BMEG 455 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026

BMEG 455 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE 2026 What are the primary responsibilities of professional engineers? - Answers - Practice in a professional and ethical manner -Be stewards of the profession -Behave lawfully Whare are some major considerations of professional engineers? - Answers -Obligation to the public -Practice within the area of qualification -Obligations under the Engineers and Geoscientists Act -Maintain competence -Presentation of consequences -Act in a professional manner What is meant by self regulation? What are some benefits of it? - Answers - Members are responsible for regulating the profession Benefits: Members have the professional knowledge/expertise to best inform regulation and maintain standards of excellence Why can self - regulated bodies be vulnerable? - Answers Because the regulator bodies are not just accountable to the public but also accountable to members of the profession What are the duties of the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists BC - Answers -Protect public interest while respecting the practice of professional engineering -Exercise power and functions and performing duties -Enforcing the act EGBC - Authority. What can they do and what can't they do? - Answers Can do: - Make recommendations -Refer to practice review -Reprimand -Apply conditions -Suspension -Fine upto 25000 -Cancelation Can't do: Resolve disputes or award compensation -Give technical advice -Demand performance by an EGBC professional -Affect third party approval process What was the reason behind the Quebec bridge disaster? - Answers Miscommunication between Theodore cooper and his team What does the Engineers and Geoscientists Act provide procedure for? - Answers -Establishing bylaws -Regulating entrance to the profession -Issuing certificates and seals -Investigating complaints -Enter into interprovincial agreements to practice Role of Bylaws - Answers Procedure for conduct of meeting Rules for elections How to manage funds Requirements for professional practice Processes for quality management Acceptable complaint resolution alternatives Liability insurance declaration Role of Quality Management Guidelines. What does it outline? - Answers -Use of seal -Maintenance of project documentation (10 years min) -Application of direct supervision - Procedures for field reviews -Independent review of structural designs - Use of the professional guidelines - Can put in a request for consideration of other guidelines (regulation is dynamic) What is NOT something that EGBC can do? (i.e. which is not true below) a) EGBC can cancel someone's license b) EGBC can help to resolve disputes for members c) EGBC can recommend a course of action d) EGBC can initiate a practice review for a member (i.e. audit them) - Answers b) EGBC cannot resolve disputes What's the point of the stamp/seal: - Answers -Visible commitment to the standards of the professions...signifies to the user of the document that an engineer has accepted professional responsibility for the content What are the 4 kinds of ethical theories. Describe each. - Answers Utilitarianism - most good for most people (Mill) Rights Ethics - individual has right to life, liberty, property (John Lock) Virtue Ethics - We seek the mean between deficiency and excess. (Aristotle) Duty Ethics - The desire to do ones duty (Kant) What is the reflexive principalism framework? - Answers - A modern ethical framework to help develop moral reasoning 1. Autonomy - supporting and respecting autonomous decisions of persons 2. Beneficence- providing benefits 3. Justice - Fairly distributing benefits, risks, costs 4. Nonmalificence - Avoiding causation of harm Describe steps of EGAD: - Answers Step 1: Read Step 2: E - Ethical Issues (What is the harm what is unfair) Step 3: G - Generation of Alternatives (Generating all the alternatives. What might you do?) Step 4: A - Analysis Pick your course of action (Simplest alternative with the least negative effect) Step 5: D - Decision Decide on your outcome (Least negative and logical) Step 6: Write - Explain your answer clearly and logically. State your decision and explain why you came to the conclusion What characterizes a good ethical analysis? - Answers - Uses/articulates professional knowledge to help frame the ethical issue - Views problem from multiple perspectives • Moves flexibly among these perspectives Identifies analogous case(s) - Articulates explicitly and correctly how the case is analogous - Uses method of moral reasoning correctly What is whistleblowing? - Answers -Figuratively blowing the whistle to uncover/alert someone of wrongdoing Describe Salvador Castro situation - Answers Salvador Castro - biomedical engineer working at Air-Shields Inc. in the US. In 1995 he noticed a major (but simple to fix) design flaw related to the company's infant respirators. Told his supervisor but no action resulted. Castro was fired when he threatened to go to the FDA. Case caught up in court for a very long time [1The FDA did eventually make Air-Shields Inc. correct the flawed design. Finally, Castro commended for ethical behavior What is the organizational view of whistleblowing? - Answers A single observer cannot be expected to have been exposed to all instances of unethical practices. The culture within the organization then becomes critical What protection does EGBC offer for whistleblowers? - Answers Coverage per member: $250,000 per claim, plus defense costs for claims made in Canada Aggregate per project: $500,000 Legal advice related to whistleblowing: $75,000 Loss of income related to whistleblowing: $75,000 • Outplacement services related to whistleblowing: $10,000 What is a tort? - Answers 1. Breach of common law duty 2. Intent (usually) 3. Harm/ loss/damage *Strict liability: liability without intent or negligence, regardless of actual fault or precautions take Test for Negligence - Answers Duty of care: 1. Does the defendant professional owe the plaintiff a duty of care and if so, what is the nature of that obligation? 2. Breach of the duty of care: If a duty of care exists, was it breached by the defendant? 3. Causation: Was the breach of a duty the cause of the plaintiff's loss? Professional Negligence - Duty of Care. Who do professionals owe a duty of care to? - Answers - Person they contract with - Persons they don't contract with who they create a risk of injury to or damage to property for Who do professionals not owe a duty of care to? - Answers People they don't contract with who only suffer an economic loss (i.e. loss in productivity due to halt in production) Professional negligence - breach of duty - Answers If you are in breach of your duty, you don't meet the standard of care Standard of care: Exercise skill, care, and diligence of a reasonable and prudent professional engineer in their area of expertise in that location and at that time •No expectation of perfection... But if you hold yourself to a higher standard (global expert etc.), you'll be held to that std. Breach is often proved by evidence of an expert engineer Negligence Law - Answers Canadian courts apply strict liability - Set high standards of care for potentially dangerous activities, that it may be prohibitive to carry out the activity or obtain insurance for it Testing for negligence. Describe steps - Answers - If you are in breach of your duty, you don't meet the standard of care - Standard of care: Exercise skill, care, and diligence of a reasonable and prudent professional engineer in their area of expertise in that location and at that time • No expectation of perfection... - But if you hold yourself to a higher standard (global expert etc.), you'll be held to that std. Breach is often proved by evidence of an expert engineer Professional Negligence - Causation. Describe it - Answers 1. The But For Test - Common way to assess causation. But for the negligent actions of X, would damage/injury occur to Y? -If the answer is yes, meaning that without X's negligent actions, the damage or injury would not have occurred, then there is no causation -If the answer is "No," suggesting that the damage or injury would have occurred regardless, then causation is established. 2. Proximate Cause -Considers whether there is a foreseeable sequence of events that connects the breach to the loss. In other words, was the harm a natural and foreseeable consequence of the negligent action? 3. Cause-in-Fact: Involves establishing a fact-based and physical connection between the actions of the defendant (the party being accused of negligence) and the damage or injury. Determining damages of professional negligence - Answers - Breach is established -Contributory negligence by plaintiff i.e. Plaintiff should have foreseen negative impact (i.e. noticing design flaw but still using product) -If a portion of damages was not foreseeable, it is not recoverable • Agreement of assumption of risks A contract comes into existence when these elements are established: - Answers -An intention to create legal obligations -An agreement resulting from an offer (or offers) and acceptance of the agreement -Consideration -The legal capacity to contract, and -Legality what are the two types of contracts? - Answers Unilateral contract - is one in which an offer is accepted by actual performance of an act described in the terms of the offer. - Don't require communication of acceptance before contract is formed -Usually involve optional offers - E.g. tendering process - offeror promises to consider bid prices from contractors if bids are provided Bilateral contract • Promise is made as a form of acceptance, rather than acceptance by performance. • E.g. The client of an engineer promises to pay in exchange for a promise by an engineer to provide design and supervisory services Define consideration - Answers Something of value is given in exchange for a promise, if the promise is to be legally enforceable Consideration may take the form of 1. another promise 2. another act 3. the payment of money Note : Promise without consideration is a gift promissory estoppel or equitable estoppel = law to prevent a person from going back on his or her word (i.e. if someone makes a gratuitous promise, they can't go back on that promise even if it's not in a contract). From Dr. Sco Problems from contracts - Answers -Breaching a contract -Voiding a contract -Unjust enrichment -Agreements to agree -Expressed terms vs implied terms. Express terms = words, phrases, conditions that were agreed upon Implied terms: terms never agreed upon, but taken for granted (these are rare) What is the consequence due to negligence of others? - Answers If damage is caused by 2 or more parties' negligence, court decides the proportion of responsibility that falls on each person and assigns damages accordingly • Based on % liable What is the rule regarding product liability? - Answers Manufacturers may be liable for all defects in their products which can be reasonably expected to be detected (given available technology). -They owe a continuous duty of care to consumers to warn of dangers Who is a learned intermediary? - Answers Futy to warn may occur through a warning to a learned intermediary who transmits the warning to the ultimate consumer or user i.e. surgeon/doctor may become the learned intermediary of a medical device The value of different perspectives: Define axiology, ontology, epistemology - Answers Axiology - the study of values/ethics - good vs. evil, right vs. wrong, beautiful vs. ugly Ontology - the study of the nature of reality