These are five sample questions from Bryq’s Mechanical Engineer assessment, a job-specific test for hiring mechanical engineers, design engineers and product development engineers. The full assessment covers five skills: mechanical engineering knowledge, computer-aided design (CAD), mechanics, thermodynamics and analytical skills. Questions combine engineering principles and calculations with practical design scenarios, each with four options and one correct answer.
Mechanical Engineering Knowledge
Question
A rotating shaft keeps failing, and the fracture surface shows beach marks spreading from a sharp shoulder fillet. Which design change would most improve its service life?
Select your answer
Increase the fillet radius at the shoulder.
Relax the surface finish requirement at the shoulder.
Switch to a harder, lower-ductility steel.
Replace the steel with an aluminum alloy of the same diameter.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
Beach marks are the signature of fatigue, and their origin at a sharp fillet shows that a stress concentration started the crack. A larger radius lowers the local stress peak and is often the most effective fix. A harder, less ductile steel can be more notch-sensitive, and a rougher finish adds more places for cracks to start.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
Question
A part has eight mounting holes on a bolt circle whose diameter is likely to change later in the design. What is the best way to model the holes?
Select your answer
Create one hole and a circular pattern driven by the bolt circle dimension.
Model one hole and copy and paste the feature seven times.
Add the holes only on the 2D drawing, not the 3D model.
Sketch all eight holes, each with its own position dimensions.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
A circular pattern linked to a single bolt circle dimension captures the design intent, so changing that one value updates every hole consistently. Dimensioning holes individually or copying features creates separate items that must each be edited and can easily drift out of alignment.
Mechanics
Question
A simply supported beam 4 m long carries a single 6 kN point load 1 m from the left support. What is the reaction at the left support?
Select your answer
4.5 kN
3.0 kN
1.5 kN
6.0 kN
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
Taking moments about the right support: R(left) × 4 = 6 × 3, so R(left) = 4.5 kN, leaving 1.5 kN at the right support.
Thermodynamics
Question
Why does adding a regenerator to a simple gas turbine (Brayton) cycle improve its thermal efficiency?
Select your answer
It uses hot exhaust to preheat the compressed air, cutting the fuel heat input needed.
It raises the cycle’s pressure ratio across the compressor.
It increases the maximum turbine inlet temperature.
It reduces the work needed to drive the compressor.
WHY IS THIS THE CORECT ANSWER
The regenerator transfers heat from the hot turbine exhaust to the air leaving the compressor, so less fuel is needed to reach turbine inlet temperature. Net work stays roughly the same while heat input falls, which raises efficiency.
Analytical skills
Question
A steel bracket with a yield strength of 350 MPa shows a peak stress of 210 MPa in simulation. The specification requires a factor of safety of at least 2 against yield. What should the engineer conclude?
Select your answer
The factor of safety is 1.67, so the design needs revising.
The design is acceptable, as the margin is within 20% of the target.
The design is acceptable, since the stress is below yield.
The factor of safety is 0.6, so the bracket will yield.
