Quiz
Exam 2 - Engineering Ethics
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Questions in this quiz (34)
1The rules outlined in the TEPA should be considered:
- AGeneral guidelines for every engineer's behavior
- BA code of ethics for voluntary adoption by all engineers licensed by TBPE
- CA law binding on all engineers licensed by TBPE
- DA law binding on all engineers practicing in the state
- EA code of ethics for voluntary adoption by all engineers in the state
2The purpose behind the NSPE defining an engineer's responsibility to the profession is probably...
- ATo ensure that engineers continue to be well compensated
- BTo ensure that the public impression of the engineering profession remains positive
- CTo strengthen the networking of engineers in professional societies
- DTo help unlicensed persons practice engineering
- ENone of the above
3The TEPA, in a section commonly referred to as the "industry exemption," allows employees of a private company to do certain work without a license if...
- AThe work can inclue tasks considered to be the practice of engineering so long as it is restricted to a single commercial site enclosed with a security fence
- BThe work can include tasks considered to be the practice of engineering so long as engineering services are not offered to the public
- CThe work does not include work defined as the practice of engineering
- DThe employee has a BS degree in engineering
4Which of the following were among the reactions to the macondo blowout and resulting oil spill?
- ABP is no longer allowed to bid on contracts with the Federal Government
- Ba number of lawsuits were brought against BP, Halliburton and Transocean, but these companies were able to avoid substantial fines
- CTwo new federal regulations were immediately adopted requiring licensed engineers to approve certain aspects of the drilling and completion processes and to certify the blowout preventer
- Dall of the engineers involved in the project had their licenses revoked
5In addition to the loss of 11 lives, which of the following reflect the extent of the environmental damage caused by the Macondo blowout?
- Aalthough huge quantities of crude oil were released into the gulf, the effects of this discharge were contained to the ocean
- Bbefore the disaster could be contained, ten million gallons of crude oil had escaped in the gulf.
- Cafter the sinking of the rig, the subsequent failure of the blowout preventer allowed five million barrels of crude oil to escape into the gulf
- Dthe rig sank, causing localized devastation of the ecosystem surrounding the drilling site.
6What prompted the TX state legislature to pass the TEPA?
- Amethan explosion that occurred in a coal mine and killed 169 workers
- Bdrilling rig explosions that occurred off the coast of tx and threatened the lives of members of the public
- Ca building collapse in san antonio that was the result of the use of deficient materials
- Dan explostion at a school that was caused by a gas leak killing nearly 300
7In regard to an engineer's responsibility to protect the public welfare which of the following statements are accurate?
- AThe NSPE code of ethics is perhaps more emphatic than the TBPE rules in describing this responsibility as "paramount"
- Bthe TBPE rules do not mention public health, only public safety
- CThe NSPE code does not address the engineer's responsibility to the profession
- Dall above true
8Which of the following are among the TEPA rules on professional conduct and ethics?
- Aengineers shall be objective and truthful
- Bengineers shall not perform any engineering function that is likely to endanger the public
- Cengineers shall practice only in areas of their competence
- Da and b but not c
- Ea, b, and c
9What is the hallmark of a proper engineering decision?
- AInvolves technical matters or affects public health, safety, or welfare
- BDoes not negatively impact corporate goals
- CHas been so designated by appropriate magangement-level personnel
- DInvolves costs below a certain specified level
- EAll
10NASA managers who made the final decision to launch the CHallenger...
- ADiscussed the increased risks with the shuttle commander before making the decision to launch
- BDecided to launch after a secondary engeineering evaluation of the low temp on the SRB reals indicated there was minimal risk
- CDisregarded the concerns intitially expressed by THiokol, and decided to launch anyway
- DNone
- EDid not know about the initial no-launch decision by Thiokol
11What are the characteristics of a proper managment decision?
- ADoes not force engineers to make unacceptable compromises with their own technical or ethical stds
- BDoes not require computation tools more complicated than a spreadsheet
- Chas been designated mgmt responsibility by the CEO
- Dcan be made very quickly by someone trained to make decisions
- Einvolves cost increases above some predetermined level
12Thiokol's reversal of the initial no launch recommendation happened after
- Apressure was applied by a utah senator
- Bnone
- Ca quick calculation was made of the costs of a delay
- Da phone call from the press secretary of the pres of the us
- Enasa threatemed to terminate thiokl's contract
13Thiokol's concern about low temps centered on..
- AAll
- Bthe low temp would cause problems for instrumentation designed to monitor the seal function
- Cthe low temps would impar the sealing function of the polymer o-ring seal
- Dthe extra weight of ice on the vehicle would create problems
- Ethe risk that ice on the vehicle or tower would break loose and impact the vehicle
14Organizational factors that contributed to the loss of the columbia included
- Aorganizational barriers preventing effective communication of safety info
- Bcharacterization of the shuttle as an operational rather than developmental program
- Cschedule pressures
- Dconstrained financial and personnel resources
- Eall
15A situation in which individuals conform to the consensus around them at the expense of critical thinking is called [blank_start]groupthink[blank_end]
- Agroupthink
16The purpose of the foam on teh bipod ramp is...
- Ato provide protection against the high heating of exposed surfaces during ascent
- Bto cushion the external tank during ocean landings
- Cto isolate vibrations from the shuttle rocket motors to prevent a loosening of the joint
- Dto provide aerodynamic fairing and reduce drage
17One factor in the foam shedding was the result of..
- Anegligence resulting in the excessive application of the bonding enhancer, conathane
- Bisotropic material properties of the foam insulation
- Csubstandard methodos used to qualify the bipod ramp design
- Ddefects resulting from a non-optimal design because the bipod structure doam application processes were designed separately
- Enone
18Which of the following generated widespread concern about the risk of technology in the 1970s and 80s?
- Acommercial air travel
- Bclimate change
- Cthe dawn of the internet
- Dnuclear power
19That the subjective and objective risks of an activity sometimes differ demonstrates that subjective risk are irrational or irrelevant.
- ATrue
- BFalse
20Subjective risk depends upon what one perceives about a technology or situation
- ATrue
- BFalse
21When analyzing risk using the basic notion that it is better to be safe than sorry, engineers are employing the [blank_start]precautionary principle[blank_end]
- Aprecautionary principle
22Which of the following are important distinctions for risk analysis?
- Asubjective and objective risk
- Bpersonal and impersonal risk
- Cfuture and past risk
- Drisk-benefit and precautionary principles
23Which of these is NOT a common criticism of the risk-benefit principle?
- Athe risk-benefit principle attempts to assign values to things that cannot be assessed in monetary terms
- Bthe numbers used in a risk-benefit analysis are very often uncertain
- Cthe risk-benefit principle prevents progress because the calculations involved make it impossible to introduce novel designs
- Dthe risk benefit principle does not adequately address reasonable intuitions about risk aversion
24Someone who subscribes to the precautionary principle believes that safety and the avoidance of risk often outweigh the potential benefits that taking a risk may offer.
- ATrue
- BFalse
25Although a human life has no precise monetary value, even a precautionary analysis would consider it irrational to spend enormous sums of money preventing a statistical death.
- ATrue
- BFalse
26Which of the following are common objections made against risk-benefit analysis?
- Athe numbers used in such quantitative analysis can be very uncertain
- Bit seems morally problematic to assign monetary value to the occurrence of a preventable death
- Crisk benefit analysis favors caution over innovation and hinder the implementation of new technologies
- Drisk benefit analysis is often performed by individuals who are biased and stand gain from certain results
27The lottery experiment conducted by economist maruice allais indicates that..
- Athe principle of maximizing expected value sometimes calls for individuals to make counterintuitive choices
- Bhuman beings always choose the option with the most potential benefit
- Cthe risk benefit and precautionary principles often come to the same conclusion about a certain risk
- Dthe precautionary principle is incompatible with risk analysis
28The principle of maximizing expected value holds that we must always be willing to accept a risk if the benefits of doing so are large enough
- ATrue
- BFalse
29"the exact risk that a new pesticide x will have on people or the environment is uncertain. rather than quantify the known risks, we are better off to not allow it to enter the market until the risks are more fully understood." this statement best illustrates
- Asubjective risk
- Bobjective risk
- Cthe precautionary principle
- Dthe risk benefit
30A fundamental problem with the risk benefit analysis is that the principle of maximizing expected value is based solely on human intuitions.
- ATrue
- BFalse
31in what way was robert lunds behavior leading up to the loss of challenger similary to that of the teachers in milgrims expmt?
- Athey knew what they were dong was wrong at the time
- Bthey should not bear full responsibility for the harm they caused
- Cthey were not thinking like managers
- Dthey were overly deferential to authority
32concern about impediments to moral responsibility is best considered which kind of applied ethics?
- Ahedonistic ethics
- Bprohibitive ethics
- Caspirational ethics
- Dpreventive ethics
33a potential solution to impediments to moral responsibility such as uncritical acceptance of authority is to foster a culture of responsible assent
- ATrue
- BFalse
34avoiding the moral impediments of self interest, groupthink, and microscopic vision is best accomplished by...
- Aimplementing changes that impact the culture of an organization
- Bmaking an example of employees who fall victim to such impediments
- Cdeveloping clear codes of conduct within the profession
- Dencouraging personal traits to overcome their influence
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- Quiz on Exam 2 - Engineering Ethics, created by Christina Tudela Dartayet on 18/10/2016.
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