ME or MEng Master of Engineering Environmental and Systems Engineering 1

Question 1

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in environmental engineering evaluates:

Accepted Answer

Environmental impacts from raw material extraction through end-of-life disposal

Answer

LCA quantifies environmental burdens (energy, emissions, waste) at every stage of a product's life from cradle to grave.

Question 2

In systems engineering, a system's reliability R(t) is related to its hazard (failure) rate λ(t) by:

Accepted Answer

R(t) = e^(−∫λ(t)dt)

Answer

Reliability R(t) = exp(−∫₀ᵗ λ(τ)dτ); for constant hazard rate, R(t) = e^(−λt), giving the exponential failure distribution.

Question 3

The Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) test measures:

Accepted Answer

Oxygen consumed by microorganisms to decompose organic matter in water

Answer

BOD measures the oxygen consumed by microorganisms breaking down organic matter in a water sample over typically 5 days at 20°C (BOD₅).

Question 4

A fault tree analysis (FTA) is a top-down method used to:

Accepted Answer

Identify combinations of events leading to a specified top-level failure

Answer

FTA uses Boolean logic (AND/OR gates) to model pathways of basic events that combine to cause an undesired top event (system failure).

Question 5

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in water quality refers to:

Accepted Answer

Inorganic salts, minerals, and organic matter dissolved in water

Answer

TDS encompasses all dissolved inorganic and organic substances (ions, metals, minerals) passing through a 0.45 μm filter, expressed in mg/L or ppm.

ME or MEng Master of Engineering Practice Test