Civil Engineering

Licensure Examination

MSTE 1
March 2026 Refresher

INSTRUCTION: Select the correct answer for each of 7.) A student in an algebra course has test scores of 64
the following questions. Mark only one answer for each and 78. What score on a third test will give the student
item by shading the box corresponding to the letter of an average of 80?
your choice on the answer sheet provided. STRICTLY A. 98 C. 96
NO ERASURES ALLOWED. B. 94 D. 92

1.) In electrical theory, the formula 8.) The first three terms of an arithmetic sequence are
1 1 1 20,16.5,and 13. Find the fifteenth term.
= + A. -27 C. -30
𝑅 𝑅1 𝑅2 B. -28 D. -29
is used to find the total resistance R when two
resistors and are connected in parallel. Solve for R1. 9.) Each swing of a pendulum (from far left to far right)
𝑅𝑅2
A. 𝑅 +𝑅
𝑅𝑅2
C. 𝑅 −𝑅 is 3 in. shorter than the preceding swing. The first
2 2 swing is 8 ft. Determine the total distance traveled
𝑅2 −𝑅 𝑅2 +𝑅 during the first 12 swings.
B. D.
𝑅𝑅2 𝑅𝑅2 A. 954 in C. 495 in
B. 594 in D. 459 in
2.) Hema’s age is 5 years more than twice Hari’s age.
Suresh’s age is 13 years less than 10 times Hari’s 10.) Assuming air resistance is negligible, a small object
age. If Suresh is 3 times as old as Hema, how old is that is dropped from a hot air balloon falls 16 feet
Hema? during the first second, 48 feet during the second
A. 14 C. 17 second, 80 feet during the third second, 112 feet
B. 18 D. 19 during the fourth second, and so on. Find an
expression for the distance the object falls in n
3.) Two pumps are available for filling a gasoline storage seconds.
tank. Pump A, used alone, can fill the tank in 3 hours, A. 13n2 C. 16n2
2
and pump B, used alone, can fill it in 4 hours. If both B. 14n D. 15n2
pumps are used simultaneously, how long will it take
to fill the tank? SITUATION (Items 11-12): A man wishes to save money
A. 1 5/7 hrs C. 3 5/7 hrs by setting aside 1 cent the first day,2 cents the second
B. 2 5/7 hrs D. 4 5/7 hrs day,4 cents the third day, and so on.

4.) Two taps can fill a tank individually in 10 min and 20 11.) If he continues to double the amount set aside each
min respectively without any leakage. However, there day, how much must he set aside on the fifteenth day?
is a leakage at the bottom which can empty the filled A. $153.84 C. $143.84
tank in 40 min. In how much time will both taps fill the B. $163.84 D. $133.84
tank with leakage?
A. 8 min C. 10 min 12.) Assuming he does not run out of money, what is the
B. 7 min D. 15 min total amount saved at the end of the 30 days?
A. $11,737,418.23 C. $10,737,418.23
5.) The area, a, of a picture projected on a movie screen B. $12,737,418.23 D. $13,737,418.23
varies directly as the square of the distance, d, from
the projector to the screen. If a projector at a distance 13.) A manufacturing company that has just located in a
of 25 feet projects a picture with an area of 100 square small community will pay two million dollars per year
feet, what is the area of the projected picture when the in salaries. It has been estimated that 60% of these
projector is at a distance of 40 feet? salaries will be spent in the local area, and 60% of the
A. 265 ft2 C. 562 ft2 money spent will again change hands within the
B. 256 ft 2
D. 526 ft2 community. This process, called the multiplier effect,
will be repeated ad infinitum. Find the total amount of
6.) The weight that can be safely supported by a beam local spending that will be generated by company
with a rectangular cross section varies directly as the salaries.
product of the width and square of the depth of the A. $3,000,000 C. $3,200,000
cross section and inversely as the length of the beam. B. $3,100,000 D. $3,300,000
If a 2-inch by 4-inch beam that is 8 feet long safely
supports a load of 500 pounds, what weight can be 14.) A chemist has 10 milliliters of a solution that
safely supported by a 2-inch by 8-inch beam that is 10 contains a 30% concentration of acid. How many
feet long? milliliters of pure acid must be added in order to
A. 1700 lb C. 1600 lb increase the concentration to 50%?
B. 1400 lb D. 1500 lb A. 3 ml C. 5 ml
B. 4 ml D. 6 ml

Prepared by: Engr. Correa Dream Big, Pray Big, Believe Big.
 Civil Engineering
Licensure Examination

MSTE 1
March 2026 Refresher

15.) Antonio is a chemist and needs 15 liters of a 25% 20.) With some sharp reasoning, you ought to be able
hydrochloric acid solution. He discovers he is out of to determine the last member of the sequence for
the 25% hydrochloric acid solution. He checks his which the first 20 members are: 11, 31, 71, 91, 32, 92,
supply shelf and finds he has a large supply of both 13, 73, 14, 34, 74, 35, 95, 16, 76, 17, 37, 97, 38, 98,
40% and 10% hydrochloric acid solutions. He decides ____ ?
to use the 40% and 10% solutions to make 15 l of a A. 69 C. 89
25% solution. How many liters of the 40% solution B. 79 D. 99
and of the 10% solution should he mix?
A. 8.5 l C. 9.5 l 21.) For the Rocky Mountain and Central states, the
B. 7.5 l D. 10.5 l area magnitude formula has the form

16.) Two cities are connected by means of a highway. A R = 2.3 log(A + 14,000) – 6.6
car leaves city B at 1:00 PM and travels at a constant
rate of 40 mi/hr toward city C. Thirty minutes later, If an earthquake has magnitude 4 on the Richter
another car leaves B and travels toward C at a scale, estimate the area A of the region that will feel
constant rate of 55 mi/hr. If the lengths of the cars are the quake.
disregarded, at what time will the second car reach A. 24,615.9 mi2 C. 26,615.9 mi2
2
the first car? B. 25,615.9 mi D. 27,615.9 mi2
A. 2:20 PM C. 2:40 PM
B. 2:30 PM D. 2:50 PM 22.) If you ignore friction, the amount of time required
2𝑎
17.) The first Earth Day was observed on April 22, 1970. for a box to slide down an inclined plane is √ ,
𝑔 sin 𝜃 cos 𝜃
Since then, the week of April 22 has been Earth Week, where a is the horizontal distance defined by the
a time for showing support for environmental causes. inclined plane, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and
Fans Café is offering a reduced refill rate for soft 𝜃 is the angle of the inclined plane. For what values of
drinks during Earth Week for anyone purchasing a 𝜃 is the expression undefined?
Fans mug. The mug costs $2.95 filled with 16 ounces A. 30° or 90° C. 30° or 60°
of soft drink. The refill price is 50¢. A 16-ounce drink B. 0° or 60° D. 0° or 90°
in a disposable cup costs $0.85. What is the
approximate break-even point for buying the mug and 23.) The figure below shows a stretch of roadway where
refills in comparison to buying soft drinks in the curves are arcs of circles. Find the length of the
disposable cups? road from point A to point E.
A. (6, 4.95) C. (8, 6.95)
B. (7, 5.95) D. (9, 7.95)

18.) An airplane flew with the wind for 30 minutes and

returned the same distance in 45 minutes. If the
cruising speed of the airplane was 320 mi/hr, what
was the speed of the wind?
A. 44 mi/hr C. 64 mi/hr
B. 66 mi/hr D. 46 mi/hr A. 2.35 mi C. 3.25 mi
B. 3.52 mi D. 5.23 mi
19.) A passenger ferry makes trips from a town to an
island community that is 7 miles downshore from the 24.) A flagpole 40 feet high stands on top of the
town and 3 miles off a straight shoreline. As shown in Wentworth Building. From a point in front of Bailey’s
Figure, the ferry travels along the shoreline to some Drugstore, the angle of elevation for the top of the pole
point and then proceeds directly to the island. If the is 54° 54, and the angle of elevation for the bottom of
ferry travels 12 mi/hr along the shoreline and 10 mi/hr the pole is 47° 30. How high is the building?
as it moves out to sea, determine the routes that have
a travel time of 45 minutes.

A. 1.9 miles C. 3.9 miles

A. 132 ft C. 231 ft
B. 2.9 miles D. 4.9 miles
B. 123 ft D. 213 ft

Prepared by: Engr. Correa Dream Big, Pray Big, Believe Big.
 Civil Engineering
Licensure Examination

MSTE 1
March 2026 Refresher

25.) The Cape Hatteras lighthouse on the North 29.) If the tunnel can be dug at a rate of 3 ft/hr, how
Carolina coast was built in 1870 and rises 208 feet many hours will it take to reach the child?
above sea level. From the top of the lighthouse, the A. 17 C. 19
lighthouse keeper observes a yacht and a barge B. 18 D. 20
along the same line of sight. The angle of depression
for the yacht is 20°, and the angle of depression for 30.) A cathedral is located on a hill, as shown in the
the barge is 12° 30’. For safety purposes, the keeper figure. When the top of the spire is viewed from the
thinks that the two sea vessels should be at least 300 base of the hill, the angle of elevation is 48°. When it
feet apart. If they are less than 300 feet, she plans to is viewed at a distance of 200 feet from the base of
R sound the horn. How far apart are these vessels? the hill, the angle of elevation is 41°. The hill rises at
A. 166.8 ft C. 366.8 ft an angle of 32°. Approximate the height of the
B. 266.8 ft D. 466.8 ft cathedral.

26.) A surveyor sights a tower in the direction

N40°E,walks north 100 yards, and sights the same
tower at N59°E. Approximate the distance from the
second sighting to the tower.
A. 167.4 yards C. 197.4 yards
B. 177.4 yards D. 187.4 yards

27.) Two girls with two-way radios are at the intersection

of two country roads that meet at a 105° (see the
figure). One begins walking in a northerly direction
along one road at a rate of 5 mi/hr at the same time A. 150 ft C. 250 ft
the other walks east along the other road at the same B. 450 ft D. 350 ft
rate. If each radio has a range of 10 miles, how long
will the girls maintain contact? 31.) The figure at the right is a side view of three rollers
that are tangent to one another. If roller A turns at 120
revolutions per minute, how many revolutions per
minute do rollers B and C turn?

A. 1 hr & 26 mins C. 1 hr & 36 mins

B. 1 hr & 16 mins D. 1 hr & 46 mins A. 65 rpm C. 85 rpm
B. 75 rpm D. 95 rpm
SITUATION (Items 28-29): A child is trapped 45 feet
down an abandoned mine shaft that slants at an angle 32.) Domingo decides to ride the Ferris wheel at the
of 78° from the horizontal. A rescue tunnel is to be dug local carnival. When he gets into the seat that is at the
50 feet from the shaft opening (see the figure). bottom of the Ferris wheel, he is 4 feet above the
ground. Suppose the radius of the Ferris wheel is only
30 feet. How far above the ground is Domingo after
the Ferris wheel rotates 300°?

28.) At what angle θ should the tunnel be dug?

A. 37° C. 57°
B. 47° D. 67° A. 18 ft C. 20 ft
B. 19 ft D. 21 ft

Prepared by: Engr. Correa Dream Big, Pray Big, Believe Big.
 Civil Engineering
Licensure Examination

MSTE 1
March 2026 Refresher

33.) A reconnaissance airplane P, flying at 10,000 feet

above a point R on the surface of the water, spots a
submarine S at an angle of depression of 37° and a
tanker T at an angle of depression of 21°, as shown
in the figure. In addition, ∠𝑆𝑃𝑇 is found to be 110°.
Approximate the distance between the submarine and
the tanker.

A. 7 mi C. 9 mi
B. 8 mi D. 10 mi

SITUATION (Items 34-35): The manufacturer of a

computerized projection system recommends that a
projection unit be mounted on the ceiling as shown in
the figure. The distance from the end of the mounting
bracket to the center of the screen is 85.5 inches, and
the angle of depression is 30°.

34.) If the thickness of the screen is disregarded, how

far from the wall should the bracket be mounted?
A. 74.50 in C. 74.05 in
B. 47.05 in D. 47.50 in

35.) If the bracket is 18 inches long and the screen is

6 feet high, determine the distance from the ceiling to
the top edge of the screen.
A. 42.57 in C. 24.57 in
B. 24.75 in D. 42.75 in

Prepared by: Engr. Correa Dream Big, Pray Big, Believe Big.