FireTEAM Test FireTEAM Mechanical Aptitude 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A firefighter needs to lift a 300-pound engine block using a pulley system with 3 supporting rope segments. How much force must the firefighter apply (ignoring friction)?
- 300 lbs
- 150 lbs
- 100 lbs (Correct answer)
- 75 lbs
Correct answer: 100 lbs
With 3 supporting rope segments, mechanical advantage is 3, so required force = 300 ÷ 3 = 100 lbs.
Question 2: A closed hydraulic system has a small piston with a 2 sq-in area and a large piston with a 20 sq-in area. If 50 lbs of force is applied to the small piston, what force is generated at the large piston?
- 5 lbs
- 50 lbs
- 250 lbs
- 500 lbs (Correct answer)
Correct answer: 500 lbs
Pascal's law: force at large piston = (large area / small area) × input force = (20/2) × 50 = 500 lbs.
Question 3: Two gears are meshed: Gear A has 12 teeth and Gear B has 48 teeth. If Gear A spins at 200 RPM, how fast does Gear B spin?
- 800 RPM
- 50 RPM (Correct answer)
- 200 RPM
- 100 RPM
Correct answer: 50 RPM
Gear ratio = 12/48 = 1/4, so Gear B turns at 200 × (12/48) = 50 RPM.
Question 4: A firefighter rolls a heavy oxygen cylinder up a ramp that is 12 feet long and 3 feet high. What is the ideal mechanical advantage of this inclined plane?
- 4 (Correct answer)
- 3
- 9
- 36
Correct answer: 4
Mechanical advantage of an inclined plane = length ÷ height = 12 ÷ 3 = 4.
Question 5: A pressure gauge reads 65 PSI at the base of a standpipe. Accounting for water pressure loss of approximately 0.43 PSI per foot of elevation, what is the approximate pressure at a point 50 feet higher?
- 86.5 PSI
- 43.5 PSI (Correct answer)
- 65 PSI
- 21.5 PSI
Correct answer: 43.5 PSI
Pressure drop = 50 × 0.43 = 21.5 PSI, so pressure at the higher point = 65 − 21.5 = 43.5 PSI.
Question 6: What happens to the electrical resistance of most metals as their temperature increases?
- Resistance decreases
- Resistance stays the same
- Resistance increases (Correct answer)
- Resistance first decreases then increases
Correct answer: Resistance increases
In most metals, increased temperature causes greater atomic vibration, which increases electrical resistance.
Question 7: A firefighter swings a 10-pound sledgehammer with a 3-foot handle. The hammer head moves in a circular arc. What force concept explains why the head tends to fly outward during the swing?
- Gravity
- Centripetal force pulling inward
- Centrifugal tendency (inertia) (Correct answer)
- Friction
Correct answer: Centrifugal tendency (inertia)
The hammer head's inertia causes it to tend to travel in a straight line, creating an apparent outward centrifugal tendency.
FireTEAM Test FireTEAM Mechanical Aptitude 3
A firefighter needs to lift a 300-pound engine block using a pulley system with 3 supporting rope segments.
How much force must the firefighter apply (ignoring friction)?