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A Guide to the Automation Book of Knowledge, 2nd Edition (ISA,2006) – www.isa.org/autobok is the primary text resource for the CAP Associate Exam.

CAP Associate Practice Questions

The following questions were taken from the CAP® examination question item bank and serve as examples of the question type and question content found on the CAP Associate examination.

1. Which symbol represents a capillary tubing line on a P&ID?

A.
B.
C.
D.

2. An intermediate tank has a Level Switch High (LSH) to prevent overfill and a Level Switch Low (LSL) to prevent dry-running the pump. The power supply for the field transmitters recently failed, causing an alarm on the LSH while the LSL status continued to indicate sufficient level. Which of the following explanations describes the situation? (Assume a fail-safe wiring methodology.)

A. The LSL is wired incorrectly and should have alarmed. The LSH is wired correctly.
B. The LSH is wired incorrectly and should not have alarmed. The LSL is wired correctly.
C. The LSH is wired incorrectly and should not have alarmed. The LSL is wired incorrectly and should have alarmed.
D. Both switches are wired correctly.

3. Which of the following instruments would typically require only a discrete I/O Interface to a PLC System?

A. Alarm Beacon Lamp
B. Thermocouple
C. Pressure Transmitter
D. Variable Speed Drive

4. Which of the following is an acceptable final variable control element in the control of flow for fluid processes?

A. Pump with a Drive
B. Solenoid operated valve
C. Analog or digital process loop controller
D. DCS (Distributed Control System)

5. What MUST be present for a PI Loop to produce an output?

A. Control Valve
B. Error
C. Transmitter
D. Bias

6. What term is used to denote the mathematical characterization of a process so that variables may be manipulated to determine their behavior in different situations?

A. Method evaluation
B. Modeling
C. Multivariable Predictive Control
D. Parallel operation

7. What is the purpose of Uninterruptible Voltage Source (UVS)?

A. Protection against short duration outages
B. Provision of power system backup
C. Provision of battery-based redundancy
D. Protection against equipment failure

8. Under which condition can a system with a low reliability potentially have a high availability?

A. When the restore rate is a constant
B. When there is a low mean time to failure (MTTF)
C. When failures are discovered and repaired during periodic inspection
D. When there is low mean time to restore (MTTR)

9. What AutoCAD command is used to switch from one system of measurement to another?

A. SCALE
B. DIMSCALE
C. DIM
D. DIMLFLAC

10. Which IP address is in a "Class A" network range?

A. 192.168.1.1
B. 10.1.1.1
C. 172.16.1.1
D. 254.168.100.1

11. Which of the following statements is a benefit of having well-written learning objectives?

A. Specifies whom the educational program is intended for
B. Indicates how to apply the information back on the job
C. Specifies expected behaviors upon completion of the training
D. Accurately reflects assumptions about the target audience

12. Cause-and-effect diagrams and control charts would be MOST useful during which troubleshooting activity?

A. Problem definition
B. Poblem analysis
C. Proposed solutions
D. Testing proposed solutions

13. Capital budgeting is BEST described as

A. decision making related to current expenditures.
B. the process of making long-term investment decisions.
C. the process of planning for short-term investments.
D. decision making to support operating efficiency.

14. In which type of contract does an organization agree to pay an hourly rate that guarantees a fair profit to the engineering firm awarded the contract for the project duration?

A. T&M
B. Fixed-fee
C. Cost-plus
D. Turnkey

Practice Questions Answer Key

Question
Number
Correct
Answer
Examination
Content Outline
1 D Technical Topic I
2 A Technical Topic I
3 A Technical Topic II
4 A Technical Topic II
5 B Technical Topic III
6 B Technical Topic III
7 A Technical Topic IV
8 D Technical Topic IV
9 A Technical Topic V
10 B Technical Topic V
11 C Technical Topic VI
12 B Technical Topic VI
13 B Technical Topic VII
14 C Technical Topic VII