10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The AL-EC exam has 110 questions and runs 5 hours.
These 10 free AL-EC questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Alabama Electrical Contractor (Master) Exam blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
An estimator's $54,000 job-cost total includes materials, burdened labor, equipment, and jobsite supervision. The proposal must also recover $6,000 of home-office overhead, which is not included in that total. The owner requires a 20% profit margin on the final selling price. What price should be entered on the proposal?
Correct answer: A - $75,000
A contractor using accrual accounting completed and billed a $28,000 change order in June, recording both revenue and accounts receivable. The customer pays the invoice in July. No additional work or charges are involved. What is the effect of the July receipt?
Correct answer: B - Increase cash and decrease accounts receivable; recognize no new revenue.
Two groups of 120-V loads are supplied by opposite legs of a 120/240-V multiwire branch circuit. As loads switch on and off, one group measures 166 V to the shared neutral while the other measures 74 V. Voltage between the ungrounded conductors remains 240 V. After obtaining these readings, the electrician isolates the circuit. The readings point most strongly to:
Correct answer: D - An open or high-resistance connection in the shared neutral
A new detached workshop has a four-wire feeder in PVC, a bonded grounding-electrode system, and a panelboard with its neutral bonding screw installed. A clamp measurement confirms that normal return current is dividing between the feeder neutral and equipment grounding conductor. With the installation deenergized, which correction eliminates that parallel return path while preserving required grounding and bonding under the 2023 NEC?
Correct answer: C - Isolate the neutral bar; retain the feeder equipment grounding and grounding-electrode connections to the bonded grounding bar.
Five current-carrying 4 AWG copper THHN/THWN-2 conductors share an 80-ft raceway in a 38°C ambient. All terminations are rated 75°C. Table 310.16 lists 85 A at 75°C and 95 A at 90°C; the applicable ambient correction factors are 0.88 and 0.91, respectively. Under the 2023 NEC, what is each conductor's allowable ampacity after adjustment, correction, and the termination check, before selecting overcurrent protection?
Correct answer: C - 69.2 A
Six 14/2 NM cables, each with a 14 AWG equipment grounding conductor, enter a box. All 12 insulated conductors are spliced inside. The box contains internal cable clamps and one duplex receptacle on a single yoke, connected by 14 AWG pigtails wholly inside the box. There are no other devices or fittings. Using the 2023 NEC allowance of 2.00 in³ per 14 AWG conductor, determine the minimum box volume.
Correct answer: C - 33.0 in³
A facility's hazard evaluation identifies a dust-collection chamber in which fine combustible wood dust is suspended in air at ignitible concentrations during normal operation. Flammable gases and vapors are not present. Under the 2023 NEC class-and-division system, which classification describes the chamber?
Correct answer: B - Class II, Division 1, Group G
Separate overload protection is being selected for a continuous-duty, 20-hp, 460-V, three-phase induction motor. Its nameplate states 24 A, service factor 1.0, and temperature rise 35°C. NEC Table 430.250 gives a full-load current of 27 A. No increase to accommodate starting or nuisance tripping is being applied. What is the maximum initial overload trip-current rating permitted by the 2023 NEC?
Correct answer: B - 30.0 A
Before replacing a 480-V disconnect, a qualified electrician applies lockout/tagout and verifies the voltage tester on a known energized source. All required measurements at the work point read zero. On the final check, however, the tester also reads zero on that known source, which a second instrument confirms is still energized. How should the electrician proceed?
Correct answer: B - Maintain isolation and repeat the complete absence-of-voltage verification with an instrument proven to operate correctly.
The owner of a new dwelling elects not to install a receptacle serving a freestanding kitchen island countertop. The drawings show no electrical provision at the island. For a project governed by the 2023 NEC without local amendments, what must still be provided while honoring that choice?
Correct answer: D - Provisions at the island for the future addition of a receptacle serving the countertop
The AL-EC exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
The full bank has 1,020 more AL-EC questions with explanations.
Continue in the free practice test →
View plans