The perfect reference for passing the current California Journeyman Electrician’s Test. Based on the 1999 National Electrical Code, this book contains 350 pages of questions and answers based on actual electrician's exams over the last few years.
Over a thousand multiple-choice questions – exactly the type you'll find on the exam – cover every area of electrical installation: electrical drawings, services and systems, transformers, capacitors, distribution equipment, branch circuits, feeders, calculations, measuring and testing, and more.
Introduction, 5
Chapter 1 Electrical Systems - General Requirements, 13
Chapter 2 Electrical Calculations, 37
Chapter 3 Branch Circuits and Feeders, 59
Chapter 4 Electric Services, 89
Chapter 5 Distribution Equipment, 117
Chapter 6 Overcurrent Protection, 137
Chapter 7 Utilization Equipment, 163
Chapter 8 Measuring and Testing, 183
Chapter 9 Electric Motors and Motor Controls, 203
Chapter 10 Special Occupancies, 223
Chapter 11 Miscellaneous Applications, 245
Chapter 12 Transformers and Capacitors, 257
Chapter 13 Electrical Drawings, 269
Chapter 14 Final Examination, 291
Appendix I State Contractor's Examination Offices, 342
Appendix II Answers to Final Exam Questions, 345
Index, 346
Introduction- How to use this book
NEC Terminology
Mandatory rules: All mandatory rules have the word shall in them. The word shall means must. If a rule is mandatory, you must comply with it.
Advisory rules: All advisory rules have the word should in them. The word should in this case means recommended but not nessarily required. If a rule is advisory, compliance is discretionary. If you want to comply with it, do so. But you don't have to if you don't want to.
Learning the Layout of the NEC
Wiring Design and Protection
Wiring Methods and Materials
Equipment for General Use
Special Occupancies
Class I (Article 501): Areas containing flammable gases or vapors in the air. Class I areas include paint spray booths, dyeing plants where hazardous liquids are used, and gas generator rooms. Class II (Article 502): Areas where combustible dust is present, such as grainhandling and storage plants, dust and stock collector areas and sugar-pulverizing plants. These are areas where, under normal operating conditions, there may be enough combustible dust in the air to produce explosive or ignitable mixtures. Class III (Article 503): Areas that are hazardous because of the presence of easily ignitable fibers or flyings in the air, although not in large enough quantity to product ignitable mixtures. Class III locations include cotton mills, rayon mills and clothing manufacturing plants. Articles 511 and 514 regulate garages and similar locations where volatile or flammable liquids are used. While these areas are not always considered critically hazardous locations, there may be enough danger to require special precautions in the electrical installation. In these areas, the NEC requires that volatile gases be confined to an area not more than 4 feet above the floor. So in most cases, conventional raceway systems are permitted above this level. If the area is judged critically hazardous, explosionproof wiring (including sealoffs) may be required. Article 520 regulates theaters and similar occupancies where fire and panic can cause hazards to life and property. Drive-in theaters do not present the same hazards as enclosed auditoriums. But the projection rooms and adjacent areas must be properly ventilated and wired for the protection of operating personnel and others using the area. Chapter 5 also covers residential storage garages, aircraft hangars, service stations, bulk storage plants, health care facilities, mobile homes and parks, and recreation vehicles and parks. Special Equipment Article 600 covers electric signs and outline lighting. Article 610 applies to cranes and hoists. Article 620 covers the majority of the electrical work involved in the installation and operation of elevators, dumbwaiters, escalators and moving walks. The manufacturer is responsible for most of this work. The electrician usually just furnishes a feeder terminating in a disconnect means in the bottom of the elevator shaft. The electrician may also be responsible for a lighting circuit to a junction box midway in the elevator shaft for connecting the elevator cage lighting cable and exhaust fans. Articles in Chapter 6 of the NEC give most of the requirements for these installations. Article 630 regulates electric welding equipment. It is normally treated as a piece of industrial power equipment requiring a special power outlet. But there are special conditions that apply to the circuits supplying welding equipment. These are outlined in detail in Chapter 6 of the NEC. Article 640 covers wiring for sound-recording and similar equipment. This type of equipment normally requires low-voltage wiring. Special outlet boxes or cabinets are usually provided with the equipment. But some items may be mounted in or standard outlet boxes. Some sound-recording electrical systems require direct current, supplies from rectifying equipment, batteries or motor generators. Low-voltage alternating current comes from relatively small transformers connected on the primary side to a 120-volt circuit within the building. Other items covered in Chapter 6 of the NEC include: X-ray equipment (Article 660), induction and dielectric heat-generating equipment (Article 665) and machine tools (Article 670). If you ever have work that involves Chapter 6, study the chapter before work begins. That can save a lot of installation time. Here is another way to cut down on labor hours and prevent installation errors. Get a set of rough-in drawings of the equipment being installed. It is easy to install the wrong outlet box or to install the right box in the wrong place. Having a set of rough-in drawings can prevent those simple but costly errors. Special Conditions In most commercial buildings, the NEC and local ordinances require a means of lighting public rooms, halls, stairways and entrances. There must be enough light to allow the occupants to exit from the building if the general building lighting is interrupted. Exit doors must be clearly indicated by illuminated exit signs. Chapter 7 of the NEC covers the installation of emergency lighting systems. These circuits should be arranged so that they can automatically transfer to an alternate source of current, usually storage batteries or gasoline-drive generators. As an alternative, you can connect them to the supply side of the main service so disconnecting the main service switch would not disconnect the emergency circuits. See Article 700. How to Prepare for the Exam This book is a guide to preparing for the journeyman or master electrician's exam. It isn't a substitute for studying the recommended references and it won't teach you the electrical trade. But it will give you a complete knowledge of the type of questions asked in the electrician's exam. It will also give you a "feel" for the examination and provide some of the confidence you need to pass. Emphasis is on multiple-choice questions because that's the style that nearly all tests utilize. Questions are grouped into chapters. Each chapter covers a single subject. This will help you discover your strengths and weaknesses. Then when you take the two "final" sample exams in the back of this book, analyze the questions you miss. You'll probably notice you are weaker in some subjects than others. When these areas have been discovered, you will know that further study is necessary in these areas. In answering questions on the NEC, remember this point: All exam questions are based on minimum NEC requirements. If the minimum wire size permitted under the NEC to carry 20 amperes is No. 12 AWG and you answer No. 10 AWG (mini- mum size for 30 amperes) just to play it safe, your answer is incorrect. The preparatory questions in the front part of this book have the answer after each question. When reading a question, cover the answer with a card or ruler of an appropriate size. Read the question carefully. Mark your answer on a separate sheet of paper before moving the card or ruler that covers the correct answer. Then slide the card or ruler and check to see if your answer is correct. If it isn't, read the code responses to find out why it is wrong. How to Study Set aside a definite time to study, following a schedule that meets your needs. Studying a couple of hours two or three nights each week is better than studying all day on, say, Saturdays. The average mind can only concentrate for approximately four hours without taking a break. There's no point in studying if you don't retain much of the information. Study alone most of the time, but spend a few hours reviewing with another electrician buddy before exam day. You can help each other dig out the facts and concepts you will need to pass the exam. Try to study in a quiet, well-lighted room that is respected as your study space by family members and friends. If it's hard to find a spot like that in your home, go to the local library where others are reading and studying. Before you begin to study, spend a few minutes getting into the right frame of mind. That's important. You don't have to be a genius to pass the electrician's exam. But good motivation will nearly guarantee your success. No one can provide that motivation but you. Getting your license is a goal you set for yourself; it's your key to the future - a satisfying career in the electrical industry. As you study the NEC and other references, highlight important point with a yellow marker. This makes it easier to find important passages when you're doing the final review - and when you're taking the exam. Put paper tabs on the corners of each major section in all the references you will take into the exam room. On the portion of the tab that extends beyond the edge of the book, write the name of the section or the subject. That makes locating each section easier and quicker - an important consideration on an open book test. Speed in locating answers is important. In the sample exams at the end of this book, which are based on actual state and county examinations, you will have from two to four minutes to answer each question, so you don't have time to daydream or mess around. If you want to pass the exam, you must take it seriously. Your study plan should allow enough time to review each reference at least three times. Read carefully the first time. The next review should take only about 10% of the time that the first reading took. Make a final review of all references and notes on the day before the exam. This is the key to success in passing the exam: Review, review, review! The more you review, the better your grasp of the information and the faster you will be able to find the answers. The Examination Questions on state and local examinations are usually compiled by members of the electrician's examination board. Board members usually include several electrical contractors, a registered electrical engineer, electrical inspectors, and perhaps a trade school instructor. Most electrician's exams will include questions on the NEC, general knowledge of electrical practice, theoretical questions, and local ordinance rules. All of these fields are covered in this preparation guide. Questions about the NEC, including rules and design calculations, comprise from 70% to 80% of the examination. State examinations are usually given twice a year, or perhaps every three months. County and local exams may be taken almost any time with prior notice to the local inspectors. Most have several basic exams that are used in rotation. But the same examination will never be administered twice in a row. The people compiling the exams maintain a bank of several hundred questions covering each test subject. Questions are selected at random, and chances are that some of the questions on any exam have already been used on an earlier examination. Many of the questions appearing on actual electrician's exams will closely resemble questions appearing in this book. The format of the actual examination, the time allowed, and the reference material which the applicant may be allowed to take into the examination room v with each locality. Typically, an applicant is allowed six to eight hours to complete the examination. Applicants are usually required to report to the examination room at 8 a.m. where the proctors take about 15 minutes to explain the rules of taking the exam. The applicants then work on the "morning" exam until noon. After an hour break for lunch, the "afternoon" exam begins at 1 p.m. and applicants are given until about 4 p.m. to complete this portion. The Answer Sheet Most answer sheets used today are designed for computer grading. Each question on the exam is numbered. Usually there will be four or five possible responses for each question. You will be required to mark the best answer on the answer sheet. The following is a sample of a multiple-choice question: 1) Richmond is the capitol city of what state? (A) Florida (B) Maryland (C) Virginia (D) California You should mark answer C for question 1 on the answer sheet. Answer sheets will vary slightly for each examining agency so be sure to follow any instructions on that sheet. Putting the right answers on the wrong section will almost certainly cause you to fail. The Night Before Give your mind a rest! If you have not prepared correctly for the exam by this time, then you can't cram it all into your brain in one night. So take it easy. If the place of the examination is more than an hour's drive from your home, you might want to stay at a motel in the city where the examination is being held. Getting up at, say, 4 a.m. and driving a couple of hours in heavy traffic will not help you to pass the exam. On the other hand, a drive to the location the afternoon before the exam, a good dinner and a relaxing evening watching TV will increase your possibilities of passing. Just don't stay up too late. There are, however, exceptions to this rule. Some people find it difficult to sleep comfortably - the first night at a strange location. If this is your case, you would be better off getting a good night's sleep at home and driving to the location the next morning. Just be sure to have all of your reference material with you and get a good night's sleep before the day of the exam. If you have prepared yourself correctly, you should pass with flying colors. Examination Day On the day of your examination, listen carefully to any oral instructions given and read the printed directions. Failing to follow instructions will probably disqualify you. You will seldom find any trick questions, but many will require careful reading. Certain words (like shall, should, always and never) can make a big difference in your answer. Sometimes several of the answers may seem possible, but only one will be correct. If you are not sure of the answer, use the process of elimination. There are several ways to take an exam, but the following is the method I used to pass the Virginia State Electrical Contractor's Exam a few years ago. This method is merely a suggestion: if another way suits you best, by all means use it. When the exam booklets were passed out and the applicants were given permission to open them, I spent the first few minutes going over the exam booklet, noting the number of questions. This allowed me to pace myself. I noted there were 100 questions on the morning exam - which gave me less than three minutes to spend on each one. I then started with question No. 1. When I found one that I wasn't sure of, I merely skipped over this until I came to one that I definitely knew the answer. This way I had gone through the entire test booklet once and had answered about 50% of the questions in a little over one hour. I was quite sure that I had answered all of these questions correctly. However, 70% is usually the minimum passing grade and at this point, I had only 50% of the questions answered. But I still had about three hours to spend on the tougher questions. I then started back at the beginning of the exam and went down the list of questions until I found one that was unanswered. This process continued until I had answered all questions to the best of my ability. I spent the remaining time reviewing my previous answers, making changes as necessary. After lunch, the "afternoon" portion of the exam was handed out, and I used the same procedure as before. I found out a few days later that I had scored 94% on this examination.
Special Equipment
Special Conditions
How to Prepare for the Exam
How to Study
The Examination
The Answer Sheet
The Night Before
Examination Day
Electrician's Exam Preparation Guide
If you're getting ready to take the electrician's exam and drowning in pages of tables, rules and exceptions, here's the book you need.
You'll find almost a thousand multiple-choice questions to study, each based on actual questions from tests administered over the last few years in states and counties across the U.S. The questions are written just as they are on the exams, except the answers and an explanation are provided below each question. You can test your knowledge by covering up the answers as you go through the book.
Each chapter begins with a basic explanation of the topic, followed by dozens of questions on that particular area of electrical work. There are diagrams to aid you in understanding the subject, and direct references to the National Electrical Code sections or tables that apply to the questions.
At the end of the book is a practice exam just like the one you'll be taking on exam day. The answers are given on a separate page. Once you can answer all the questions in the chapters, test your knowledge using the practice exam. If you find you're weak in one area, go back and study that chapter again. By the time you take the real exam, you'll be well prepared. Not only will you have a thorough knowledge of the type of questions you'll be asked, but you'll have had the experience of taking and passing the exam in the comfort of your own home.
Haven't applied to take the exam yet? There's a listing of Contractor's Examination offices and who to contact for an application form. You'll also learn how to prepare for the exam, and what to expect on examination day. This is a tool that every journeyman and master electrician candidate will find well worth their investment.
John Traister held a master electrician's license in Virginia and practiced the trade for many years. Becoming an expert in NEC requirements for all types of electrical installations, he turned to publishing his knowledge in scores of electrical and other technical manuals, trade journals and technical magazines.
Dale Brickner is a licensed master electrician in Florida. He's maintained and installed the full range of electrical systems, up to giant commercial and industrial projects, including major fiber optic networks, highway lighting, signalization and toll collection projects. An electrical inspector, consultant, and author of several technical manuals, he is uniquely qualified to keep the questions in this manual correct and in compliance with the latest NEC.
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