Engineering Profession &
Ethics
Practice_Questions
From Chapters 1-4
True or False
Acting professionally and ethically is
identical to acting morally.
False
True or False
Positive responsibility entails the notion that
engineers are expected to satisfy a more
demanding norm; the standard of care which
goes beyond basic job responsibilities as
defined by employment terms.
True
True or False
No matter how precisely we attempt to define a
concept, it will always remain insufficiently
specified so that some of its applications to
particular circumstances will remain problematic.
True
True or False
Utilitarian concern for beneficence involves
trying to minimize benefits and maximize harms
to the participants.
False
True or False
Middle way solutions come in handy when we
have convergence among the different ethical
frameworks such as utilitarianism and respect for
persons.
False
True or False
Engineers shall not accept compensation, financial
or otherwise, from more than one party for services
on the same project, or for services pertaining to the
same project, unless the circumstances are fully
disclosed and agreed to by all interested parties.
True
True or False
Engineers shall undertake assignments only when
qualified by education or experience in the
specific technical fields involved.
True
True or False
Rule utilitarian argues that there are some things
that we should not do, even to maximize utility or
benefits.
False
True or False
An ethical dilemma is a problem, situation, or
opportunity that requires an individual, group, or
organization to choose among several actions that
must be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or
unethical.
True
True or False
Universalizability may not be used for setting
ethical or legal precedents.
False
True or False
Utilitarianism and respect for persons are two
legal theories that are used to solve ethical
dilemmas.
False
True or False
Middle way solutions come in handy when the
ideals utilitarianism and respect for persons ideals
converge.
False
True or False
Engineers may not only be held ethically and
professionally responsible but also legally liable
for any wrongdoing.
True
True or False
Minimally, rights serve as a protective barrier,
shielding individuals from unjustified
infringements of their moral agency by others.
True
True or False
Often, moral disagreements turn out to be
disagreements over the relevant facts.
True
True or False
Engineers can, with the consent of all interested
parties, accept substantial gifts from suppliers or
vendors.
False
True or False
Engineers, unlike other professionals, rarely face
ethical dilemma.
False
True or False
Positive responsibility entails the notion that
engineers are expected to satisfy a more
demanding norm; the standard of care which goes
beyond basic job responsibilities as defined by
employment terms.
True
True or False
Engineering is not only an occupation;
it is a profession that has special
characteristics.
True
True or False
“Groupthink” refers to a practice where
individuals in groups come to agreement
about issues not requiring critical
thinking.
True
True or False
According to the line drawing techniques, ethical
cases may be classified as: Problematic, positive
or negative paradigms.
True
True or False
Egocentricity refers to the intentional
avoidance of truths that would be found
painful to confront self-consciously.
False
True or False
In general, it is easier to enforce positive rules
than negative ones and that is why professional
codes are formulated in terms of positive rules
that can be enforced.
False
True or False
There are no algorithms that can resolve ethical
problems in engineering, but there are ample
resources available for making good judgments.
True
Choose Correct Answer
1. From the list below, which is not a primary characteristic
of professional model?
A. Persuade governmental regulators that a great deal of
autonomy should be granted in the workplace.
B. Implicit trust relationship with the public.
C. Hold paramount the safety, health & welfare of the public.
D. May seek monopoly or at least considerable control.
Choose Correct Answer
2. The Rights Approach accords special
respect for:
A. Basic rights.
B. Rights to maintain the level of purpose
fulfillment an individual has already achieved.
C. Rights necessary to increase one’s level of
purpose fulfillment.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
3. Creative middle way between conflicting values is a
resolution in which:
A. All of the conflicting demands are at least partially met.
B. None of the conflicting demands are at least partially met.
C. Some of the conflicting demands are at least partially met.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
4. Line drawing techniques are used in the
analysis of ethical dilemmas to determine:
A. Malicious intent.
B. The rightness or wrongness of a course of
action.
C. Conflict of interest.
D. Bribery.
Choose Correct Answer
5. All of the following are true except:
A. Professionals are expected to utilize their dependent
judgment in carrying out their professional
responsibilities.
B. The expertise possessed by engineers is vitally
important to the public welfare.
C. In order to serve the public effectively, engineers must
maintain a high level of technical competence.
D. A high level of technical expertise without adherence to
ethical guidelines is as much a threat to public welfare as is
professional incompetence.
Choose Correct Answer
6. An ethical framework that seeks to create
the most good for the most people is:
A. Whistle blowing
B. Utilitarianism
C. Personal morality
D. Rights analysis
Choose Correct Answer
7. Integrity, accountability, and trust are
examples of:
A. Values.
B. Autonomy.
C. Well-being.
D. Inanimateness.
Choose Correct Answer
8. The practice of offering something (usually
money) in order to gain an illicit advantage is:
A. Fraud.
B. Cheating.
C. Bribery.
D. Facilitation.
Choose Correct Answer
9. Examining a specific action itself, rather
than the general rules governing it, to assess
whether it will result in the greatest utility is
considered as:
A. Act utilitarianism.
B. Rule utilitarianism.
C. Cost-benefit analysis.
D. Universalizability.
Choose Correct Answer
10. All of the following are true except:
A. Professions are based on a large knowledge base
requiring extensive training.
B. Professional skills are important to the wellbeing of
society.
C. Professions are self-regulating, in that they control the
training and evaluation processes that admit new persons to
the field.
D. Professionals have no autonomy in the workplace.
Choose Correct Answer
11. Appropriate ethical thinking requires
applying relevant facts using all of the
following except:
A. Legal rules.
B. Moral concepts.
C. Criteria of common morality.
D. Personal beliefs.
Choose Correct Answer
12. The professional model is based on:
A. Gaining a monopoly over certain services to
increase profit.
B. Avoid applying legal regulation.
C. Social contract.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
13. From an engineering and ethical
perspectives, controversial key terms include:
A. Paradigms.
B. Utilitarianism.
C. Universalizability.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
14. The problem of many hands usually occurs
in large organizations where many individuals
had a hand in causing:
A. Welfare.
B. Harm.
C. Negligence.
D. None of the above
Choose Correct Answer
15. Fear of acknowledging mistakes, losing
jobs, punishment, retribution or other bad
consequences is considered as:
A. Self-Deception.
B. Self-Interest.
C. Microscopic Vision.
D. An impediment to responsible action.
Choose Correct Answer
16. The term professional character refers to:
A. Those character traits that serve to define the kind of
person one is, professionally speaking.
B. The set of character traits that would make an engineer a
good engineer.
C. Professional expertise in engineering includes not only
the obvious proficiencies in mathematics, physics, and
engineering science but also those capacities and
sensitivities that only come with a certain level of
experience.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
17. Provisions that are negative and
prohibitive in character such as do not, shall
not, only, etc. are central to:
A. Preventive ethics.
B. Aspirational ethics.
C. Personal morality.
D. Norms.
Choose Correct Answer
18. Which of the following is not an element of
professional ethics:
A. Regulation and laws.
B. Values.
C. Moral principles.
D. Interaction rules.
Choose Correct Answer
19. A situation in which an engineer’s loyalty and
obligations may be compromised because of
self-interests or other loyalties and obligations
would be best described as:
A. Conceptual issue.
B. Conflict of interest.
C. Concern of interest.
D. Interaction rules.
Choose Correct Answer
20. Line drawing techniques are used in the
analysis of ethical dilemmas to determine all
of the following except:
A. Malicious intent.
B. The rightness or wrongness of a course of
action.
C. If the course of action may be ethically
justified.
D. Negative and positive paradigm cases.
Choose Correct Answer
21. The accepted standards of right and wrong
that are usually applied to personal behavior
are:
A. Etiquettes.
B. Ethics.
C. Laws.
D. Morals.
Choose Correct Answer
22. Aspirational ethics emphasize the idea of:
A. Codes that are formulated in terms of rules that can
be enforced.
B. Provisions that are negative and prohibitive in
character.
C. Avoiding disaster cases.
D. Promoting positive and welfare aspects of
engineering.
Choose Correct Answer
23. Engineers commit to a code of ethics to:
A. Avoid liability.
B. Avoid applying legal regulation.
C. Endorse high performance standards.
D. Ensure safety of their products.
Choose Correct Answer
24. Challenges of applying the line drawing techniques
include:
A. What one decides in one case would remain confined to
that particular case.
B. The more ambiguous the case, the more we do not have
to know about its particular circumstances to be able to
determine whether it is ethically acceptable or wrong.
C. Imposing a line of demarcation between some of the
cases in a series involves an element of arbitrariness.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
25. Engineering is a profession that has the
following characteristics:
A. Control of services.
B. Autonomy in the workplace.
C. Claim to ethical regulation.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
26. Applying engineering standards requires:
A. Risk forecasting.
B. Sound judgment.
C. Sense of humor.
D. Whistleblowing.
Choose Correct Answer
27. Liability for harm involves:
A. Malicious intent.
B. Recklessness.
C. Negligence.
D. Any of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
28. Egocentricity refers to the:
A. Intentional avoidance of truths that would be found
painful to confront selfconsciously.
B. Lack of imagination from not looking in the right places
for information.
C. Tendency to interpret situations from very limited
perspectives.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
29. Applying the rule of universalizability means that:
A. Whatever is right or wrong in one situation is right or
wrong in any relevantly similar situation.
B. Legal precedents set by common law are expanded to
ethical dilemmas.
C. Statutes are applied to ethical dilemmas.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
30. The Act Utilitarian Approach focuses
attention on:
A. Malicious intent.
B. The consequences of particular actions.
C. Having commonly accepted rules that enable us
to predict reliably what others will do.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
31. In engineering ethics, it may sometimes be
difficult to:
A. Do what is right.
B. Know what is right.
C. Understand what is right.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
32. Reducing pollution would be a good
example of:
A. Personal ethics.
B. Common morality.
C. Aspirational ethics.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
33. An engineer who works for the interest of a company
alerted the government that her company did not meet
government test standards while her managers attempted
to show the opposite. This would be considered as:
A. Violating her company’s code of ethics.
B. Complying with her engineering professional code of ethics.
C. Violating the standard of care toward the company.
D. Conflict of interest with the company’s interest.
Choose Correct Answer
34. Responsibility for harm is considered as:
A. Positive responsibility.
B. Negative responsibility.
C. Neutral responsibility.
D. Motivational responsibility.
Choose Correct Answer
35. Impediments to responsible action include:
A. Autonomy.
B. Social contract.
C. Ignorance.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
36. If you are driving at a speed of 30 km per hour in a
zone that has a speed limit of 60 km per hour while texting
on your mobile phone using WatsApp application. You
suddenly have an accident with another car causing bodily
harm to its passengers; your act would be best qualified as:
A. Malicious.
B. Intentional.
C. Reckless.
D. Negligent.
Choose Correct Answer
37. The Golden Rule approach requires:
A. Applying utilitarianism.
B. Avoiding universalizability.
C. Using heuristics.
D. Viewing oneself as both agent and recipient.
Choose Correct Answer
38. Justice requires avoiding the use of
discrimination in the selection of research
participants, with special attention given to
particularly vulnerable groups including:
A. The elderly.
B. Powerful politicians.
C. Influential lobby groups.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
39. From an ethical perspective, easy choices can be
made when:
A. We are not able to honor some real and important
values in a way that we consider desirable.
B. One value clearly has a higher priority than the other.
C. There are situations in which two or more moral rules
or duties seem to apply and in which they appear to
imply different and incompatible moral judgments.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
40. When performing engineering experiments, the
notion of respect for persons ideal mandates that
participants:
A. Give informed consent.
B. Be convinced to participate in the experiments.
C. Sign legal papers without necessarily reading them
carefully.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
41. Social contract involves the notion of:
A. Codes that are formulated in terms of rules that
can be enforced.
B. Implicit trust relationship between the
professional and the public.
C. Avoiding disaster cases.
D. Promoting positive and welfare aspects of
engineering.
Choose Correct Answer
42. Preventive ethics include provisions that are:
A. Positive in nature.
B. Prohibitive in character.
C. Negligent.
D. Motivational.
Choose Correct Answer
43 Which of the following approaches is criticized
for the fact that the minority has been excluded
from getting benefits:
A. Golden rule approach.
B. Cost-benefit approach.
C. Rights approach.
D. Self-defeating approach.
Choose Correct Answer
44. If you are driving at a speed of 200 km per hour
in a zone that has a speed limit of 100 km per hour
and you have an accident with another car causing
bodily harm to its passengers; your act would be
qualified as:
A. Malicious.
B. Intentional.
C. Reckless.
D. Negligent.
Choose Correct Answer
45. Factual issues are:
A. Always very difficult to resolve.
B. Sometimes very difficult to resolve.
C. Always very easy to resolve.
D. None of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
46. The Act Utilitarian Approach focuses attention
on:
A. Malicious intent.
B. The consequences of particular actions.
C. Having commonly accepted rules that enable us to
predict reliably what others will do.
D. All of the above.
Choose Correct Answer
47. The term “good works” refers to:
A. Exemplary actions that may go beyond what is
professionally required.
B. Heroic ethical behavior.
C. Self-sacrifice beyond going the extra mile. D. None
of the above
Choose Correct Answer
48. When one value clearly has a higher priority than
the other, from a moral standpoint we can call this:
A. An easy choice.
B. A difficult choice.
C. Positive paradigm.
D. Negative paradigm
Choose Correct Answer
49. Responsibility of engineers has to do with
accountability for what one
A. does in the future
B. does in the present
C. did in the past
D. all of these
Choose Correct Answer
50. The professional model may seek monopoly or at
least a considerable control, but this is in order to
A. protect the public from incompetent providers.
B. gain monopoly over certain services to increase
profit.
C. persuade governmental regulators that a great deal of
autonomy should be granted in the workplace.
D. make profit within the boundaries set by law.
Choose Correct Answer
51. In the act-utilitarian approach, the course of
action taken depends on
A. the action respecting the moral agency of
others
B. the consequences of that action
C. the monetary benefit of that action
D. placing one’s self in the position of the
recipient
Choose Correct Answer
52. Line-drawing technique involves
A. comparing utilitarian with respect for persons
approaches
B. comparing problematic paradigms against
positive and negative paradigms
C. comparing one’s knowledge on solving moral
issues
D. none of these
Choose Correct Answer
[Link] effectively reduce liability exposure, the
professional engineer should:
a. provide the client with frequent progress
reports.
b. pursue continuing educational opportunities.
c. maintain professional standards in practice.
d. work with the supervision of a senior
engineer.
Choose Correct Answer
[Link] Ahmad decides to substitute an inferior
and cheaper part in a product he is designing for one
of his firm’s large customers. He assumes that the
customer will not check the product closely enough
to detect the inferior part or will not have enough
technical knowledge to know that the part is inferior.
This is a:
a. standard of care example.
b. convergence example.
c. conflict of interest example.
d. self – defeating approach example.
Choose Correct Answer
[Link] are the steps in confronting moral
dilemmas?
a. Identify the relevant moral factors and reasons
b. Get suggestions and weigh all the relevant moral
factors and reasons in light of the facts before
producing a judgement
c. Rank the moral considerations and consider
alternative courses as ways to resolving dilemmas
d. All the above
Choose Correct Answer
[Link] a decision that is likely to result in the
greatest benefit relative to cost, seems to fall under:
a. Technological determinism
b. Risk management ethics
c. Utilitarian ethics
d. Respect for persons’ ethics
Choose Correct Answer
[Link] shall not reveal facts, data, or
information without the prior consent of the client
except as authorized by law”.
This statement is an example of:
a. Good works
b. Aspirational ethics
c. Environmental consciousness
d. Negative ethics
Choose Correct Answer
58. A plant discharges a pollutant into the local river
where it is ingested by fish. People eat the fish and
experience health problems. Eliminating the discharge is
so expensive which will lead to many leaving their jobs
and an economic crisis in the community. What kind of
analysis should be used in this case?
a. Cost-benefit analysis
b. Framing problem analysis
c. Inanimateness analysis
d. General principle analysis
Choose Correct Answer
[Link] Gert formulated a list of 10 “moral rules”
that capture the basic elements of common morality.
Which of these is Not one of Gert’s rules?
a. Don’t deprive of freedom
b. Don’t learn
c. Don’t cause pain
d. Don’t kill
Choose Correct Answer
60. Structural cracks in the foundation of a residential
building, that was designed by a relative of yours,
started to appear after a heavy storm. You, as a
structurer engineer, was asked by the legal firm
investigating the problem to assess and give your
expert opinion on the case. Accepting the task might
be considered as:
a. Bribery
b. Conflict of interest
c. Conflict in your profession
d. Outside your line of duties
Choose Correct Answer
61. An engineer is confronted with a moral ethical
dilemma. He went over previous similar cases to
solve the issue. Which of the following rules is he
applying?
a. The Golden Rule
b. Act Utilitarian
c. Rule utilitarian
d. Universalizability
Choose Correct Answer
62. The utilitarian ideal of maximizing good
consequences and minimizing bad results and the
ideal of respect for persons are two ways of thinking
about moral issues that make use of the idea of:
a. The rule utilitarian approach
b. The act utilitarian approach
c. The golden rule
d. Universalizability
Choose Correct Answer
63. What is meant by ‘‘safe’’ would be considered
as a:
a. Conceptual question.
b. Moral question.
c. Professional question.
d. Application question
Choose Correct Answer
64. Assume that the economic costs are roughly equal
for two safety devices in an automotive design. Then
which safety device would you choose according to
the Act Utilitarian Approach?
a. The one that reduces the most injuries and fatalities
b. The one that I would like others to use on my car
c. The one that is in accordance with safety rules
d. The universal one
Choose Correct Answer
65. A key requirement for framing ethical problems
is:
a. To determine not only relevant facts, but also
irrelevant facts
b. To have a good understanding of the underlying
ethical concepts
c. To focus on known facts and ignore the unknown
facts
d. To treat all facts as equally important
Topic/Scenario Discussion
1. A high level of technical expertise without adherence to the ethical
guidelines is as much a threat to public welfare as is professional
incompetence. Explain the statement and justify.
▪ Importance of adhering to the ethical standards as the mainstream in engineer’s
judgment and practices in the engineering profession.
▪ Through the autonomy the engineers have while performing their tasks and serving
the public welfare for the sake of good and moral aim, engineers are expected to
utilize their independent judgment in carrying out their professional responsibilities.
▪ For that, ethical principles have been adopted in engineering codes of ethics as part of
an engineer’s responsibility to the public;
Make sure you understand the concept of all the following
topics in chapters 1-4 by referring to the course slides.
Chapter 1
• Engineering ethics vs. morality.
• Engineering profession.
• Professionalism models: Business vs.
professional (social contract).
• Common morality, personal morality and
professional ethics.
• Preventive vs. aspirational ethics.
• Good works.
• Codes of ethics.
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Chapter 2
• Engineering responsibility through
standards.
• The standard of care.
• Negative responsibility.
• Liability: Intentional, recklessness or
negligence.
• The problem of many hands.
• Impediments to responsible action.
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Chapter 3: Framing the Problem
• Facts: Relevant, known, importance.
• Key and controversial terms.
• Conceptual vs. application.
• Ross’s Prima Facie duties (utilitarian).
• Gert's List of moral rules (respect for persons).
• Universalizability and moral agency.
• Utilitarianism: cost–benefit, act, rule.
• Respect for Persons: Golden rule, self-defeating,
rights approach.
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Chapter 4: Resolving Problems
• Respect for autonomy, moral agency,
informed consent.
• Ethics and design (analogy).
• Line drawing technique.
• Easy vs. difficult choices.
• Conflict of interest.
• Creative middle way solutions.
• Convergence and divergence.
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