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.
Factored Loads and Tributary Width: FE Civil practice problem 3
For work package 399 on the coastal pump replacement, the project controls engineer performs a contractor change evaluation and converts a floor area load of 42 psf over tributary width 11 ft to a beam line load. What line load is applied?
- A0.642 kip/ft
- B0.242 kip/ft
- C0.670 kip/ft
- D0.462 kip/ft
Show the answer and worked solution
Answer: D — 0.462 kip/ft
Worked solution
- Step 1. Multiply area load by tributary width
w = q b / 1000
- Step 2. Substitute values
w = 42(11)/1000 = 0.462 kip/ft
Why the other choices are wrong
- Choice A
- This total sits higher than q*b/1000 by an amount that does not trace back to a single misapplied conversion factor in that formula; the tributary width multiplies the area load directly, and then the product is divided by 1000 to reach kip per foot.
- Choice B
- This figure falls short of the product q*b/1000 by a margin that cannot be tied to one clean arithmetic slip such as a misplaced decimal; the correct line load comes straight from multiplying the psf load by the tributary width in feet and dividing by 1000.
- Choice C
- This result runs about 45% above the value from w = q*b/1000, which is more than a rounding slip or a units mix-up could explain; multiplying the given area load by the tributary width and dividing by 1000 is the only step the reduction needs.