Work 3 free FE Mechanical ethics and professional practice practice problems with complete solutions, governing equations and checks. Attempt the setup before reading the answer.
A licensed professional engineer is asked to apply a seal to a structural connection design package prepared by an unlicensed designer employed at a different firm. The engineer did not direct or control the preparation of the design but has since reviewed the calculations and found them technically acceptable. Under the NCEES Model Rules, applying the seal is:
- (A)Permissible, because the calculations were reviewed and found acceptable
- (B)Permissible, provided the originating designer is credited on the drawings
- (C)Permissible, provided the engineer accepts liability for the design in writing
- (D)Not permissible, because the work was not performed under responsible charge
Show worked solution
Answer: (D)
The seal certifies work prepared by the licensee or under the licensee's responsible charge, and after-the-fact review establishes no such direct control.
Sealing is a certification that the documents were prepared by the licensee personally or under the licensee's responsible charge, which requires direct control and personal supervision while the work is being performed.
Review conducted after completion supplies no control over the assumptions, load paths, and detailing decisions already made, so the responsible-charge test fails even though the reviewer is competent in the subject matter.
Attribution on the title block and a written assumption of liability are contractual devices that never create the supervisory relationship the seal represents, leaving the package unsealable by this engineer.
FE Reference Handbook — Ethics and Professional Practice: NCEES Model Rules, Rules of Professional Conduct (Responsible Charge and Sealing of Documents)
Why the other choices appear
- (A)Substitutes technical review for responsible charge, treating a competence check as equivalent to supervision of the work.
- (B)Assumes credit to the originating designer cures the defect, but disclosure of authorship does not transfer supervisory control to the sealing licensee.
- (C)Assumes liability may be purchased by contract, whereas the seal attests to how the work was produced, not to who pays for its failure.
Three free question types · two 110-question forms
What FE ethics practice questions test
The current NCEES FE Mechanical specification, effective July 2020, assigns 4–6 of the 110 questions to Ethics and Professional Practice. Its listed scope is codes of ethics, public health and safety, intellectual property, and societal considerations. The free responsible-charge question above tests the first two of those topics; it is not a complete review of the whole range.
Use the current NCEES Model Rules and the FE Reference Handbook available through MyNCEES as the official references. The sample answer applies the rule that a licensee may seal only competent work prepared under the licensee's responsible charge. Actual licensing law is set by the relevant jurisdiction; this page is exam practice.
A three-part check for each answer choice
- Name the duty. Identify whether the facts concern public welfare, competence, responsible charge, truthful reporting, confidentiality, or a conflict.
- Locate the trigger fact. In the free problem, reviewing finished calculations is not the same as directing and controlling the work while it is prepared.
- Reject the substitute. Technical acceptability, attribution, or a private liability agreement does not create responsible charge after the fact.
Free question and full practice forms
| Resource | Ethics practice | Complete release | Price |
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| This HTML page | 3 complete questions: responsible charge, public danger, vendor conflicts | Answer, reasoning steps, and analysis of all three wrong choices | USD 0 |
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| FE Mechanical Form A | 4 ethics and professional-practice questions | 110 questions · 129-page PDF · complete solutions and area score sheet | USD 29 |
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| FE Mechanical Form B | 4 ethics and professional-practice questions | 110 questions · 107-page PDF · complete solutions and area score sheet | USD 29 |
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Forms A and B are sold separately and use different scenarios. They are independent printable practice PDFs, not official NCEES questions or a reproduction of the computer-based interface. See actual PDF previews and compare both forms. Practice questions and answer analysis are by EngineerProof. Editorial method and corrections.
Retaking the FE exam? The FE Mechanical retake plan turns the NCEES diagnostic report into an area-by-area plan, starting from the 37 percent repeat pass rate. The same guide covers testing windows, the attempt limit, and the registration fee.