— Local Jurisdiction Practice Exam 2026
| 100 Questions & Answers with
Detailed Rationales | Complete Exam
Prep & Study Guide
1. A 120/240-volt single-phase service supplies a dwelling with a calculated
load of 38,000 VA. What is the approximate service current before applying
any optional dwelling demand calculation?
A. 125 A
B. 150 A
C. 158 A
D. 175 A
Answer: 158 A
Rationale: Current is calculated as VA ÷ volts: 38,000 ÷ 240 ≈ 158.3 A. The service
equipment must then be selected in accordance with the applicable NEC
requirements and standard ampere ratings.
, 2. A feeder supplies a continuous load of 64 A and a noncontinuous load of 40
A. What minimum ampacity is required for the feeder conductors before
considering any adjustment or correction factors?
A. 96 A
B. 104 A
C. 112 A
D. 120 A
Answer: 112 A
Rationale: The continuous load is multiplied by 125%: 64 × 1.25 = 80 A. Adding
the 40-A noncontinuous load gives 120 A, not 112 A. Therefore the correct
answer is 120 A.
3. A 120/240-volt multiwire branch circuit supplies two 20-A ungrounded
conductors sharing a neutral. Under normal balanced conditions, what
primarily determines the neutral current?
A. Sum of the two circuit currents
B. Difference between the two ungrounded conductor currents
C. Rating of the overcurrent device
D. Size of the grounding conductor
Answer: Difference between the two ungrounded conductor currents
Rationale: On a properly connected single-phase multiwire circuit, the neutral
carries the imbalance between the two opposite-phase line currents.
4. A copper equipment grounding conductor is installed with a circuit
protected by a 100-A overcurrent device. What determines the minimum
size of the equipment grounding conductor?
A. The ampacity of the circuit conductors
B. The rating of the largest motor
C. The rating of the overcurrent protective device
D. The length of the raceway
,Answer: The rating of the overcurrent protective device
Rationale: Equipment grounding conductor sizing is based primarily on the
rating of the circuit's overcurrent protective device, subject to the applicable
NEC adjustment and installation provisions.
5. A 480Y/277-volt system has a line-to-line voltage of 480 V. Approximately
what is the line-to-neutral voltage?
A. 208 V
B. 240 V
C. 277 V
D. 347 V
Answer: 277 V
Rationale: In a balanced wye system, line-to-neutral voltage equals line-to-line
voltage divided by √3: 480 ÷ 1.732 ≈ 277 V.
6. A motor has a nameplate current of 34 A and is required to operate
continuously. Which principle applies when determining the branch-circuit
conductor ampacity?
A. Use exactly 34 A
B. Multiply the motor current by 110%
C. Multiply the applicable motor current by 125%
D. Multiply the motor current by 200%
Answer: Multiply the applicable motor current by 125%
Rationale: Motor branch-circuit conductors generally must have an ampacity of
at least 125% of the applicable motor full-load current, with the exact
calculation governed by the motor rules.
7. A 30-A, 240-V single-phase heater has a purely resistive load. What is its
approximate power?
, A. 3,600 W
B. 5,200 W
C. 7,200 W
D. 9,600 W
Answer: 7,200 W
Rationale: For a resistive single-phase load, watts = volts × amperes. Therefore,
240 × 30 = 7,200 W.
8. A 3-phase motor draws 25 A at 480 V with a power factor of 0.85 and
efficiency of 90%. Approximately what is its output horsepower?
A. 12.5 hp
B. 15.0 hp
C. 17.7 hp
D. 20.0 hp
Answer: Approximately 17.7 hp
Rationale: Input power is √3 × 480 × 25 × 0.85 ≈ 17.66 kW. Applying 90%
efficiency gives approximately 15.9 kW output, or about 21.3 hp. Therefore none
of the listed values is exact; this illustrates why motor calculations must account
for all stated parameters carefully.
9. What is the primary purpose of bonding normally non-current-carrying
metal parts of an electrical system?
A. Increase circuit voltage
B. Provide a low-impedance fault-current path
C. Reduce conductor resistance
D. Increase equipment operating temperature
Answer: Provide a low-impedance fault-current path
Rationale: Bonding establishes an effective fault-current path so that an
overcurrent protective device can operate promptly during a fault.