Free General Drilling Exam Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the General Drilling Exam practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1A driller finishes hauling a truck-mounted rig back from a job site and parks it at the yard. Under the federal driver vehicle inspection report rule, when must the driver prepare the written inspection report covering that vehicle?

   1. A. At the completion of each day's work, on each vehicle operated that day
   2. B. Before beginning each day's work, on each vehicle to be operated that day
   3. C. At the end of each 30-day period, on each vehicle the carrier controlled during it
   4. D. Within 15 days of any defect found, on each vehicle in which it was found

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The report is a post-trip, end-of-day document. 49 CFR 396.11(a)(1) states: "Every motor carrier shall require its drivers to report, and every driver shall prepare a report in writing at the completion of each day's work on each vehicle operated, except for intermodal equipment tendered by an intermodal equipment provider." Option B describes the separate pre-drive duty of 396.13, which is to be satisfied that the vehicle is safe and to review and sign the last report, not to write a new one. Option C is the 30-day maintenance record cycle of 396.3(b). Option D is the 15-day certification deadline that follows a roadside inspection report under 396.9(d)(3).

   Reference: Fmcsa 49 CFR 396 Inspection — 49 CFR part 396, § 396.11(a)(1)

2. 2A driller is keeping a penetration rate log while advancing the hole. Under the EPA manual of water well construction practices, what must that log record about the bits in addition to the penetration time for each foot?

   1. A. The type of bit used in each portion of the hole, whether it is designed for soft, medium or hard formations, and the approximate weight carried on it
   2. B. The serial number of each bit, the cumulative hours it has turned since purchase, and the date it was last dressed or rebuilt by the contractor
   3. C. The cutting structure wear grade assigned to each bit when it is pulled, the bearing condition, and the reason the bit was removed from the hole
   4. D. The nominal diameter of each bit, the size of the reamer run above it, and the volume of drilling fluid circulated while that bit was in the hole

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The EPA manual's Penetration Rate Log provision states: "During the drilling of the hole, a time log shall he kept showing the actual penetration time required to drill each foot of hole. The types of bits used in each portion of the hole shall be noted in this log-drag, roller, button or percussion type and whether designed for soft, medium or hard formations, together with approximate weight on the bits during the drilling of the various types of formations in the vari· ous sections of the hole." Bit wear grading, serial numbers and circulated volumes are real records kept in drilling practice, but they are not what this log is specified to carry; the manual puts hole diameter changes on the driller's log instead, where item 8 is the depth at which hole diameters change.

   Reference: Epa Manual Water Well Construction Practices — EPA Manual of Water Well Construction Practices (EPA 570/9 75 001), Article 45, Driller's Logs and Reports, Penetration Rate Log

3. 3A contractor is called to a well whose yield has fallen and needs to establish how the intake was built. Under the EPA manual of water well construction practices, what must the well record carry about the screens?

   1. A. Their length, diameter, slot sizes, material and manufacturer, together with their location
   2. B. Their length, diameter, slot sizes and material, together with the date they were set
   3. C. Their diameter, slot sizes, manufacturer and location, together with the packer type used
   4. D. Their length, diameter, material and location, together with the entrance velocity designed

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The driller's log requirements in the EPA manual include, for a completed test well, "The description (to include length, diameter, slot sizes, material, and manufacturer) and location of well screens, or number, size and location of perforations." The manufacturer is part of the required description because screen dimensions and slot designations are not standardized across makers, so the entry is what lets a later contractor identify the exact intake in the hole. The date of setting, the packer type and the design entrance velocity are recorded elsewhere or not at all on this log.

   Reference: Epa Manual Water Well Construction Practices — EPA Manual of Water Well Construction Practices (EPA 570/9 75 001), Article 45, Driller's Logs and Reports, Driller's Log, test well items

4. 4A jetting tool is being made up to develop a screened well. Under the EPA manual of water well construction practices, how must the outside diameter of that tool relate to the screen?

   1. A. One inch less in diameter than the screen inside diameter
   2. B. Two inches less in diameter than the screen inside diameter
   3. C. One half inch less in diameter than the screen inside diameter
   4. D. The same diameter as the screen inside diameter

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The EPA manual's hydraulic jetting provision states: "The outside diameter of the jetting tool shall be one inch less in diameter than the screen inside diameter." Keeping the nozzle close to the screen concentrates the jet on the openings instead of letting it dissipate in the water standing in the well. A tool the same size as the screen could not be run, and a larger clearance would spread the energy that the method depends on.

   Reference: Epa Manual Water Well Construction Practices — EPA Manual of Water Well Construction Practices (EPA 570/9 75 001), Article 52, Hydraulic Jetting Method

5. 5A contractor is asked what properly sealing an abandoned water well has to accomplish. Under the EPA manual of water well construction practices, which set of objectives is it?

   1. A. Eliminate a physical hazard, prevent ground water contamination, conserve yield and maintain hydrostatic head, and prevent the intermingling of desirable and undesirable waters
   2. B. Eliminate a physical hazard, prevent ground water contamination, recover the casing for salvage, and record the location of the well with the landowner
   3. C. Prevent ground water contamination, conserve yield and maintain hydrostatic head, restore the land surface to its former use, and recover the pumping equipment
   4. D. Eliminate a physical hazard, prevent surface water ponding at the site, conserve yield and maintain hydrostatic head, and disinfect the water in the well

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The EPA manual states: "To seal an abandoned water well properly, several things must he accomplished: (l) elimination of a physical hazard; (2) prevention of ground water contamination; (3) conservation of yield and maintenance of hydrostatic head of aquifers; and (4) prevention of the intermingling of desirable and undesirable waters." The same preamble gives the principle that ties them together: "The basic concept governing the proper sealing of abandoned wells is the restoration, as far as feasible, of the geohydrologic conditions that existed before the well was drilled and constructed". Casing salvage, surface restoration and disinfection are real parts of the work but are not among the four objectives.

   Reference: Epa Manual Water Well Construction Practices — EPA Manual of Water Well Construction Practices (EPA 570/9 75 001), Article 56 preamble

6. 6The specifications for a finished well call for a downhole log to be made before the rig leaves. Under the EPA manual of water well construction practices, whose responsibility is it to see that the logging happens?

   1. A. The contractor's, who must conduct the logging operation or arrange for it unless otherwise directed by the owner or the owner's authorized agent
   2. B. The owner's, who must engage a commercial logging service and schedule it before the contractor demobilizes from the site
   3. C. The log analyst's, who must attend the site and supervise the running of any log that will later be interpreted
   4. D. The project representative's, who must confirm that a logging service has been engaged before construction is accepted

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The EPA manual states: "It should be the CONTRACTOR'S responsibility to conduct any geophysical logging operation called for in the specifications or to arrange for it unless otherwise directed by the OWNER or his authorized agent." The contractor may do the work or hire it out, but the duty to see that it is done rests there by default. The log analyst's role, set out in the same article, is to interpret the record rather than to run it, and the owner's representative appears in the manual in approval and direction roles.

   Reference: Epa Manual Water Well Construction Practices — EPA Manual of Water Well Construction Practices (EPA 570/9 75 001), Article 45 preamble, geophysical logging responsibility and Geophysical Log Interpretations

7. 7A driller is about to take the rig carrier out at the start of a shift and finds the previous day's driver vehicle inspection report in the cab. What does the federal pre-drive requirement direct the driver to do with that report?

   1. A. Sign it to acknowledge review and the certification that the required repairs were performed
   2. B. Retain it at the place where the vehicle is housed or maintained for a period of 1 year
   3. C. Deliver a copy of it to the intermodal equipment provider on arrival at the next facility
   4. D. Return a completed copy of it to the issuing State agency at the address shown on it

   Answer: A

   Explanation: 49 CFR 396.13 lists what the driver must do before driving: "Review the last driver vehicle inspection report if required by § 396.11(a)(2)(i); and" "Sign the report to acknowledge that the driver has reviewed it and that there is a certification that the required repairs have been performed." The other options are genuine obligations attached to different documents and different actors: 396.3(c) requires that maintenance records "shall be retained where the vehicle is either housed or maintained for a period of 1 year"; 396.9(d)(1) governs delivery of a roadside inspection report; and 396.9(d)(3)(ii) governs returning that roadside form to the issuing State agency.

   Reference: Fmcsa 49 CFR 396 Inspection — 49 CFR part 396, § 396.13; 396.3(c); 396.9(d)

8. 8A crew is starting a vehicle-mounted drilling rig to bore through rock. Under the OSHA respirable crystalline silica standard for construction, which specified control is listed for vehicle-mounted drilling rigs for rock and concrete?

   1. A. A dust collection system with a close capture hood or shroud around the drill bit, with a low-flow water spray to wet the dust at the collector discharge
   2. B. A local exhaust ventilation duct discharging through a high efficiency particulate air filter that is changed at the start of each shift on the rig
   3. C. A water table or wet cutting attachment that floods the cutting surface continuously while the bit is turning and drains to a lined settling basin
   4. D. A shroud fitted to the rotary table together with a continuous stream of water applied at the collar of the hole for the duration of the drilling run

   Answer: A

   Explanation: Table 1 to 29 CFR 1926.1153 lists "Vehicle-mounted drilling rigs for rock and concrete" and gives the specified engineering control as: "Use dust collection system with close capture hood or shroud around drill bit with a low-flow water spray to wet the dust at the discharge point from the dust collector". The table's alternative for the same task is to "Operate from within an enclosed cab and use water for dust suppression on drill bit". The other options describe controls the table prescribes for different tasks, such as wet methods on handheld tools and HEPA-filtered vacuums used when cleaning holes; substituting one task's control for another's is not compliance with Table 1.

   Reference: OSHA 1926 1153 Silica — 29 CFR part 1926, § 1926.1153, Table 1, entry (ix)

9. 9A well is suspected of having a collapsed or corroded section of casing. According to EPA guidance on ground water monitoring wells, which geophysical log gives the information most directly useful for evaluating that suspicion?

   1. A. The caliper log
   2. B. The gamma log
   3. C. The resistivity log
   4. D. The spontaneous potential log

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The EPA handbook states: "Caliper logs provide information on diameter that may be used to evaluate physical changes in the borehole or casing." A change in internal diameter is exactly what a collapse or a heavy build-up produces. The same passage assigns the other tools to different questions: "Spontaneous potential logs can locate zones of low permeability where siltation may originate. Resistivity logs identify permeable and/or porous zones to identify formation boundaries." Gamma logs are used there to evaluate lithologic changes and to judge whether intakes are properly placed.

   Reference: Epa Monitoring Wells Handbook — EPA Handbook of Suggested Practices for the Design and Installation of Ground-Water Monitoring Wells, Well Maintenance and Rehabilitation, Documenting Monitoring Well Performance

10. 10Compressors, air lines, hoses and fittings are being selected for air lift development of a new well. Under the EPA manual of water well construction practices, what capacity must that equipment have?

    1. A. Adequate size to pump the well by the air lift principle at 1.5 to 2 times the design capacity of the well
    2. B. Adequate size to pump the well by the air lift principle at 1 to 1.5 times the design capacity of the well
    3. C. Adequate size to pump the well by the air lift principle at 2 to 3 times the design capacity of the well
    4. D. Adequate size to pump the well by the air lift principle at 0.5 to 1 times the design capacity of the well

    Answer: A

    Explanation: The EPA manual's single pipe air development provision states that "The compressors, air lines, hoses, fittings, etc. shall be of adequate size to pump the well by the air lift principle at 1ljz to 2 times the design capacity of the well." and repeats the same figures for the two pipe system. Development has to move more water than normal service so that the formation is stressed beyond its working condition. The lower ranges would not exceed the design rate at all, and the manual does not call for three times the design capacity.

    Reference: Epa Manual Water Well Construction Practices — EPA Manual of Water Well Construction Practices (EPA 570/9 75 001), Article 52, Air Development Method, Single Pipe System Open to Atmosphere and Two Pipe System