NUPOC STUDY GUIDE

Congratulations

Right now you are faced with quite a challenge – an interview with the Division of Naval Reactors in Washington, D.C. It won’t be easy. A number of distinguished leaders, among them a former President of the United States, have gone through these interviews and have felt the same anxiety you may be feeling. Your recruiter will do everything he or she can to maximize your chances of being selected.

This study guide contains the type of questions that you can expect to be asked during your interviews at Naval Reactors. It does not contain all questions that may be asked; however, it is representative of the types of problems that are most encountered at the interviews.

The interview focuses on technical questions from Calculus, Physics, and other technical courses. The majority of the questions are from Calculus and Physics. You may be asked questions from other topics in your major. Keep in mind that the interviewer has a copy of your transcripts to use as a guide for these questions. A typical interview lasts 30-40 minutes and contains 2-4 major questions per interview.

General Notes:

The Navy pays for the hotel room for two nights, transportation to and from the airport, your plane ticket and your meals at the hotel. All other expenses are your responsibility.

You will fly in the afternoon before the interview. The interview starts bright and early the next morning. You are free to spend the night in the hotel following the interview.

The hotel at which you will be staying is the Sheraton in Arlington, VA (Crystal City). You will fly into Ronald Reagan National Airport. A free shuttle (provided by the hotel) takes you to the hotel.

You are welcome to stay the day after the interviews to see Washington, D.C. Discuss this with your recruiter, government tickets are easily changed.

Things to Bring

- Conservative suit, tie, jacket, shoes, etc.

- Airline ticket

- Carry-on luggage (don’t take the chance of losing checked luggage)

- Reading material (you will need it for time between interviews)

- Some cash (for tips, souvenirs, tours, etc.)

Schedule:

DAY BEFORE THE INTERVIEW

1200-1800 Fly into National Airport, check in the hotel

1800-1900 Dinner in hotel or in surrounding Crystal City establishments

1900-2000 Interview pre-brief with Nuclear Officer Program Manager (2^nd floor conference room of Sheraton)

2000 - Relax!!!

DAY OF INTERVIEW

0630-0700 Breakfast in hotel

0700 Meet recruiter in lobby for transportation to Naval Reactors

0730-1200 Technical interviews

1200-1300 Lunch

1300-1600 Interview with Admiral Bowman. Following interview, walk back to hotel for swearing in and required administrative paperwork

How to Use This Study Guide

This guide is divided by subjects. Everyone is expected to answer Calculus, Physics, and a portion of Electrical. Other subjects are dependent on your major.

To simulate the interview environment, you should sit down with the study guide, paper and a pencil. Answer the questions using the problem solving approach.

Using old textbooks or class notes check the answer or look up the solution. If you are still having difficulty, call your recruiter and he will get in touch with a Nuclear Trained Officer who can assist with these solutions.

What Happens Next

After having time to practice, you will be briefed in greater detail by one of the Nuclear Trained Officers (NTO). He will go into more detail on the interview process and will give a mock interview. You will meet the NTO on the VIP trip when these briefings and interviews occur. It is imperative that you complete a major portion of the study guide prior to the VIP trip.

Technical Interview Details

- minimum of two interviews

- third interview may be given (random, question of the day or questionable performance on prior interview)

- 30-40 minutes in length

- first 10 minutes are usually personal questions

- given in the interviewers office

- interviewer is a senior design engineer

- interviews are staggered

- no competition between applicants

- assess your ability to make it through Nuclear Power School

- all courses on transcripts are fair game with special emphasis on Calculus and Physics

Technical Interview Hints

- all questions are given orally – be prepared to write

- use plenty of paper or blackboard and present ideas clearly

- take your time, the interviewer will speed you up if required

- make assumptions: do not ask for assumptions

do not assume the problem away

do make the problem solvable

- use numerical approximations to make the math easier

- understand the question

- use the problem solving approach

- use applicable equations – do not ask if derivation is required

- do not volunteer information or lack of information

- do not expect help or additional information from the interviewer

- do not give up unless told so by the interviewer

- ANSWER THE QUESTION WITH CONFIDENCE

Personal Interviews

This packet contains the type of personal questions most often asked by Admiral Bowman. You may also be asked some of these questions during the first 5-10 minutes of your technical interviews. Keep these in mind when answering them:

- there is no correct answer for everyone

- decide what is the best answer for you

- be straight forward, honest and consistent

- be as direct as possible with your answers

The Interviews:

Design engineers who work at Naval Reactors conduct the technical interviews in the morning. Most are civilians with specific areas of expertise. If you are an EE, you will interview with the EE’s (and most other candidates will interview with people of the same background). The interviews last thirty minutes to an hour apiece and are one on one. Most people have two technical interviews. Some may have a third interview. The only thing you need to bring to the interview is a writing instrument (paper will be provided by the interview).

Interview Strategy:

Consider the purpose of the Naval Reactors technical interviews. The interviewers are attempting to determine if you are the type of person who can be in charge of a nuclear power plant. For instructor candidates, are you dynamic enough to teach a wide range of technical subjects to extremely intelligent students? The interviewers are projecting you into these roles.

When given a technical problem, use standard problem solving techniques (i.e. write down the problem with given information, known relationships, diagrams as necessary). Make sure that your answer is reasonable!

Talk your way through the solution. This is very important. The interviewer is as interested in your thought processes as he is in your final answer. Also, an interviewer is more inclined to help you if you show some basic understanding and if he knows you may have problems.

Anything on your transcripts is fair game. However, most questions will focus on calculus, physics and your major.

Be positive! When asked about weakness on your transcript, acknowledge it and say what you have done about it.

Answer thoroughly and expansively. Tie in your answers to fundamental principles.

Show perseverance! Do not give up on a problem. Never, ever say, “I don’t know”. Uttering these words can prove fatal.

Grades get you to the interview. They do not get you selected. Motivation and enthusiasm are as important as technical ability.

Admiral Bowman’s Interview:

This man will determine in less than five minutes whether or not you will become a nuclear officer in the Navy. During your interview with him he will have three things in front of him: 1) your transcripts, 2) the evaluations from the technical interviews and 3) YOU. By the time you interview with the Admiral, there is nothing you can do about your previous interviews or your transcripts, but you have complete control over how you present yourself. First impressions are about the only thing you will leave him with, so they are extremely important. A firm handshake, strong voice and good eye contact are mandatory. He rarely asks technical questions. Remember, the Admiral will be trying to imagine you on the bridge of a warship or in control of a submarine (NUPOC), before a room of extremely competitive students (Instructor), or maintaining the impeccable design standards of Naval Reactors (NR Engineer). He asks most people “Why do you want to do this?” You should have an answer ready. Above all else, be honest.

Additional Areas to Study by Major

All Majors:

- Definitions of differentials, derivatives and integrals

- Integration by parts

- Classify DEQs (and solve 1^st and 2^nd order linears)

- Polar/cylindrical/spherical coordinates

- Derive areas of circle, triangle, sphere (surface)

- Derive volume of sphere

- Definition of pH

- Types of chemical bonds

- Pascal’s Law

- Archimedes’ principle

- Simple DC RC & RL circuits

- One of your old physics labs

- Definitions and units for enthalpy and entropy

Electrical Engineering:

- Control systems (Nyquist diagrams, etc.)

- Motor/generator theory

- LaPlace transform solutions to RLCs

- Digital logic

- AC/DC circuit analysis

- Transformer theory

- Electromagnetic induction

- Faraday’s Law

Mechanical Engineering:

- Shear/moment diagrams for beams

- Stress/strain curves, typical values for Young’s Modulus of steel

- Types of welds

- Annealing, tempering, forging, cold working

- Heat transfer around boundary layers and through different types of materials (qualitative)

- Basic heat transfer problems for heat exchangers (Q=UA T, Q=mc T_

- Tank draining problems (fluids with Bernoulli’s)

- Hooke’s law

- Laws of thermodynamics

- Moment of inertia

- Heat transfer equations (conduction, convection, and radiation)

Chemical Engineering:

- Concentration/dilution problems solved with DEQs

- Corrosion (how to minimize, what causes it)

- Buffers

- Types of bonds

- pH problems

- Equations for Gibbs Free Energy and Helmholtz Energy

- Catalysts

- Metals versus nonmetals

Aerospace Engineering:

- Resonant frequency

- Bernoulli’s Equation/fluids/transport problems

Civil Engineering:

- Tank draining problems (fluids with Bernoulli’s)

Chemistry:

- Types of bonds

- Buffers

- Crystal structures

- pH problems

- Catalysts

- Metals versus nonmetals

Computer:

- Boolean algebra

- Semi-conductor theory

- Probs and stats

Physics:

- Elastic/inelastic collisions

- Orbit problems

- Momentum problems

Math:

- Linear algebra

- Taylor and Fourier series

- Triple integrals

- Decay/buildup problems using a series of DEQs

- Spherical coordinates

- Derive quadratic equation

Questions for All Majors:

- What assurance can you give that you will successfully complete Nuclear Power School (NPS)?

- What are the hours of study required in your major as compared to the number required of an engineering (non-tech) major at your school?

- Why were you so nervous in your interviews?

- How did you pay for college?

- What did you do during the unaccounted-for time on your transcript?

- To what other schools did you apply?

- In what extracurricular activities did you participate?

- Discuss any summer jobs and school projects.

- Is your school accredited?

- How did your school/dept. compare with others?

- Why are you a technical major when you do so much better in non-technical subjects?

- Are you fully aware of what you will undergo at NPS?

- How were you informed about NPS?

- Do you feel that your preparation was adequate enough to get you selected?

- Why did you choose to attend your college?

- Why did you choose your major?

- Why did you transfer schools (if applicable)?

- How many hours per week do you study?

- Why did you take more than 4 years to complete college?

- Where are you from?

- What do you do in your free time?

- Why do I interview each applicant?

- Tell me something about the program.

- Why should I let you into the program?

Calculus

1. Find the area of the following using Calculus:

Triangle
Circle
Pyramid
Cone

2. Draw the following curves and find the area between them:

A. y = 2 + e^-x

y = 1 + x²

y = x²

y = x

3. Integrate the following:

∫ (x sinx) dx

∫ x (x² – 4) ^½ dx

∫ e⁴ – 3/x dx

x²

∫ (e^-x + 3x²) dx

∫ (x sin²x + x³) dx

4. Take the derivative with respect to x of the following:

cos⁴x sinx

ae^-bx

cx²

5x⁴

x (x2 – 4)^1/2

5. What is an integral? How is it used?

6. What is a derivative? How is it used?

7. Draw the following curves. Plot any maximum, minimum, and points of inflection.

f(x) = e^-x2
f(x) = a sinx
f(x) = e p/2
f(x) = 3x² – 17x –10

8. Using Calculus, derive the formula for the exposed surface area of a ball floating in water.

9. Solve the following differential equations:

y ’’ + 6y’ + 9 = 5

dN = -2N

y’ = xy³ at x=0 and y=1

10. For the following curve, plot the first and second derivatives:

11. Given 80 feet of fencing, what is the maximum area that you can enclose along a wall?

12. Two runners start at a distance of 10 miles from each other. They run towards each other at a constant velocity of 5 mph. A fly takes off from runner one’s nose at time zero. The fly has a constant velocity of 20 mph and flies between the runners. Find the total distance that the fly has traveled when the runners collide.

13. What is a Laplace transform? How is it used?

14. What is a Fourier transform? How is it used?

15. What is the probability of throwing one “7” with two dice?

16. If the population doubles in two years, how long does it take to triple?

17. Find f(x) which best describes the following graph. “A” represents area.

18. Use a first order differential equation to find the function to represent current with respect to time and to find the time constant of the circuit.

19. Show how to solve a differential equation with matrices.

20. Find the sum of:

100

∑ n

n=1

Physics

1. What must the angle 0 be in order for the block of mass M to start sliding?

u = 0.8

2. Find the final velocity of M for both elastic collision and inelastic collision

3. Describe the motion of the block-spring assembly when the block is displaced 4 inches from the equilibrium position.

4. How does the gravitational force vary between two masses if distance is doubled?

How does the electrostatic force vary between two charged particles if the distance is doubled?

Explain using both equations and physical applications.

5. Given the following diagram, calculate the distance traveled by the ball being thrown off the monument:

6. Find the position of the block as a function of time for both cases:

- friction

- frictionless

7. A spaceship is accelerating at 1000 m/sec². How much force is required from the backthrusters to completely stop the spaceship?

8. Find h such that the car will make it around the loop without falling. Find x that occurs when the car impacts the spring.

9. Find the maximum acceleration of a truck that can occur such that the block remains on the truck bed.

Mass of block = m

u_s = 0.3

u_k = 0.1

10. What angle will give the maximum range for a projectile neglecting air resistance? What would happen if air resistance occurred?

11. If a piece of paper is put on a full glass of water and inverted, what happens? Why?

12. Given a hollow and a solid cylinder of equal masses that are placed on an inclined plane. Also, both cylinders have equal radii. Which cylinder will reach the bottom of the plane first?

13. In the following diagram, find the position of the electron when it hits the screen. Will it hit the screen? What two variables can you change to determine where the electron will hit? (Assume that d and L are fixed)

14. Given the following data from a projectile, find the height of the parabola.

15. List and discuss Newton’s Laws of Motion.

16. A bullet with a mass of 10 grams and a velocity of 1000 m/sec imbeds in a wooden block with a mass of 1000 grams suspended by a rope. How high will the block swing in the vertical direction?

17. Given a rocket sled with initial velocity equal to v₀, find the total distance the sled travels.

Electrical

1. Plot voltage versus time and current versus time for the circuit with the following substitutions:

Resistor
Capacitor
Inductor

2. Find the total current and voltage drop across R1 for the following circuits.

3. Which diagram uses the most power? Discuss advantages and disadvantages for each step.

100 Watt Bulb

4. Explain how a transistor works.

5. Explain Kirchoff’s Laws. Give applications of Kirchoff’s Laws to simple circuits.

6. How does an electric motor work?

7. Find the relationships between Voltage (V), Current (I), and number of turns (n).

8. Why are electrical transmission lines braided vice solid?

9. Describe the differences between electric and magnetic fields. Show what happens to an electron in each field.

10. Using Faraday’s Law, state the direction of current in the loop on the left.

Chemistry

1. What is pH?

2. Determine the final pH and temperature when these two solutions are mixed together in a 3-liter container.

Solution A: 2 liters, pH = 3, Temp = 80°F

Solution B: 1 liter, pH = 5, Temp = 40°F

3. Why is pH important in materials selection?

4. Describe the Bohr model of the atom. Is it realistic?

5. How many grams of oxygen are needed to make Sodium Trioxide if 500 grams of sulfur is initially used?

Thermodynamics

1. Draw and explain a typical Rankine cycle. Include a discussion of enthalpy and entropy changes.

2. Draw and explain a typical Carnot cycle.

3. List and discuss the laws of thermodynamics.

4. Given a closed, adiabatic room with an open refrigerator. At time zero, the refrigerator is plugged in. Plot the temperature of the room as a function of time.

5. At time zero, the knife switch of the circuit is shut. The tank of water is insulated and open to the environment at the top. Plot temperature at the bottom of the tank as a function of time.

6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using a superheated steam cycle.

7. Discuss various types of heat transfer.

8. Discuss heat exchangers for both counter-flow and parallel flow type exchangers. Which is more efficient?

9.

.

.

In the following heat exchanger, all values of temperature can be read from thermometers and m_c can be read from a flow meter. List all assumptions and find m_h

10. A containment building encloses the space around a helium gas reactor. The gas reactor has initial temperature T_i and initial volume V_i. If the reactor cracks and mixes with the air of the containment vessel (volume = V_cont), find the resulting temperature of the containment building.

Fluids

1. What will happen to the scale reading as the mass is lowered?

2. Find pressure as a function of time. At time t = 0, the water level is 2 feet. Cross-sectional area is 8 ft² for the top and 1 ft² for the bottom.

3. For a hydrofoil aircraft, why is turbulent flow preferable?

4. In the following simplified system, where is pressure the greatest?

5. If the flow rate is increased by a factor of three, how does the pressure change at both points?

6. What is force F?

cross-sectional areas

A = 9 in²

B = 900 in²

7. A ball of diameter 10 cm and mass 10 grams is dropped in a container of water. The cross-sectional area of the container is 100 cm2. What is the change in the height of the water column?

8. The cross-sectional area of the siphon tube is constant. The fluid flows from tub 1 to tub 2. Determine the maximum height h that will still result in fluid flow.