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MODU – Chief Engineer, Revision & Practice Exams

MODU – Chief Engineer. Built from official USCG NMC sample examinations (public domain).
Content last updated 12 June 2026

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The real exam is passed module by module: Rules of the Road requires 90%, most other modules 70%. Chart-plotting modules are taken on paper and not included.

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Frequently asked questions

What score do I need to pass the MODU – Chief Engineer exam?

You must pass each module separately. Most modules require 70% to pass.

What modules are on the MODU – Chief Engineer exam?

The exam covers 3 modules: Motor Plants, Engineering Safety & Environmental Protection, General Subjects.

How many practice questions are available for MODU – Chief Engineer?

This page includes free sample questions drawn from the official USCG sample examinations, with a full bank of around 175 questions across all modules available with lifetime access.

Are these real USCG exam questions?

Every question comes from the U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center's published sample examinations, which are U.S. government works in the public domain. Wheelhouse Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard.

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Sample MODU – Chief Engineer practice questions

A selection of free questions from the official USCG sample examinations. Use the interactive modules above for timed, scored drills.

With no environmental forces acting on the vessel, the center of gravity of an inclined vessel is vertically aligned with the __________.

  1. longitudinal centerline
  2. metacenter ✓
  3. center of flotation
  4. original vertical centerline

When new piping sections have been fabricated for installation in a hydraulic system, prior to installation the piping should be __________.

  1. descaled by using a pickling solution ✓
  2. hydrostatically tested to 100% of maximum working pressure
  3. cleaned using a water-based detergent
  4. all of the above

Leadership style sometimes must change with the readiness level of the employees. Which of the following employee readiness level scenarios would be best suited for adopting a delegating leadership style?

  1. Where the employees are able and willing or confident. ✓
  2. Where the employees are able but unwilling or insecure.
  3. Where the employees are unable and unwilling or insecure.
  4. Where the employees are unable but willing or confident.
Show all 30 sample questions with answers & explanations

Which of the following shipboard groups would be an example of an informal group?

  1. Those officers and crew assigned to the engineering department of a ship.
  2. Those officers and crew assigned to a particular ship.
  3. Those officers and crew assigned to a maintenance task on a ship. ✓
  4. Those officers and crew assigned to the safety committee of a ship.

Vessel special surveys are conducted how often in the life of a vessel?

  1. Every 5 years after the anniversary date of construction or last special survey. ✓
  2. Every 5 years after the anniversary date of construction always.
  3. Every 2 1/2 years after the anniversary date of construction or last special survey.
  4. Annually on the anniversary date of the last survey.

There are many tasks to carry out prior to and during bunkering. What is the best way to insure no task is missed?

  1. Use of the certificate of inspection.
  2. Use of the declaration of inspection.
  3. Use of a bunkering safety checklist. ✓
  4. Use of the vessel oil pollution response plan.

What type of maintenance system would be associated with accomplishing maintenance after a machinery breakdown?

  1. Predictive maintenance system
  2. Planned maintenance system
  3. Corrective maintenance system ✓
  4. Condition-based maintenance system

As a management level engineering officer, you are apt to be the primary investigator investigating the root cause of the failure of a piece of machinery. Besides collecting and preserving the physical evidence of the failure and interviewing key personnel, which of the following supplemental information should be considered? I) Onboard operating and maintenance procedures II) Historical operating and maintenance records III) Technical manuals and specifications IV) Personnel training records

  1. I, II, and III only.
  2. I, III, and IV only.
  3. II, III, and IV only.
  4. I, II, III, and IV. ✓

In general, the thermal bulb for a thermal expansion valve used in a reciprocating air conditioning system is usually charged with what substance?

  1. bees wax
  2. distilled water
  3. the same refrigerant as the system ✓
  4. mercuric sulfate

A room humidistat initiates the lowering of the humidity of the conditioned supply air to a space, while the actual process is accomplished by what means?

  1. lowering both the cooling coil temperature and the reheater temperature
  2. raising the cooling coil temperature and lowering the reheater temperature
  3. lowering the cooling coil temperature and raising the reheater temperature ✓
  4. raising both the cooling coil temperature and the reheater temperature

When analyzing indicator card diagrams you are calculating the work output from the cylinder by obtaining the area within the curve of what type of diagram?

  1. pressure/volume ✓
  2. temperature/entropy
  3. pressure/temperature
  4. pressure/enthalpy

Worn diesel engine intake valve guides can result in __________.

  1. increased engine breathing efficiency
  2. excessive valve lash
  3. excessive lube oil consumption ✓
  4. lower than normal fuel consumption

One experiences evidence of high temperature corrosion on diesel engine combustion space components. This is exhibited by 'wire drawing' marks on exhaust valves/seats or metal reduction on cylinder heads. What causes this degradation of components?

  1. Excessive combustion temperatures.
  2. Water contamination of the fuel.
  3. Vanadium, sodium and sulfur in the fuel. ✓
  4. Improper fuel injection/combustion in cylinders.

In an auxiliary diesel engine, one reason for knurling the piston skirt is to __________.

  1. allow for heat expansion
  2. transmit forces evenly
  3. improve the piston seal
  4. improve skirt lubrication ✓

On small diesel engines, a noticeable decrease in the time interval between the replacement of the lube filter cartridge indicates __________.

  1. excessive oil temperature
  2. piston ring blow-by ✓
  3. excessive oil pressure
  4. dirty air filter

In a four-stroke cycle diesel engine, badly worn intake valve guides can cause excessive __________.

  1. exhaust temperatures
  2. cooling water temperatures
  3. exhaust pressure
  4. lube oil consumption ✓

Fuel combustion in a diesel engine cylinder should begin just before the piston reaches top dead center and should __________.

  1. end at bottom dead center
  2. end when fuel injection has been completed
  3. continue through the afterburning period ✓
  4. be completed exactly at top dead center

Heavy fuel oils generally have an upper average ash content of 0.1% by weight. Which of the following conditions could be expected if the ash content increases above this amount?

  1. Excessive bearing wear
  2. Increased exhaust valve wear ✓
  3. Glazing of the cylinder liners
  4. Increased MEP

The amount of fuel delivered by a unit injector is controlled by the __________.

  1. rack position ✓
  2. camshaft
  3. engine speed
  4. main spring

High firing pressures and a low exhaust temperature in a diesel engine may result from __________.

  1. early exhaust valve opening
  2. early fuel injection timing ✓
  3. low scavenge air temperature
  4. increased exhaust system back pressure

Wooden shoring, with a cross-sectional dimension of 4" X 4" should not be longer than __________.

  1. 8 feet
  2. 10 feet ✓
  3. 16 feet
  4. 20 feet

The wooden plug fitted tightly in the vent of a damaged tank may prevent the tank from __________.

  1. collapsing
  2. developing free surface moments
  3. developing free surfaces
  4. filling completely ✓

Progressive flooding in the engine room may be minimized by securing watertight boundaries and _________.

  1. pumping out flooded compartments ✓
  2. dumping fuel oil
  3. transferring reserve feedwater
  4. evacuating the engine room

Paints and solvents used aboard a vessel should be __________.

  1. stowed safely at the work site until work is completed
  2. covered with a fine mesh screen to protect from ignition sources
  3. returned to the paint locker after each use ✓
  4. drained into a common container after each use

A simple precaution to reduce the possibility of accidental fires in the paint locker, is to __________.

  1. label the fixed firefighting system
  2. store paint cans on metal shelves only
  3. not allow oily rags to accumulate in the space ✓
  4. place a portable fire extinguisher immediately outside the locker

How would you ensure that your crew is prepared to combat a shipboard fire using ship's equipment?

  1. Show crew generic fire training videos.
  2. Have them read a firefighting textbook.
  3. Conduct required drills, simulating fire conditions and training with ship's equipment. ✓
  4. Check training records, to see if crew members have attended a firefighting training course.

The most common cooling agent used for fighting fires on tank vessels is __________.

  1. flue gas
  2. water ✓
  3. carbon dioxide
  4. steam smothering

Water applied as a "fog" can be more effective than water applied as a "solid stream", because __________.

  1. a given amount of water can absorb more heat when it is in the form of fog
  2. it does not have to hit the seat of fire to be effective
  3. it reduces the total amount of water that must be pumped into the ship to fight a given fire
  4. of all of the above ✓

Why is it essential to introduce CO2 from a fixed fire extinguishing system, into a large engine room, as quickly as possible?

  1. The fire may warp the CO2 piping.
  2. To keep the fire from spreading through the bulkheads.
  3. Carbon dioxide takes a long time to disperse to all portions of a space.
  4. Updraft from the fire tends to carry the CO2 away. ✓

By what means should motor controller contacts be routinely cleaned?

  1. filing with a bastard file
  2. dressing with crocus cloth
  3. blowing with compressed air
  4. wiping with a clean dry cloth ✓