MATH PROBLEMS (MP REVIEW FILE)

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 mid-point. 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. 90.2º
b. 100.48º
c. 50.50º
d. 85.4º

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 o’clock will the angle between the
hands of the clock be bisected by the line connecting the center of
the clock and the 3 o’clock 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, Peter’s boat goes 4 times as fast as the current in
the river. He takes a 15-mile 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 mid-point. 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 6-horsepower 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?.

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?

19. 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?

KEY ANSWER

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?

Together they release: x + (x + 50) = 330

So 2x+50=330
2x=280
x=140
So the drainage rates of the 2 pipes are 140 L/min and 190 L/min.

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.

Solution

The volume of a rectangular prism is given by area of base × height

The rate at which the tank is being filled is 1 liter per minute which
we need to convert

1 liter = 1 dm3

But 1 dm = 10 cm. Hence 1 liter = (10 cm)3 = 1000 cm3

The height h of the water is related to the volume by

volume = area of base × h

In one minute the volume increases by 1 liter or 1000 cm3 and the
height increases by

h = volume / area of base = 1000 cm3 / 100 cm2 = 10 cm

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?

Solution

Let x be the length of the edge of the original cube. When increased
to twice its original size it becomes 2 x which gives a volume of

2x × 2x × 2x = 8x3

The volume is known. Hence

8x3 = 64,000

x3 = 8,000 which gives x = 20

The area of one face of the original (before the increase) is given by
x2

x2 = 202 = 400 square centimeters

60. How many kilograms of water must be evaporated from 10 kg of

an 8% salt solution to produce a 25% salt solution? Hint...10*.08=
(10-X).25

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?

Together they release: x + (x + 50) = 330, So 2x+50=330…2x=280

x=140
So the drainage rates of the 2 pipes are 140 L/min and 190 L/min.

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.

Solution
The volume of a rectangular prism is given by

area of base × height

The rate at which the tank is being filled is 1 liter per minute which
we need to convert

1 liter = 1 dm3

But 1 dm = 10 cm. Hence

1 liter = (10 cm)3 = 1000 cm3

The height h of the water is related to the volume by

volume = area of base × h

In one minute the volume increases by 1 liter or 1000 cm3 and the
height increases by h = volume / area of base = 1000 cm3 / 100
cm2 = 10 cm

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?

Solution

Let x be the length of the edge of the original cube. When increased
to twice its original size it becomes 2 x which gives a volume of

2x × 2x × 2x = 8x3

The volume is known. Hence

8x3 = 64,000

x3 = 8,000 which gives x = 20

The area of one face of the original (before the increase) is given by
x2
x2 = 202 = 400 square centimeters