PRACTICE QUESTIONS – Modules 2 and 3

1) Which of the following measurement methods is most cost-effective for

measuring the level of highly corrosive media?

a. Ultrasonic
b. Radioactive
c. Capacitance
d. Float

2) In applications requiring low drift, high accuracy, and moderately high

temperatures, which measurement technology would be BEST?

a. Thermocouple
b. RTD
c. Infrared
d. Thermister

3) In pneumatic signaling, which of the following is true regarding a live zero?

a. To get accurate readings that are continuously variable, the 0% reading

must be set at 0 psi.
b. Representing 0% at 0 psi could result in a pressure failure being
mistaken as a lower range value.
c. Mechanical pneumatic entities such as tubes cannot operate for long in
vacuum or constant pressure, so 0% must be at 0 psi and not a negative
or positive quantity.
d. Keeping the air supply at least 5 psi above the 100% signal allows for
enough pressure to keep a 0% reading from being underpowered and
therefore variable.

4) Which of the following methods of inferring level from head measurement is

widely used in water/wastewater vessels and sumps?

a. Differential pressure transmitter

b. Bubbler
c. Level switches
d. Displacer

© 2016, ISA 1
EC00E (V1.2)
5) An analytical instrument is used to measure the quantity of mercury found in
air samples in an outgoing smokestack. Which of the following would NOT be
applicable?

a. Single component concentration analyzer

b. Environmental impact sensor
c. Mass spectrometer
d. Gas chromatograph

6) Which of the following will eliminate potential problems when using a pressure
differential transmitter?

a. Replenishing tubing liquid with a purge flow

b. Evaporating liquid from filled tubing
c. Changing density of the stored liquid
d. Increasing the pressure in the vapor space at the top of the tank

7) A biodiesel plant needs to control the separation of heavier soy oils from those
used to produce the fuel. Which of the following would be the BEST choice to
prevent rework and waste?

a. Measure the separated fuel oil for appropriate purity using lab analyzers.
b. Measure at the point of oil separation using process analyzers.
c. Measure the separated fuel oil for appropriate purity using process
analyzers.
d. Measure at the point of oil separation using lab analyzers.

8) The maximum flow rate at specified accuracy provided by a device is 20 gpm,

and the minimum is 4 gpm. The turndown ratio is

a. 1:4.
b. 1:5.
c. 5:1.
d. 20:1.

© 2016, ISA 2
EC00E (V1.2)
9) Which of the following is true of rotating paddle wheel measurement?

a. Measurement is based on a shift in resonant frequency.

b. It is less accurate and more expensive than a continuous level
measurement.
c. A buildup of material creates a stall and triggers a microswitch.
d. It has a very high MTBF number.

10) A biodiesel plant needs to control the separation of heavier soy oils from
those used to produce the fuel. This is one critical element in determining the
temperature at which the finished fuel will gel. Which of the following would
be the BEST choice to assure buyers that the product will have an
appropriate gel point?

a. Measure the separated fuel oil for appropriate purity using process
analyzers.
b. Measure the separated fuel oil for appropriate purity using lab analyzers.
c. Measure at the point of oil separation using process analyzers.
d. Measure at the point of oil separation using lab analyzers.

11) Which of the following pressure measurements refers to the amount of

pressure that is above or below atmospheric pressure?

a. Compound range
b. Column
c. Absolute
d. Vacuum

12) A fluid with a high Reynolds number indicates that the flow is

a. erratic.
b. transitional.
c. laminar.
d. turbulent.

© 2016, ISA 3
EC00E (V1.2)
13) A process analysis sensor is needed to measure concentrations of impurities
in a viscous fluid. The impurities are generally nonabrasive and inert, but
during a rare upset in operating conditions they can contain abrasive ferrous
materials. Which of the following would be the BEST device for this
application?

a. Delicate in-fluid sampling device

b. Inferential measurement device
c. Photoelectric sensor
d. Current laboratory test method using a centrifuge

14) Which of the following is true of most pressure measurement methods?

a. They are not able to measure a small differential pressure.

b. The sensor matches the digital or analog signal conditioning and
transmission.
c. They are sensitive to volume but not temperature
d. They measure pressure by sensing the deflection of the diaphragm.

15) Which of the following is generally true of measuring flow by differential

pressure?

a. Field calibration based on actual flow is required.

b. The measurements are accurate and are suitable for all kinds of liquids.
c. The measurement requires straight runs upstream and downstream.
d. Significant pressure loss is created.

16) Which of the following accurately describes representative sample

conditioning for a sample as compared to the original process stream?

a. It may change sample pressure/temperature/volume but not composition

because it must directly match the original.
b. It may change sample pressure/temperature/volume or composition as
long as it correlates to the original.
c. It requires that sample pressure/temperature/volume and composition
must directly match the original.
d. It may change sample pressure/temperature/volume or composition with
random variability from the original.

© 2016, ISA 4
EC00E (V1.2)
17) What is the advantage of connecting the pressure transmitter to the process
by a length of tubing?

a. It minimizes cost.
b. It provides easy access for service.
c. It eliminates the need for service.
d. It minimizes leakage.

18) Which of the following velocity measurement methods does not require an
obstruction in the flow path?

a. Vortex shedding flowmeter

b. Magnetic flowmeter
c. Orifice flowmeter
d. Turbine meter

19) When determining costs for a sample analyzer that requires a highly stable
environment, including temperature, which of the following would MOST
likely provide appropriate conditioning and encourage routine maintenance
but could significantly increase project costs?

a. Process analyzer isolated from the process loop

b. Environmentally controlled shelter
c. Boxed sample conditioning system
d. Hardened process analyzer installed in the process loop

20) Which of the following causes a constant offset for any measurement?

a. Zero error
b. Field calibration
c. Turndown ratio
d. Span error

© 2016, ISA 5
EC00E (V1.2)
21) Which of the following actions is associated with a vortex shedding
flowmeter?

a. Sound waves are sent through the following stream.

b. A bluff body/shedder bar is placed in the pipe.
c. A multi-bladed rotor is supported by bearings in the pipe.
d. Coils outside the pipe generate a pulsed DC magnetic field.

22) Which of the following is true regarding device selection and maintenance of
process analyzers?

a. Companies should always purchase the cheapest analyzers they can

find.
b. Complex process analyzers with microprocessors often have the ability
to determine when preventive maintenance is needed.
c. Process analyzers in the process loop have proven the most likely to
receive regular maintenance.
d. Annual maintenance should not cost more than one percent of an item's
purchase price.

23) An analog meter face is calibrated so that the lower range value is 0% at 1 V
and the upper range value is 100% at 5 V, with markings on the meter for
every 10%. What is the scale of the meter, and what is its resolution?

a. 1 to 5 V scale; resolution of 10%

b. 1 to 5 V scale; resolution of 100%
c. Full scale; resolution of 10%
d. Full scale; resolution of 100%

© 2016, ISA 6
EC00E (V1.2)
24) Which of the following is an example of zero suppression?

a. Calibrating a sensor to read 4 mA when a sensor reads a holding tank

as being empty when the tank has 0 gallons of fluid.
b. Convection keeps a fluid flowing through a system very slowly even
when the process is not active and the sensor is set to read this level of
flow as 0 gpm.
c. A sensor set to monitor a fluid level and triggering automatic refill when
the tank reads it is approaching 0 gallons so that the tank is never
allowed to be empty.
d. Changing the gain on a pressure sensor to read 3 psi even when the
pressure within the system is at 0 psi.

25) Which of the following level measurement methods can be external to the
tank?

a. Float
b. Radioactive
c. Capacitance
d. Ultrasonic

26) Which of the following is true of resistive temperature devices?

a. They respond quickly to changes in resistance since the heat conducts

quickly through the protective sheath.
b. They require the use of a bridge circuit to compensate for low or high
temperatures.
c. They are more accurate than thermocouples and can be used at high
temperatures
d. They rely on resistance change in a metal, with the resistance rising
linearly with temperature.

27) If you set the instrument zero to a negative value, what is this called?

a. Zero suppression
b. Zero elevation
c. Live zero
d. Zero based

© 2016, ISA 7
EC00E (V1.2)
28) Which of the following is an advantage of ultrasonic measurement?

a. It works well in high temperature situations.

b. It requires no contact with the process.
c. It eliminates the problem of surface foam.
d. It works well during heavy agitation of liquid.

29) An instrument that can be programmed and can perform self-diagnostics is

a. dumb.
b. smart.
c. digital only.
d. repeatable.

30) A process analytical device that uses feedback from the process it monitors
and provides adjustments through proportional control is an example of
which of the following?

a. Open loop control

b. Closed loop control
c. Safety monitoring
d. Environmental monitoring

31) In the past, when a plant had many individual single control loops, which of
the following needed to be done once to check and again to make
adjustments even though it caused delays and limited effective plant
production?

a. Pneumatic transmission comparisons

b. Touring the plant
c. Signal management
d. Taking laboratory samples and waiting for results

© 2016, ISA 8
EC00E (V1.2)