority, Cost, Schedule, Staff
D) Features, Quality, Cost, Schedule, customer

55) This type of activities can be easily identified by reading the project’s drawings and
specifications

A) Production activities
B) Procurement activities
C) Management activities
D) All

56) The successor activity can begin only when the current activity complete is

A) Finish to start
B) Finish to finish
C) Start to start
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D) Start to finish

57) …. is the determination of the timing of the activities including the project to enable
managers to

Execute the project in a timely manner

A) Project Planning
B) Project Scheduling
C) Project Closing
D) 58)

58) ……..is a graphical representation of a project, depicting the flow as well as the
sequence of well-defined activities and events

A) Schedule
B) Network
C) Activity
D) All

59) The maximum amount of time an activity can be delayed from its early start without
delaying the entire project.

A) Interfering Float
B) Free float
C) Total float
D) Independent float

60) Which one of the following is NOT true about CPM?

A) is an activity oriented network

B) follows probabilistic approach
C) follows deterministic approach
D) cost is the governing factor
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61) The Overall in-charge of an organisation at the site responsible for the execution of the
works, is

A) Executive Engineer
B) Engineer
C) Junior Engineer
D) Assistant Engineer

62) The resources managed are….

A) Material
B) Manpower and money
C) Machines and equipments
D) All

63) Process Analysis is a function of:

A) Performance Analysis
B) Quality Metrics
C) Process Improvement Plan
D) Quality Improvement Plan

64) Mr.’ X’ has joined as the Project Manager of a project. One of the project documents
available to Mr.’ X’s lists down all the risks in a hierarchical fashion. What is this document
called?

A) Risk Management Plan.

B) List of risks.
C) Monte Carlo diagram.
D) Risk Breakdown Structure

65) Same Consultancy is planning to buy ten desktops for ETB20000 each from a leading
computer store. Which type of contract will get signed in this case?

A) Purchase Order
B) Cost plus Fee
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C) Fixed cost
D) Time and Material.

66) Selamawit is a Project Manager. She is coordinating a bidder conference to allow vendors to
get clarification on the work that needs to be performed. Which phase of Project Management is
in progress?

A) Conduct Procurements
B) Plan Procurements
C) Control Procurements
D) Close Procurements

67) The first preferred way to resolve a dispute between the contracting parties is:

A) Arbitration
B) Litigation
C) Negotiation
D) Mediation

68) Following document define the legal rights and obligations of the parties and may be
described as the regulations under which the contract will be performed.

A) Specifications
B) General Conditions of Contract
C) Special provisions
D) Bill of Quantities

69) The minimum notice period for National Competitive bidding is:

A) 30 days
B) 45 days
C) 35 days
D) 15 days

70) The authority to make design changes in the field during construction can be exercised by
which of the following persons?
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A) The resident engineer

B) The owner
C) The design engineer
D) The inspector

71) When you receive the contractor's interim payment certificate (IPC) on a unit-price contract
project, the engineer or resident project representative should:

A) Just initial the form and forward it to the owner as no field review is necessary.
B) Reject it.
C) Check only the contractor's arithmetic on its payment request, while you "eyeball"
estimate the amount of work completed to see if it appears to compare favorably with the
contractor's claim.
D) Check the contractor’s entire field quantities accurately, along with all materials
delivered to the site, and the contractor's claims to percentages of the various parts of the
work completed.

72) Under a Differing Site Conditions clause, who is responsible for the timely removal,
relocation, or protection of any existing main utility facilities on a project site where such
utilities are not shown accurately on the Construction Drawings and could not be observed
during a pre-bid site visit?

A) design engineer/architect
B) contractor
C) Public Agency/owner of the project
D) Utility company who owns the utility line

73) A resident engineer may direct a change in the Work when such change is authorized in
writing by:

A) a code requirement
B) a subcontractor
C) a Supplier
D) the owner
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74) Determining what resources and quantities will be used for the project is part of:

A) Cost budgeting
B) Cost estimating
C) Resource planning
D) Cost control

75) If the Earned Value is equal to Actual Cost, it means:

A) Project is on budget and on schedule

B) Schedule Variance Index is 1
C) There is no schedule variance
D) There is no cost variance

76) Which one of the following outsourced financing project delivery system?

A) Design-Build-Finance-Operate
B) Build-Own-Operate
C) Build-Operate-Transfer
D) all

77) A private company is contracted to finance, design, construct, operate for a certain period
(usually 10 years) and transfer is

A) Design bid built

B) Finance / Build Operate Transfer
C) Design-operate-transfer
D) Force account

78) --------- is an Agreement between two or more parties to do or not to do something for a
certain consideration

A) Procurement
B) Contract
C) Tendering
D) Bidding
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79) Types of Construction Contract is

A) Lump sum contract

B) Unit rate contract
C) Cost plus fixed fee contract
D) All

80) Claims associated with delay in completion of projects

A) Time Related Claims

B) Cost related claims
C) Default by Contracting Parties
D) all

81) Which one is NOT true about lump sum?

A) Typically used for buildings and road construction

B) The quantities of materials required can be calculated with sufficient accuracy during the
bidding process
C) The owner has essentially assigned all the risk to the contractor
D) none

82) Construction contract documents includes

A) legal part
B) technical part
C) commercial part
D) all

83) Which one of the following construction contracts is fixed price payment methods?

A) Cost plus fixed fee,

B) Cost plus fixed percentage
C) Lump Sum and Unit price
D) All
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84) The contractor will receive the actual direct job cost plus a fixed percentage, and have little
incentive to reduce job cost.

A) Lump Sum
B) Unit price
C) Cost plus fixed percentage
D) Cost Plus Variable Percentage

85) Sometimes known as Special Provisions or Special Conditions documents.

A) General condition
B) Supplementary condition
C) Specifications
D) agreement

86) The core drawings of the contract in building project is

A) structural drawings
B) architectural drawings
C) mechanical drawings
D) electrical drawings

87) The payback period is the period

A) a project takes to pay back the loan taken to purchase the capital assets
B) equal to the useful life of the machines
C) a project takes to recover its initial cash outflow
D) over which the project will be getting operating cash inflows

88) Which of the following represents the estimated value of the work actually accomplished?

A) Earned value (EV)

B) Planned value (PV)
C) Actual cost (AC)
D) Cost variance (CV)
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89) An activity which consumes no resources is called

A) Start Activity
B) Critical Activity
C) Dummy Activity
D) End Activity

90) Which one of the is long-term sources of finances

A) Equity Shares
B) Preference Shares
C) Debenture
D) All

91) Which one of the Short-term source of finance

A) Long-term Loans
B) Fixed Deposits
C) Bank Credit ,Customer Advances and Trade Credit
D) All

92) The parts of corporate securities called

A) Preference shares
B) Equity shares
C) Deferred shares
D) Debenture

92) Which one of the following causes construction accidents?

A) Excessive noise
B) Excessive overtime work for labor
C) Lack of awareness of safety regulations
D) Operating equipment without authority
E) all
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93) The project is temporary means

A) every project has a definite beginning and a infinite end

B) Does not necessarily mean short in duration.
C) The end is reached when the project’s objectives haven’t been achieved
D) Most projects are not undertaken to create a lasting result

94) Which of these is not one of the constraints of a project?

A) Scope
B) Resources
C) Team
D) Budget

95) Costs that are not directly related to the products or services of the project but are indirectly
related to performing the project.

A) Intangible Costs
B) Sunk Cost
C) Tangible Costs
D) Indirect Costs

96) The cost impact of a risk event occurring as a project proceeds through its life cycle tends to

A) Slowly rise
B) Slowly drop
C) Drop sharply and then level out
D) Rise sharply and then level out

97) When classifying and ranking projects, which of the following refers to the extent to which
the project is viewed as helping the organization achieve its strategic objectives and long-term
goals?

A) Resource availability
B) Business placement
C) Strategic alignment
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D) Potential benefits

98) Which of the following is a factor that influences project selection?

A) Perceived and real needs

B) List of potential and ongoing projects
C) Current organizational environment
D) All of the above

99) Which of the following is a main reason why project managers need to understand their
organization's mission and strategy?

A) They can better focus on the immediate customer

B) They can make appropriate decisions and adjustments
C) So they can be effective project advocates
D) Both B and C are correct

100) The first step in creating the necessary information to manage a project is to

A) Establish project priorities

B) Define the project scope
C) Verify the budget available
D) Assign team members to work on the project