SAMPLE BASIC PROBLEMS FOR MASTER PLUMBER EXAM

1. Convert 20 gpm to mgd

2. Convert 60 mph to ft/second

3. Convert 6000 cf to gallons

4. Convert 7 days into seconds

5. Convert 120 feet of static head into psi

6. Convert 14 acres into square feet

7. Convert 3 cubic yards into gallons

8. Convert 1 acre-ft/day into gpm

9. Convert 15 cfs into gpm

10. Convert 3 mgd to cfs

11. Convert 400 psi into feet of head

12. Convert 30 HP into kW. If this piece of equipment runs for 80 hours and electricity costs
$0.07 per kilowatt hour, what will it cost?

13. Convert 144 square inches into square feet

14. Convert 20 gal/sf to liters per square meter

15. A tank contains 20 feet of water and is 10 feet in diameter. What is the pressure in psi at
the
bottom of the tank?

16. The diameter of a wet well is 10 feet. If filled to a depth of 12 feet, it will contain
approximately how many gallons of water?

17. How many gallons of liquid can be held by a tank that measures 40 feet long by 25 feet
wide
by 12 feet deep?

18. Approximately how many gallons would 600 feet of 6-inch diameter pipe hold?

20. A water storage tank holds 323,136 gallons. If the water depth in the tank is 12 feet, what
is
the area of the tank is square feet?

21. The inside walls and bottom of a concrete tank must be painted. The floor of the tank is
25
feet long by 15 feet wide. If the tank is 12 feet deep and does not have a top, how many
square
feet must be painted?

22. How many gallons does a 400 foot long section of 24-inch pipe hold?

23. The distribution system has 3 storage tanks. Each tank is 50 feet square and 30 feet deep.
What is the maximum storage volume of the distribution system in gallons?

24. Find the perimeter of a circular sedimentation basin if the basin is 30 feet in diameter.

25. A 24 foot diameter tank has a conical bottom. The side water depth (top of cone to water
surface level) is 20 feet. The cone is 6 feet deep at its deepest point. What is the volume of
the
cone in cubic feet?

Problems:
1.A cylindrical water tank which is 10.66 mts in diameter and 32 mts in length is placed
temporarily on an 18.5 degree slope. The filler is located flush with the top of the tank at midpoint. What is the maximum volume of water which can be placed in the tank?
a. 27.43
b. 27.12
c. 30.48
d. 27.432
e. None of the Above
2. An empty storage tank at standard atmospheric pressure (not under pressurized
condition) is 8 feet in diameter and 32 feet high. How long will it take to fill 90 percent of the
tank volume if a pump is discharging a constant 24 gallons per minute into the tank?
a. 7 hours and 31 minutes
b. 8 hours and 21 minutes
c. 8 hours and 23 minutes
d. 9 hours and 17 minutes
3. A chlorine pump is feeding 10% bleach at a dosage of 5 mg/l. The specific gravity of the
bleach is 1.14. If 2,200,000 gallons are treated in 16 hours, how many gallons per hour is the
pump feeding?
a. 5 gal/hour
b. 5.5 gal/hour
c. 6 gal/hour
d. 6.5 gal/hour
4. A 50,000 gallon tank receives 250,000 gpd flow. What is the detention time in hours?
a. 6.1 hrs
b.5.4 hrs
c. 4.8 hrs
d.4.2 hrs
5. A pump is installed at 5320 feet above sea level. The overflow of the reservoir is at 5460
feet above sea level. What is the discharge pressure on the pump in psi?
a. 70.6 psi
b. 65.5 psi
c. 60.6 psi
d. 55.4 psi
6. How many 2" pipes does it take to equal the volume capacity of a 6" pipe?
a. 2
b. 5
c. 7
d. 9
7. A hollow iron pipe is 21 cm long and its external diameter is 8 cm. If the thickness of the
pipe is 1 cm and iron weighs 8 g/cm3, then the weight of the pipe is:
A. 3.6 kg

B. 3.696 kg
C. 36 kg
D. 36.9 kg
8. A nozzle with a radius of 0.250 cm is attached to a garden hose with a radius of 0.900 cm.
The flow rate through hose and nozzle is 0.500 L/s. Calculate the speed of the water (a) in the
hose and (b) in the nozzle.
a. 2.95, 26.5
b. 0.95, 25.2
c. 1.95, 25.5
d. None of the above
9. A lift station sewage pump initially costs$20,000. Annual maintenance costs are $300. The
pump salvage value is 10 percent of the initial cost in 20 years. Using 4% interest, the annual
cost of the pump is most nearly:
A $1,200
B $1,705
C $1,772
D $1,840
10. How many bricks, each measuring 25 cm x 11.25 cm x 6 cm, will be needed to build a
wall of 8 m x 6 m x 22.5 cm?
A. 5600
B. 6000
C. 6400
D. 7200
11. The curved surface area of a cylindrical pillar is 264 m2 and its volume is 924 m3. Find
the ratio of its diameter to its height.
A. 3 : 7
B. 7 : 3
C. 6 : 7
D. 7 : 6
12. Ed works for an environmental protection agency which deals with land areas that have
been contaminated by toxic waste. The contaminated soil covers an area of 1.62 acres. Ed
must remove the top 18 inches of soil in this area. What is the area of contaminated soil in
square yards?
a.1600.0
b. 3920.4
c. 7840.8
d. 10890
13. A body weighs 0.05 kN on Earth where g = 9.81 m/s2. Determine its weight on (a) the
moon, and (b) on mars with g = 1.67 m/s2, and g = 3.92 m/s2 respectively
a. 0.008 kN ,0.02 kN
b. 0.009 kN ,0.04 kN
c. 0.007 kN ,0.01 kN
d. None of the above

14. By what percentage will the area of a circle be increased if its radius id doubled?
a. 57%
b. 300%
c. 100%
d. 29%
15. Find the central angle subtended by circular arc of radius 720 cm if the chords is 1107 cm
long.
a. 90.2
b. 100.48
c. 50.50
d. 85.4
16. Estimate the time it would take to fill a private swimming pool with a capacity of 80,000
L using a garden hose delivering 60 L/min. (b) How long would it take to fill if you could
divert a moderate size river, flowing at 5000m3/s,
a. 23 , 0.026
a. 22 , 0.016
a. 21 , 0.006
d. None of the above
17. When a gas is turned into a liquid, the process is called
A. condensation
B. evaporation
C. deposition
D. sublimation
18. How many cubic meters of blood does the heart pump in a 75-year lifetime, assuming the
average flow rate is 5.00 L/min?
a. 300,000
b. 400,000
c. 200,000
d. None of the above

19. A plane passes thru the diameter of the upper base of a cylinder and is tangent to the
lower base. If r = h = 2, find the area of this section.
a. 4.44
b. 7.77
c. 8.88
d. 6.24
20. In a shower, 5 cm of rain falls. The volume of water that falls on 1.5 hectares of ground
is:
A. 75 cu. m
B. 750 cu. m
C. 7500 cu. m
D. 75000 cu. m

21. A right triangle with sides 3 cm, 4 cm and 5 cm is rotated the side of 3 cm to form a cone.
The volume of the cone so formed is:
A. 12 cm3
B. 15 cm3
C. 16 cm3
D. 20 cm3
22. A uniform ladder of mass 30kg rests against a smooth vertical wall with its lower end on
rough ground (coefficient of friction 0.25), and its top against a smooth vertical wall. The
ladder rests at an angle of 60 to the horizontal. Find the magnitude of the minimum
horizontal force required at the base to prevent slipping.

23. What time between 2 and 3 oclock will the angle between the hands of the clock be
bisected by the line connecting the center of the clock and the 3 oclock mark?
a. 2:18:27.6
b. 2:18:27.6
c. 2:18:27.6
d. 2:18:27.6
24. A watch which gains 5 seconds in 3 minutes was set right at 7 a.m. In the afternoon of the
same day, when the watch indicated quarter past 4 o'clock, the true time is:
A. 59 7/12 min. past 3
B. 4 p.m.
C. 58 7/11 min. past 3
D. 2 3/11 min. past 4
25. How many centuries are in 237,439 days?
a. 2.9
b. 57
c. 5.9
d. 6.5
26. Two intersecting circles with radius 2 and 3 with center to center distance 4, and length of
common chord.
a. 2.9
b. 57
c. 5.9
d. 6.7
27. Your dad places a 10-foot ladder against the wall. The bottom of the ladder is five feet
from the wall. How many feet up the wall does the ladder reach?
A. 8.46 ft
B. 8.64
C. 8.66
d. None of the above
28. A jet traveled from New York to Mexico City at an average speed of 500 knots (1 knot =
1 air mile per hour). Because of a very strong west-to-east tailwind, the average speed for the

return trip was 600 knots. The return trip from Mexico City took 42 minute less than the trip
going there. What is the air distance between New York and Mexico City?
A. 2,100 miles
B. 2,300 miles
C. 2,000 miles
d. None of the above
29. Two cars left, at 8 am, from the same point, one traveling east at 50 mph and the other
travelling south at 60 mph. At what time will they be 300 miles apart?
A. 11:42am
B. 11.51am
C. 12:01pm
d. None of the above
30. Two cars started from the same point, at 5 am, traveling in opposite directions at 40 and
50 mph respectively. At what time will they be 450 miles apart?
A. 11am
B. 10am
C. 9:50am
d. None of the above
31. A balloon having 20 m/s constant velocity is rising from ground to up. When the balloon
reaches 160 m height, an object is thrown horizontally with a velocity of 40m/s with respect
to balloon. Find the horizontal distance travelled by the object.
A. 330 mts
B. 310 mts
C. 320 mts
d. None of the above
32. In still water, Peters boat goes 4 times as fast as the current in the river. He takes a 15mile trip up the river and returns in 4 hours. Find the rate of the current.
A. 3mph
B. 2mph
C. 4mph
d. None of the above
33. T is easier to roll a stone up a sloping road than to lift it vertical upwards because
A. work done in rolling is more than in lifting
B. work done in lifting the stone is equal to rolling it
C. work done in both is same but the rate of doing work is less in rolling
D. work done in rolling a stone is less than in lifting it
34. A cylindrical water tank which is 10.66 mts in diameter and 32 mts in length is placed
temporarily on an 18.5 degree slope. The filler is located flush with the top of the tank at midpoint. What is the maximum volume of water which can be placed in the tank?
a. 27.43
b. 27.12
c. 30.48
d. 27.432
e. None of the Above

35. A cistern of capacity 8000 litres measures externally 3.3 m by 2.6 m by 1.1 m and its
walls are 5 cm thick. The thickness of the bottom is:
A. 90 cm
B. 1 dm
C. 1 m
D. 1.1 cm
36. Water is being drained out of a tank through 2 pipes at the rate of 330L/min. We know
that one pipe releases 50L/min more than the other. How much do the 2 pipes drain each?

37. A water tank, having the shape of a rectangular prism of base 100 square centimeters, is
being filled at the rate of 1 liter per minute. Find the rate at which the height of the water in
the water tank increases. Express your answer in centimeters per minute.

38. Each dimension of a cube has been increased to twice its original size. If the new cube
has a volume of 64,000 cubic centimeters, what is the area of one face of the original cube?
39. A swimming pool can be emptied in 6 hours using a 10-horsepower pump along with a 6horsepower pump. The 6-horsepower pump requires 5 hours more than the 10-horsepower
pump to empty the pool when working by itself. How long will it take to empty the pool
using just the 10-horsepower pump?

40. Rain is falling vertically downwards. To a man running east-wards, the rain will appear to
be coming from
A. east
B. west
C. northeast
D. southeast
41. Sound produced at a point is heard by a person after 5 second, while the same sound is
heard by another person after 6 seconds. If the speed of sound is 300 m/s, what could be the
maximum and minimum distances between the two persons?
A. 1.8 km, 0.15 km
B. 2.2 km, 0.20 km
C. 2.8 km, 0.25 km
D. 3.3 km, 0.30 km
42. Look at this series: 22, 21, 23, 22, 24, 23, ... What number should come next?
A. 22

B. 24
C. 25
D. 26
43. There are two examinations rooms A and B. If 10 students are sent from A to B, then the
number of students in each room is the same. If 20 candidates are sent from B to A, then the
number of students in A is double the number of students in B. The number of students in
room A is:
A. 20
B. 80
C. 100
D. 200
44. If one-third of one-fourth of a number is 15, then three-tenth of that number is:
A. 35
B. 36
C. 45
D. 54
45. A man walked diagonally across a square lot. Approximately, what was the percent saved
by not walking along the edges?
A. 20
B. 24
C. 30
D. 33
46. The least perfect square, which is divisible by each of 21, 36 and 66 is:
A. 213444
B. 214344
C. 214434
D. 231444
47. A container contains 40 litres of milk. From this container 4 litres of milk was taken out
and replaced by water. This process was repeated further two times. How much milk is now
contained by the container?
A. 26.34 litres
B. 27.36 litres
C. 28 litres
D. 29.16 litres
48. A vessel is filled with liquid, 3 parts of which are water and 5 parts syrup. How much of
the mixture must be drawn off and replaced with water so that the mixture may be half water
and half syrup?
a. 1/3
b. 1/4
c. 1/5
d. 1/7
49. Which one of the following is not a prime number?

A. 31
B. 61
C. 71
D. 91
50. A flagstaff 17.5 m high casts a shadow of length 40.25 m. The height of the building,
which casts a shadow of length 28.75 m under similar conditions will be:
A. 10 m
B. 12.5 m
C. 17.5 m
D. 21.25 m

51. How many 4-letter words with or without meaning, can be formed out of the letters of the
word, 'LOGARITHMS', if repetition of letters is not allowed?
A. 40
B. 400
C. 5040
D. 2520
52. Out of 7 consonants and 4 vowels, how many words of 3 consonants and 2 vowels can be
formed?
A. 210
B. 1050
C. 25200
D. 21400
E. None of these
53. In how many different ways can the letters of the word 'LEADING' be arranged in such a
way that the vowels always come together?
A. 360
B. 480
C. 720
D. 5040
E. None of these
54. If selling price is doubled, the profit triples. Find the profit percent.
A. 66 2/3
B. 100
C.105 1/3
D. 120
55. Find the 21-th term of the arithmetic progression if its 11-th term is 53 and the 17-th term
is 71.
a. 73
b. 83
c. 93
d. none of the above

56. A, B and C can do a piece of work in 20, 30 and 60 days respectively. In how many days
can A do the work if he is assisted by B and C on every third day?
A. 12 days
B. 15 days
C. 16 days
D. 18 days

57. Two trains running in opposite directions cross a man standing on the platform in 27
seconds and 17 seconds respectively and they cross each other in 23 seconds. The ratio of
their speeds is:
A. 1 : 3
B. 3 : 2
C. 3 : 4
D. None of these
58. A train 360 m long is running at a speed of 45 km/hr. In what time will it pass a bridge
140 m long?
A. 40 sec
B. 42 sec
C. 45 sec
D. 48 sec
59. Mary is 24 years old. Mary is twice as old as Ann was when Mary was as old as Ann is
now. How old is Ann?
a. 6
b. 9
c. 12
d. 15
e. 18
60. How many kilograms of water must be evaporated from 10 kg of an 8% salt solution to
produce a 25% salt solution?

61. Water is being drained out of a tank through 2 pipes at the rate of 330L/min. We know
that one pipe releases 50L/min more than the other. How much do the 2 pipes drain each?

62. A water tank, having the shape of a rectangular prism of base 100 square centimeters, is
being filled at the rate of 1 liter per minute. Find the rate at which the height of the water in
the water tank increases. Express your answer in centimeters per minute.

63. Each dimension of a cube has been increased to twice its original size. If the new cube
has a volume of 64,000 cubic centimeters, what is the area of one face of the original cube?