Original question written by FE Exam AI Prep from the public FE Civil exam specification. Before release, a solver model re-derived the answer twice from the question alone, without its answer key, and a critic model checked the result, and the arithmetic was re-run as an executable calculation. No licensed engineer reviews these questions. It is not an NCEES question and does not come from any NCEES practice exam. FE Exam AI Prep is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCEES.
Future Worth of a Single Payment: FE Civil practice problem 3
For the Granite Crossing box culvert extension, a resident engineer preparing a contractor submittal comparison compounds a present cost of $30000 using a future-worth factor (F/P, i, n) = 1.2. What future cost is estimated?
- A$38798
- B$42554
- C$52686
- D$36000
Show the answer and worked solution
Answer: D — $36000
Worked solution
- Step 1. Apply future-worth factor
F = P(F/P,i,n)
- Step 2. Substitute values
F = 30000(1.2) = 36000
Why the other choices are wrong
- Choice C
- This future cost sits about $16200 above the correctly compounded $36000, which does not come from one identifiable slip in F = P * (F/P,i,n); multiply the $30000 present cost by the stated 1.2 factor exactly once instead of adding extra compounding.
- Choice A
- This total lands about $6480 above the verified $36000 without matching a single specific misstep in the compounding step; apply the given 1.2 factor to the $30000 present cost exactly as stated rather than a larger multiplier.
- Choice B
- This future cost falls about $7920 short of the correctly compounded $36000 and is not explained by one clean arithmetic slip; multiply the full $30000 present cost by the stated 1.2 factor rather than a reduced version of it.