Ten 240P Parts Technician questions in the format of the Red Seal exam: four options, one correct answer, no trick questions. They are free to use, print and share. There is nothing to sign up for on this page.
01How to use these
The questions come from the TicketPrep 240P bank and are spread across the exam's work activities in the order and roughly the proportion the Red Seal Program publishes for this trade: A (performs common occupational skills), B (performs customer service), C (performs parts acquisition), D (performs warehousing and inventory), E (applies business practices). Answer each one before opening the explanation. Every explanation covers all four options, because, in the Red Seal Program's words, the incorrect options on the exam are not always obvious, and knowing why they are wrong is most of the skill.
- Pace. The Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide gives four hours of writing time; for the 120 questions on this exam that is about 2 minutes per question. Try these at that pace.
- Print. The printed version shows the questions and the answer key without the explanations, so it works as a handout. The explanations are on the web page. Download PDF
- Mark. The Red Seal Exam Preparation Guide gives the pass mark as 70 percent; seven of ten here is the same bar.
02The questions
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A parts technician counts flat washers on a counting scale. The empty bin weighs 180 g, 25 sample washers weigh 60 g, and the bin full of washers weighs 1 380 g. How many washers are in the bin?
- 425 washers
- 480 washers
- 500 washers
- 575 washers
Show the answer
C. Correct. Net weight = 1 380 g − 180 g = 1 200 g. One washer = 60 g ÷ 25 = 2.4 g. Count = 1 200 g ÷ 2.4 g = 500 washers. Taring the empty bin on the scale first does the same subtraction automatically.
Why not the others
A. This takes the bin off twice: (1 380 g − 180 g − 180 g) ÷ 2.4 g = 425. The bin is in the gross weight once, so subtract it once: 1 200 g ÷ 2.4 g = 500.
B. This rounds the unit weight up to 2.5 g: 1 200 g ÷ 2.5 g = 480. Use the exact sample weight, 60 g ÷ 25 = 2.4 g, which gives 500.
D. This forgets to take off the bin: 1 380 g ÷ 2.4 g = 575. The bin's 180 g is not washers: (1 380 g − 180 g) ÷ 2.4 g = 500.
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A parts technician has a customer's account, with phone number and charge history, open on the counter computer and must step into the warehouse for a few minutes. What does the technician do with the computer?
- Lock the screen so a password is needed to return.
- Turn the monitor off and leave the account open on screen.
- Minimize the account window behind the catalogue.
- Close the account and leave the catalogue open.
Show the answer
A. Correct. Locking the session hides the screen and stops anyone using the logged-in account until the password is entered. That safeguards the customer's personal information, one of the privacy principles, and stops anyone invoicing under the technician's login.
Why not the others
B. Anyone can switch the monitor back on and see the account, or use the computer under the technician's login. Lock the screen instead.
C. One click brings the window back, and the computer stays open under the technician's login. Locking the screen protects both.
D. Closing the account hides it, but the computer stays logged in, so anyone at the counter can reopen it or invoice under the technician's name. Lock the screen.
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A retail customer needs a starter for the only vehicle she uses to get to work, and the store has none. The supplier's next delivery is in 3 days, and a sister branch 20 km away has two on the shelf with a delivery run due this afternoon. What does the parts technician offer?
- A starter listed for a similar model that is on the shelf now.
- An order on the supplier's next stock delivery in 3 days.
- A rush order from the supplier with overnight freight.
- A branch transfer on today's delivery run.
Show the answer
D. Correct. The customer's priority is getting back on the road, and the branch transfer puts the right part in her hands today on a run that is already scheduled. Offering the fastest workable source is how the counter cuts a retail customer's downtime.
Why not the others
A. A part listed for a different model may not fit or work, and the comeback costs her more time than the wait. Only a part listed for her vehicle is offered.
B. This is the cheapest route for a part with no deadline, but it leaves her without a vehicle for 3 days when the part is available today 20 km away.
C. Overnight freight costs more and still arrives later than the branch transfer due this afternoon. Rush freight is for when no closer stock exists.
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On a busy morning a shop's service writer phones in an order for six different parts for two jobs. What does the parts technician do before ending the call?
- Repeat the order total and the shop's account number.
- Read back every part number, quantity and delivery time.
- Ask the service writer to call back once the parts are picked.
- Note the order, then confirm it by email at day-end.
Show the answer
B. Correct. Reading the order back lets the service writer catch a wrong number, quantity or time while still on the line. It is the cheapest point to fix an error, before parts are picked and shipped.
Why not the others
A. The total and the account confirm billing, not what was ordered. A wrong part number would still go through.
C. A call-back comes after the parts are pulled, too late to catch an error cheaply, and it adds a call to a busy shop's day.
D. A day-end email arrives after the parts have shipped. The order is confirmed while the customer is still on the phone.
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A customer at a small-engine shop needs a carburetor for a riding mower and gives the mower's model number from the label under the seat. The engine is from a different manufacturer than the mower. What does the parts technician ask for?
- The identification numbers on the engine itself.
- The mower's serial number from the same seat label.
- The mower's year of purchase from the sales receipt.
- The mower's deck width and the blade length.
Show the answer
A. Correct. When the engine comes from a different maker, its parts are listed in the engine maker's catalogue under the model and specification numbers on the engine itself, usually on a decal or stamping on the shroud or valve cover. The mower's model number identifies the mower, not which version of the engine it carries.
Why not the others
B. The mower's serial number helps with mower parts such as the deck and drive, but the carburetor belongs to the engine, which the engine maker lists under its own numbers. Ask for the identification on the engine.
C. A purchase year is a weak clue: the same mower can carry different engine versions, and the carburetor is listed by the engine's own numbers. Ask for the identification on the engine.
D. Deck width and blade length identify mower parts, not engine parts. The carburetor is listed in the engine maker's catalogue by the identification numbers on the engine.
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A customer standing in front of a minivan points to the cracked headlamp on his left. The dealer's catalogue lists the assembly as 'LH' and 'RH.' Which listing applies?
- Either one, since headlamp assemblies are made to fit both sides.
- The LH assembly, since it is on the customer's left as he faces it.
- The RH assembly, since sides are named from the driver's seat.
- The LH assembly, since 'left-hand' means the curb side.
Show the answer
C. Correct. Catalogue left and right are taken from the driver's seat facing forward. A customer facing the front of the vehicle has the vehicle's right side on his left, so the cracked lamp is the RH (passenger-side) assembly.
Why not the others
A. Headlamp assemblies are shaped for one side and are listed as a left and right pair; they do not swap. The lamp on the left of a customer facing the vehicle is the RH assembly.
B. That names the side from the customer's position facing the vehicle, which reverses it. Catalogues take left and right from the driver's seat facing forward, so the lamp on his left is the vehicle's right: RH.
D. On a vehicle driven on the right of the road, as in Canada, the curb side is the vehicle's right (RH), not the left. Catalogues take sides from the driver's seat facing forward, and the lamp on the left of someone facing the vehicle is RH.
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At an independent jobber, a carrier's driver delivers a carton with one corner crushed and asks for a signature. The contents cannot be seen. Company policy is to accept damaged packaging only with the damage recorded. What does the receiver do?
- Write the damage on the delivery receipt before signing.
- Sign the receipt, then call the supplier about the damage.
- Refuse the carton and have the driver take it back.
- Sign the receipt and photograph the carton for the file.
Show the answer
A. Correct. A note such as 'carton crushed at one corner, contents subject to inspection' on the carrier's delivery receipt, made before signing, is the record a damage claim needs; a clean signature tells the carrier the freight arrived in good order. Then open the carton and check the parts.
Why not the others
B. Once the receipt is signed clean, the carrier holds a record that the carton arrived in good order, and a later claim for the damage is much harder to support. The damage goes on the carrier's paperwork before signing.
C. Refusing sends back parts that may be undamaged, and it is not what the policy says. Only the packaging is visibly damaged here; company policy is to accept it with the damage recorded on the delivery receipt.
D. A photo helps, but a signature with no note still tells the carrier the carton arrived in good condition. The damage has to be written on the delivery receipt before signing.
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An electrical wholesaler's system takes available stock (on hand less quantity committed to open orders) plus quantity on order, and orders up to the max when that total is at or below the min. A connector has a min of 12 and a max of 40; 11 are on hand, 3 are committed and 3 are on order. How many does the parts technician order?
- 0 units
- 26 units
- 29 units
- 32 units
Show the answer
C. Correct. Available = 11 − 3 = 8; plus 3 on order = 11, which is below the min of 12, so an order is placed: 40 − 11 = 29 units brings available plus on order up to the max of 40.
Why not the others
A. 0 comes from leaving out the 3 committed units: 11 + 3 = 14, above the min, so no order seems due. Those 3 belong to customers, so only 8 are available; 8 + 3 = 11 triggers an order of 29.
B. 26 = 40 − 11 − 3, subtracting the 3 on order a second time; they are already inside the total of 11. The order is 40 − 11 = 29.
D. 32 = 40 − 8 leaves out the 3 already on order, so available plus on order would end at 43, above the max. The order is 40 − (8 + 3) = 29.
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Counting a bearing distributor's shelf, a counter finds 3 bearings numbered 6206 in the bin for 6205. What is done with them?
- Pull them and leave them off both count sheets.
- Count them as 6205, the number on the bin they are in.
- Leave them and add the 6205 bin as a second location for 6206.
- Count them as 6206 and move them to the 6206 bin.
Show the answer
D. Correct. Parts are counted as what they are, not where they sit, and a part in the wrong bin is moved to its own location so the next pick finds it. Counted that way, neither line shows a false variance.
Why not the others
A. Leaving them off the count shows 6206 short by 3 although the bearings are in the building. They are counted as 6206 and moved to its bin.
B. Counting them as 6205 overstates 6205 by 3 and understates 6206 by 3, and the next 6205 pick may ship the wrong bearing. They are counted as 6206 and moved.
C. A second location inside another number's bin makes the mix permanent, and mixed bins are how wrong bearings get picked. The bearings go back to the 6206 bin.
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A customer needs 170 L of hydraulic oil. A 205 L drum costs $1 089.00 and a 20 L pail costs $129.90; partial pails are not sold. How much less does the drum cost than enough pails?
- $15.15
- $80.10
- $201.08
- $339.90
Show the answer
B. Correct. 170 L ÷ 20 L = 8.5, rounded up to 9 pails because partial pails are not sold: 9 × $129.90 = $1 169.10. The drum is $1 169.10 − $1 089.00 = $80.10 less, and the customer has 35 L to spare.
Why not the others
A. $15.15 prices 8.5 pails ($1 104.15), but partial pails are not sold. Nine pails cost $1 169.10, so the drum saves $80.10.
C. $201.08 multiplies the per-litre gap (about $6.495 − $5.312) by 170 L, as if the customer paid only for the oil he uses. He pays for whole containers: 9 pails at $1 169.10 against the $1 089.00 drum, an $80.10 difference.
D. $339.90 compares the drum with 11 pails (220 L) bought to cover the drum's full 205 L. The customer needs only 170 L, which is 9 pails ($1 169.10), so the drum saves $80.10.
03Answer key
| Question | Answer | Work activity |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | C | Performs common occupational skills |
| Q2 | A | Performs common occupational skills |
| Q3 | D | Performs customer service |
| Q4 | B | Performs customer service |
| Q5 | A | Performs parts acquisition |
| Q6 | C | Performs parts acquisition |
| Q7 | A | Performs warehousing and inventory |
| Q8 | C | Performs warehousing and inventory |
| Q9 | D | Performs warehousing and inventory |
| Q10 | B | Applies business practices |
04More free questions
For the 240P exam itself, the 240P exam guide covers the work activities, their weights and how the exam is scored, and the 240P Parts Technician practice exam page describes the full TicketPrep 240P question bank. The same free format is available for the other 14 trades, plus the free guides on the pass mark, question counts, exam day and how to study.
How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.
05Questions by exam block
Working on one part of the 240P exam? Each block has its own page with five more free questions, the tasks the block covers and their weights.