PHIL 482 Final Practice Questions with answers

PHIL 482 Final Practice Questions with
answers

NASA managers who made the final decision to launch the Challenger...
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A. Disregarded the concerns initially expressed by Thiokol, and decided to
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launch anyway
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B. Discussed the increased risk with the shuttle commander before making
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the decision to launch
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C. Decided to launch after a secondary engineering evaluation of the effect of
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low temperature on the SRB seals indicated there was minimal risk
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D. Did not know the initial no-launch decision by Thiokol
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E. None of these - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔D: Did not know the initial no-
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launch decision by Thiokol || || ||




By testifying about the questionable process that led up to the decision to
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launch Challenger, Roger Biosjoly was exercising which type of ethics?
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A. Aspirational
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B. Prohibitive
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C. Cost/Benefit
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D. Preventive - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔D: Preventive
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What is the hallmark of a proper engineering decision?
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A. Involves technical manners or affects public health, safety, or welfare
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B. Has been so designated by appropriate management-level personnel
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,C. Involves costs below a certain specified level
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D. Does not negatively impact corporate goals
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E. All of these - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔A: Involves technical manners or
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affects public health, safety, or welfare
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Thiokol's concern about low temperatures centered on...
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A. All of these
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B. The extra weight of ice on the vehicle would create problems
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C. The low temperatures would impair the sealing function of the polymer o-
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ring seal ||




D. The risk that ice on the vehicle or tower would break loose and impact the
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vehicle
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E. The low temperatures would cause problems for instrumentation designed
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to monitor the seal function - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔C: The low
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temperatures would impair the sealing function of the polymer o-ring seal
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What are the characteristics of a proper management decision?
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A. Can be made very quickly by someone trained to make decisions
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B. Does not force engineers to make unacceptable compromises with their
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own technical or ethical standards
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C. Has been designated management responsibility by the CEO
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D. Involves cost increases above some predetermined level
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E. Does not require computation tools more complicated than a spreadsheet -
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CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔B: Does not force engineers to make unacceptable
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compromises with their own technical or ethical standards
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, The cause of Columbia's breakup during reentry was determined to be...
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A. Hot gases entering a breach in the wing leading edge and destroying the
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structural integrity of the wing
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B. None of these
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C. Increased drag on the damaged left wing that caused a catastrophic
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domino-effect
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D. Impact of a briefcase-sized piece of foam that destroyed the wing leading
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edge and the main spar in the left wing
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E. Fatigue in the carbon fiber leading edge after microcracks were induced by
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foam impact - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔A: Hot gases entering a breach in the
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wing leading edge and destroying the structural integrity of the wing
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One factor in the foam shedding was the result of...
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A. Defects resulting from a non-optimal design, because the bipod structure
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and foam application processes were designed separately
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B. Substandard methods used to qualify the bipod ramp design
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C. Negligence resulting in the excessive application of the bonding enhancer,
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Conathane
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D. Isotropic material properties of the foam insulation
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E. None of these - CORRECT ANSWERS ✔✔A: Defects resulting from a non-
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optimal design, because the bipod structure and foam application processes
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were designed separately
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The term 'organizational culture' refers to the basic values, norms, beliefs,
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and practices shared across institutions within a profession (T/F) - CORRECT
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ANSWERS ✔✔False
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