CIVIL ENGINEERING FINAL EXAM PRACTICE
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED EXPLANATIONS
2026
◉ What is the difference between failure and fracture of metals?
Answer: Failure is defined as a complete loss of load carrying
capacity caused by stiffness degradation whereas fracture refers to
the separation of material into several pieces
◉ What % of data is within 1, 2, and 3 standard deviations?
Answer: 34.1, 13.6, 2.2
◉ What are the three difference types of primary atomic bonding in
materials in civil engineering?
Answer: Ionic, covalent, and metallic
◉ How does each of the three bonds form? What properties
imparted by each?
Answer: Ionic: electrons transfer
Covalent: electrons are shared; very strong bonds and directional;
are good conductors of heat and electricity
,Metallic: electrons are shared with atoms with few electrons;
extremely strong and tight packing; good conductors of heat and
electricity
◉ What is the basis for secondary bonding?
Answer: Forms from an imbalanced electric charge among atomic
arrangements
◉ How are van der Waals and hydrogen bonds different?
Answer: Van der Waals bonds are distance-dependent interactions
between atoms or molecules and are very weak
Hydrogen bonds easily form dipoles and can bond in chains with
many other atoms
◉ What are the three types of atomic lattice structures formed by
metals? Which types are Fe and Al?
Answer: Body center cubic (BCC), face center cubic (FCC), and
hexagonal close pack (HCP)
◉ How is the APF determined? What does it represent? What are the
values for 3 atomic lattice structures?
Answer: Vol of atoms in unit cell/vol of unit cell
, ◉ What are the 4 different types of defects in metal atomic
structures?
Answer: Point, line, area and volume
◉ What occurs in metals on the atomic level that causes plastic
deformation at high stress?
Answer: Shear stresses - lattice structure rearranges
◉ What occurs in molten metals when they cool and solidify, both
initially and then later?
Answer: Grains form therefore increasing material's strength
◉ How is grain size of metals affected by rate of cooling, as metal
temperature decreases from molten to solid form?
Answer: Smaller grains are formed by rapid cooling and increase
toughness
◉ How does temperature composition phase diagram work for
alloys? What does the eutectic point designate?
Answer: The intersection of the eutectic temperature and the
eutectic composition - its a transitional point where there needs to
be a proper composition ratio between two materials and the right
temperature
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED EXPLANATIONS
2026
◉ What is the difference between failure and fracture of metals?
Answer: Failure is defined as a complete loss of load carrying
capacity caused by stiffness degradation whereas fracture refers to
the separation of material into several pieces
◉ What % of data is within 1, 2, and 3 standard deviations?
Answer: 34.1, 13.6, 2.2
◉ What are the three difference types of primary atomic bonding in
materials in civil engineering?
Answer: Ionic, covalent, and metallic
◉ How does each of the three bonds form? What properties
imparted by each?
Answer: Ionic: electrons transfer
Covalent: electrons are shared; very strong bonds and directional;
are good conductors of heat and electricity
,Metallic: electrons are shared with atoms with few electrons;
extremely strong and tight packing; good conductors of heat and
electricity
◉ What is the basis for secondary bonding?
Answer: Forms from an imbalanced electric charge among atomic
arrangements
◉ How are van der Waals and hydrogen bonds different?
Answer: Van der Waals bonds are distance-dependent interactions
between atoms or molecules and are very weak
Hydrogen bonds easily form dipoles and can bond in chains with
many other atoms
◉ What are the three types of atomic lattice structures formed by
metals? Which types are Fe and Al?
Answer: Body center cubic (BCC), face center cubic (FCC), and
hexagonal close pack (HCP)
◉ How is the APF determined? What does it represent? What are the
values for 3 atomic lattice structures?
Answer: Vol of atoms in unit cell/vol of unit cell
, ◉ What are the 4 different types of defects in metal atomic
structures?
Answer: Point, line, area and volume
◉ What occurs in metals on the atomic level that causes plastic
deformation at high stress?
Answer: Shear stresses - lattice structure rearranges
◉ What occurs in molten metals when they cool and solidify, both
initially and then later?
Answer: Grains form therefore increasing material's strength
◉ How is grain size of metals affected by rate of cooling, as metal
temperature decreases from molten to solid form?
Answer: Smaller grains are formed by rapid cooling and increase
toughness
◉ How does temperature composition phase diagram work for
alloys? What does the eutectic point designate?
Answer: The intersection of the eutectic temperature and the
eutectic composition - its a transitional point where there needs to
be a proper composition ratio between two materials and the right
temperature
