Basic Civil Engineering MCQ: Materials, Testing, Surveying, Estimating (NEC Chapter 1)

Chapter 1: Basic Civil Engineering MCQ

192 questions with answers. Practise by sub-section or take a timed test.

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Free practice by EngineeringNepal.com.np. Questions are written and checked by our team; always confirm the current exam format in the official notice.

Basic Civil Engineering MCQ: what this set covers

Chapter 1 of the NEC civil syllabus is the widest one. It runs from bricks, cement and timber through material tests, building construction, centroids and moments of inertia, surveying, and estimating and valuation. Lok Sewa engineer and sub-engineer papers draw heavily on the same topics, especially surveying and materials.

There are 192 questions in this chapter, each with the answer and a short explanation. Choose a sub-section, pick how many questions you want, and either see the answer straight away or take it as a timed test. Your mistakes are saved in your browser, so you can come back and practise only those.

Code	Sub-section	Questions here
1.1	Engineering materials	32
1.2	Standards and material testing	32
1.3	Building technology	32
1.4	Geometric properties of sections	32
1.5	Surveying and levelling	32
1.6	Estimating, costing and valuation	32

Sample questions with answers

A few questions from each sub-section are shown below. Tap a question to see the answer. Use the practice tool above for the full set.

1.1 Engineering materials

Marble is a metamorphic rock formed by the metamorphism of which parent rock?

Sandstone
Limestone
Granite
Shale

Answer: B. Heat and pressure recrystallise limestone (calcium carbonate) into marble. Sandstone changes to quartzite and shale to slate.

Granite, formed by slow cooling of magma deep below the earth's surface, is classified as:

Intrusive (plutonic) igneous rock
Extrusive (volcanic) igneous rock
Sedimentary rock
Metamorphic rock

Answer: A. Magma that cools slowly at depth forms coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock such as granite. Fast cooling at the surface gives fine-grained extrusive rock such as basalt.

1.2 Standards and material testing

Nepal Standards (NS) are formulated, and the NS quality mark is granted, by:

Department of Urban Development and Building Construction
Nepal Engineering Council
Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology
Department of Mines and Geology

Answer: C. The Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) prepares Nepal Standards and certifies products with the NS mark.

IS 4031 deals with:

Specification for 43 grade OPC
Methods of physical tests for hydraulic cement
Methods of test for aggregates for concrete
Methods of test of burnt clay building bricks

Answer: B. IS 4031 (in parts) covers physical tests of cement such as fineness, consistency, setting time, soundness and strength. Aggregate tests are in IS 2386 and brick tests in IS 3495.

1.3 Building technology

English bond in brick masonry is identified by:

Headers and stretchers alternating within each course
Every course made of stretchers only
Every course made of headers only
Alternate courses consisting entirely of headers and entirely of stretchers

Answer: D. English bond has one full course of headers followed by one full course of stretchers. It is considered the strongest bond for walls one brick thick or more.

Flemish bond in brick masonry is identified by:

Alternate courses of all headers and all stretchers
Stretchers only, with half bats at the ends
Headers and stretchers alternating within every course
Three stretcher courses to every header course

Answer: C. In Flemish bond each course has headers and stretchers placed alternately, which gives a better appearance than English bond.

1.4 Geometric properties of sections

The centroid of a triangle of height h lies at a distance from its base of:

h/3
h/2
2h/3
h/4

Answer: A. The centroid is where the medians meet, at one third of the height from the base (two thirds from the apex).

The centroid of a semicircular area of radius r lies at a distance from its diameter of:

r/2
3r/8
2r/3
4r/(3 pi)

Answer: D. For a semicircle, y-bar = 4r/(3 pi), about 0.424r, measured from the diameter. 3r/8 is for a solid hemisphere.

1.5 Surveying and levelling

The fundamental principle of surveying, adopted to control the accumulation of errors, is:

Working from part to whole
Working from whole to part
Measuring all angles before distances
Starting from the lowest point

Answer: B. A framework of accurate main control is fixed first and details are filled in later, so errors stay localised and do not build up.

Plane surveying is the type of surveying in which:

Only a plane table is used
Only flat areas are surveyed
Only horizontal angles are measured
The curvature of the earth is neglected

Answer: D. In plane surveying the earth's surface is treated as flat, which is acceptable for small areas. Geodetic surveying accounts for curvature.

1.6 Estimating, costing and valuation

The estimate prepared to obtain administrative approval for a proposed project is the:

Detailed estimate
Revised estimate
Preliminary (approximate) estimate
Supplementary estimate

Answer: C. A preliminary estimate gives the likely cost quickly, from plinth area, unit or similar rates, so the authority can decide whether to approve the project in principle.

Technical sanction for a work is given on the basis of the:

Plinth area estimate
Cube rate estimate
Preliminary estimate
Detailed estimate

Answer: D. A detailed estimate, with item-wise quantities from drawings, rates from rate analysis and specifications, is needed for technical sanction and for tendering.

Full mock tests

When you have covered every chapter, take a full NEC licence mock test or Lok Sewa model test. The NEC mock follows the real pattern of 80 questions and 100 marks in 2 hours.