EEI TECH Practice Questions: One of Each Type, Worked

Below is one original practice question for each of the four EEI TECH tests, with the working. None is a real TECH item or a rewrite of one; each was written from EEI's one-sentence description of the test it practises. Use them to see what each kind of question asks of you, then run the full versions in the free demos.

A word on numbers first. EEI's TECH brochure gives a question count and a time limit for Mechanical Concepts only — 44 questions in 20 minutes. For the other three it publishes a description and nothing more, and LG&E and KU, which hosts the brochure, notes that EEI's own practice tests differ from the actual tests. So treat any pacing advice below as practice pacing, not as a statement about the real test.

1. Graphic Problem Solving

EEI describes this test as using numerical information presented in illustrations to solve practical arithmetic problems. In practice: take the right figures off a picture, keep the units straight, then do simple arithmetic.

Question. A drawing shows a rectangular sump, open at the top: 12 ft long, 6 ft wide and 5 ft deep. The elevation shows water 2 ft deep. Beside the drawing: fill pump rate 30 gal per min. Using 7.48 gallons per cubic foot, how many minutes will it take to fill the sump to the top from its present level?

• A. 7.2 min
• B. 35.9 min
• C. 53.9 min
• D. 89.8 min

Answer: C. The space above the water is 12 × 6 × (5 − 2) = 216 cu ft. That is 216 × 7.48 = 1,615.7 gallons, and 1,615.7 ÷ 30 = 53.9 minutes. Each wrong option is a real slip: A forgets to convert cubic feet to gallons, B times the water already in the sump, and D fills the whole sump from empty.

The lesson generalizes: the arithmetic is never the hard part. Reading which depth applies, and noticing that the rate is in gallons while the drawing is in feet, is. Try more in the Graphic Problem Solving demo.

2. Interpreting Diagrams

EEI describes this test as the ability to use symbols and codes to locate objects on a map or diagram and to determine the object's status. Our practice uses grid maps, switching one-lines, valve diagrams and equipment tags; here is a tag question, written out in words.

Question. A plan of a pump house shows equipment tags in the form letter, unit number, dash, status code. The equipment letters are P = pump, F = fan, C = compressor. The key for this plan says: 1 = on standby, 2 = running, 3 = out of service, 4 = under maintenance. Pump 2 is currently tagged P2-2. It is switched to standby. What should its tag now read?

• A. P2-2
• B. P2-1
• C. P1-2
• D. S2-1

Answer: B. The unit keeps its letter and number, P2, and takes the status code for standby, which on this plan is 1. A is the old tag. C swaps the unit number and the code. D invents a letter for "standby"; status lives in the code, not the letter.

The trap that catches people on code questions is assuming a code means what it meant last time. Read the key on every diagram. More in the Interpreting Diagrams demo and our tips for the section.

3. Mechanical Concepts

The one TECH test with published figures: 44 questions in 20 minutes, each a picture of a mechanical situation with three answer choices. It is the same test that appears in CAST, POSS and MASS.

Question. A picture shows a straight bar resting on a pivot. A 300 lb load hangs from one end, 2 ft from the pivot. A worker pushes down on the other end, 4 ft from the pivot. About how hard must the worker push to balance the load?

• A. 100 lb
• B. 150 lb
• C. 300 lb

Answer: B. Load × its distance must equal effort × its distance: 300 × 2 = effort × 4, so the effort is 150 lb. The longer arm needs less force — which is the principle you want to recognize in two seconds rather than calculate. At about 27 seconds a question, recognition is the whole game; the Mechanical Concepts demo draws from a bank of 640 drawn items.

4. Reasoning from Rules

EEI describes this test as reading and applying rules to make decisions and troubleshooting a logic network. Here is one of each.

Rule sheet. You schedule relay tests. Apply the rules in order and use the first rule that fits:

1. If the time since the last test is over 36 months: refer to the protection engineer.
2. If the voltage class is 138 kV or more and an outage is planned this month: test during the planned outage.
3. If the relay type is Differential or Distance and the time since the last test is 24 months or more: test this week.
4. In all other cases: add to next year's plan.

Question. A Differential relay was last tested 36 months ago. It is on a 230 kV line, and an outage is planned this month. What should you do?

Answer: test it during the planned outage. Rule 1 does not fit, because 36 months is not over 36. Rule 2 fits: 230 kV is 138 kV or more, and an outage is planned. Rule 3 would also fit — but rule 2 comes first, so rule 3 never gets a say. Boundary wording and rule order are where almost all the marks are lost.

Logic network. Switch A is ON and switch B is OFF; both feed an AND box (Box 1). Switch C is OFF and feeds a NOT box (Box 2). Boxes 1 and 2 feed an AND box (Box 3), which lights lamp Z. An AND box is ON only when both inputs are ON; a NOT box gives the opposite of its input. Which one switch, if changed, would turn lamp Z on?

Answer: switch B. Now, Box 1 is OFF (B is OFF), Box 2 is ON (C is OFF), so Box 3 is OFF. Turn B ON and Box 1 goes ON, so Box 3 — and the lamp — go ON. Changing A leaves Box 1 OFF; changing C turns Box 2 OFF. Both leave the lamp off. Work more in the Reasoning from Rules demo, and see the full guide to rule questions.

How to use practice questions well

One worked example per type is enough to understand the format; it is nowhere near enough to get quick. What helps is volume with feedback, then timed runs. Our TECH practice generates new illustrations, diagrams, rule cases and networks every run and checks every answer with a separate script before it reaches you; the full practice mock runs Mechanical Concepts to EEI's published limit and the other three tests to our own clearly labelled pacing.

Use EEI's own practice material too. Several utilities publish the access details on their testing pages; Entergy, for one, notes that those practice tests are shorter than the real tests and differ slightly from them, so treat them as a format check rather than a full rehearsal.

Frequently asked questions

Are these real EEI TECH questions?

No. They are original questions written from EEI's published one-line descriptions of each test. The real items are confidential and we neither have them nor want them.

Is there a TECH practice test PDF?

EEI's practice material is online, reached through the access details utilities publish. We do not reproduce or link to copies of anyone's test content.

How many questions should I practise?

Enough to finish full timed runs comfortably. For Mechanical Concepts that means repeated 44-question blocks in 20 minutes; for the other three, enough runs that the routine is automatic.