EIT Ethics and Professional Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or Continuing Education (CE) for licensed engineers primarily serves to:
- Increase salary automatically
- Maintain and update technical knowledge throughout a career (Correct answer)
- Replace the PE exam requirement
- Satisfy court requirements after violations
Correct answer: Maintain and update technical knowledge throughout a career
CPD requirements ensure licensed engineers stay current with evolving technology, codes, standards, and professional practices.
Question 2: Which principle is violated when an engineer takes credit for another person's design work?
- Confidentiality
- Professional competence
- Intellectual honesty and attribution (Correct answer)
- Cost management
Correct answer: Intellectual honesty and attribution
Claiming credit for another's work violates intellectual honesty and the ethical obligation to give proper attribution, as required by engineering codes of ethics.
Question 3: When an engineer suspects a colleague is practicing outside their area of competence, the ethical action is:
- Report immediately to media
- Confront the colleague publicly
- Discuss concerns with the colleague or report to the appropriate supervisor or licensing board (Correct answer)
- Ignore it — it's not your responsibility
Correct answer: Discuss concerns with the colleague or report to the appropriate supervisor or licensing board
Engineers have a duty to address suspected incompetence through appropriate professional channels to protect public safety.
Question 4: The 'responsible charge' requirement for PE licensure means the engineer:
- Is financially responsible for the project
- Directly supervises and is accountable for the engineering work (Correct answer)
- Holds the highest academic degree on the team
- Has the most years of experience
Correct answer: Directly supervises and is accountable for the engineering work
Responsible charge means the engineer is directly in control of and accountable for the engineering work — supervising and directing the technical decisions.
Question 5: Which body administers the FE and PE licensure examinations in the United States?
- NSPE
- ABET
- NCEES (Correct answer)
- ASCE
Correct answer: NCEES
The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) develops and administers the FE and PE licensure exams.
Question 6: An engineer who discovers a client's project violates local building codes should:
- Proceed without comment to avoid conflict
- Notify the client and refuse to proceed if violations are not corrected (Correct answer)
- Submit the project as designed
- Report directly to the media first
Correct answer: Notify the client and refuse to proceed if violations are not corrected
Engineers must inform clients of code violations and cannot professionally certify non-compliant work; proceeding without correction would violate their ethical and legal obligations.
EIT Ethics and Professional Practice 2
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or Continuing Education (CE) for licensed engineers primarily serves to: