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Free BPAT Practice Questions

10 free, exam-style Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester (BPAT) practice questions with answers and explanations. No signup required. Work through them below, then take the full free BPAT practice test to study every exam domain.

These 10 free BPAT questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.

Domain 1: Basic Concepts

Question 1

An elevated storage tank holds a column of water 100 feet tall. Ignoring all other factors, what static pressure does that column exert at its base?

  1. 231 psi
  2. 23.1 psi
  3. 43.3 psi
  4. 100 psi
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - 43.3 psi

Domain 2: Compliance with Public Health Principles

Question 2

A landscape irrigation system injects liquid fertilizer (a health hazard) into the line, and a downstream booster pump can raise pressure above the supply main. What is the MINIMUM assembly that provides proper protection?

  1. Double check valve assembly (DC), rated for backpressure service
  2. Pressure vacuum breaker (PVB), a backsiphonage-only assembly
  3. Atmospheric vacuum breaker (AVB), a non-testable device
  4. Reduced pressure principle assembly (RP)
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D - Reduced pressure principle assembly (RP)

Domain 3: Operating Characteristics of Backflow Prevention Assemblies and Devices

Question 3

Which backflow prevention assembly consists of two independently acting check valves PLUS a hydraulically operated differential pressure relief valve located between them?

  1. Reduced pressure principle assembly (RP)
  2. Double check valve assembly (DC), which has two checks but no relief valve
  3. Double check detector assembly (DCDA), a metered fire-line assembly
  4. Pressure vacuum breaker (PVB), with one check and an air inlet
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A - Reduced pressure principle assembly (RP)

Question 4

An atmospheric vacuum breaker (AVB) has been installed with a shut-off valve downstream of it, leaving the AVB under constant supply pressure. What is the PRIMARY problem with this installation?

  1. Under continuous pressure the air-inlet poppet can stick closed and fail to open
  2. Once pressurized, the assembly must be re-tested annually with a differential pressure gauge
  3. An AVB has to be installed at least 12 inches above the highest downstream outlet to work
  4. The air-inlet port is far too small to relieve the backpressure that the shut-off valve creates
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A - Under continuous pressure the air-inlet poppet can stick closed and fail to open

Question 5

A high-hazard cross-connection is subject to backsiphonage only (no backpressure is possible) and is located indoors, where any discharge of water from the assembly would be unacceptable. Which assembly is the BEST choice?

  1. Reduced pressure principle assembly (RP), which protects against both backflow types
  2. Atmospheric vacuum breaker (AVB), a non-testable backsiphonage device
  3. Pressure vacuum breaker (PVB), which discharges water when its air inlet opens
  4. Spill-resistant vacuum breaker (SVB)
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: D - Spill-resistant vacuum breaker (SVB)

Domain 4: Field Test Equipment

Question 6

When field-testing a reduced pressure principle assembly (RP), what are the minimum acceptable values for the differential relief valve opening point and the first check valve?

  1. Relief valve opens at 1.0 psid; first check holds 5.0 psid
  2. Relief valve opens at 2.0 psid; first check holds 5.0 psid
  3. Relief valve opens at 2.0 psid; first check holds 3.0 psid
  4. Relief valve opens at 5.0 psid; first check holds 2.0 psid
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Relief valve opens at 2.0 psid; first check holds 5.0 psid

Question 7

Following the standard USC procedure for a double check valve assembly (DC), which check valve is tested FIRST, and why?

  1. Check valve No. 1, because it is the first barrier the supply water reaches on entering the assembly
  2. Either check valve, because the testing order has no effect on the differential readings obtained
  3. Check valve No. 2, to keep trapped air from causing an inaccurate reading on check valve No. 1
  4. Check valve No. 2, because the downstream check is statistically the one most likely to have failed
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Check valve No. 2, to keep trapped air from causing an inaccurate reading on check valve No. 1

Question 8

While testing an RP, a tester finds that the low-side control valve must be opened more than one-quarter turn before the relief valve will discharge. This MOST likely indicates:

  1. The relief valve spring is set too strong and should be replaced
  2. A leaking No. 2 shut-off valve creating a flow-through condition
  3. Normal behavior for any large-diameter assembly
  4. That air was not fully bled from the test kit before the reading
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - A leaking No. 2 shut-off valve creating a flow-through condition

Domain 5: Field Test Procedures

Question 9

When field-testing a pressure vacuum breaker (PVB) or spill-resistant vacuum breaker (SVB), where must the differential test kit be held to obtain accurate readings?

  1. Below the assembly, so water drains toward the gauge
  2. At the same elevation as the assembly being tested
  3. At the elevation of the supply main, regardless of the assembly height
  4. Elevation does not matter when a digital test gauge is used
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - At the same elevation as the assembly being tested

More BPAT practice questions

Question 10

Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, responsibility for the quality of the public water supply up to the consumer's service connection rests with which party?

  1. The certified backflow assembly tester
  2. The property owner or customer
  3. The water purveyor (water supplier)
  4. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency directly
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - The water purveyor (water supplier)

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