A lab presses a small steel ball into a metal sample under a set load and reads the result on a scale. Which property is being tested?Iowa State University, NDE-Ed.org, Hardness. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain I, competency 002
A team tests a prototype, finds a flaw, goes back to redesign and tests again. Which word names this feature of the engineering design process?TeachEngineering (University of Colorado Boulder), Engineering Design Process. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain I, competency 002
Before a technician services a machine, its power is shut off, locked out and tagged. Which hazard does this OSHA procedure control?OSHA, Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout). Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain I, competency 003
In a workplace, what is the greatest travel distance OSHA allows from an employee to a portable extinguisher provided for Class A fires?OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.157, Portable fire extinguishers. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain I, competency 005
Show all 47 questions (43 more)
Fundamentals of technology education, continued
In TeachEngineering's model of the engineering design process, what does a team do in the first step, Ask?TeachEngineering (University of Colorado Boulder), Engineering Design Process. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain I, competency 002
Up to how long does a U.S. utility patent last?U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Patent essentials. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain I, competency 003
What do the letters of the P.A.S.S. technique for a portable fire extinguisher stand for?OSHA, Evacuation Plans and Procedures eTool, Portable Fire Extinguishers: Extinguisher Use. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain I, competency 005
Workers at a bench grinder face a hazard from flying objects. What does OSHA's eye and face protection rule say about their eye protection?OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.133, Eye and face protection. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain I, competency 005
Communication 7
A scanner saves a photograph as a grid of pixels in a TIFF file. What kind of image is this?Library of Congress, Sustainability of Digital Formats, TIFF, Revision 6.0. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain II, competency 007
How many views should an orthographic (multiview) drawing include?MIT OpenCourseWare, Design Handbook: Engineering Drawing and Sketching. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain II, competency 006
In an isometric drawing, at what angle to the horizontal are the object's width and depth lines drawn?MIT OpenCourseWare, Design Handbook: Engineering Drawing and Sketching. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain II, competency 006
On a sectional view, what do the thin diagonal lines called cross-hatching show?MIT OpenCourseWare, Design Handbook: Engineering Drawing and Sketching. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain II, competency 006
Who proved the existence of radio waves in the late 1880s, using a spark gap on an induction coil and a second spark gap on a receiving antenna?NASA Science, Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Radio Waves. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain II, competency 009
Why are microwaves well suited to carrying satellite communication signals?NASA Science, Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain II, competency 009
Why does a geostationary weather satellite stay over the same region of Earth?NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service, Geostationary Satellites. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain II, competency 009
Manufacturing 8
A company has developed a new, original and ornamental shape for a chair. Which kind of patent covers the look of a manufactured article?U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Patent essentials. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain III, competency 011
A plant arranges its work stations and equipment in the order of the process, so that products move one piece at a time with little transport or delay. What is this layout called?U.S. EPA, Lean Thinking and Methods: Cellular Manufacturing. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain III, competency 010
A Six Sigma quality level equates to about how many defects per million opportunities?U.S. EPA, Lean Thinking and Methods: Six Sigma. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain III, competency 014
A steel bar is loaded within the linear-elastic region of its stress-strain curve. What happens when the load is removed?Iowa State University, NDE-Ed.org, Tensile Properties. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain III, competency 013
In a just-in-time production system, what does a kanban do?U.S. EPA, Lean Thinking and Methods: JIT/Kanban. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain III, competency 010
OSHA requires the point of operation of a machine to be guarded. What is the point of operation?OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.212, General requirements for all machines. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain III, competency 012
Which description fits an industrial robot, in OSHA's words?OSHA, Robotics. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain III, competency 014
Which statement about thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers is correct?Iowa State University, NDE-Ed.org, Polymer Structure. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain III, competency 013
Construction 8
A city adopts a model building code instead of writing its own from nothing. Which organization was established in 1994 to develop one set of national model construction codes?International Code Council, Who We Are. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain IV, competency 015
A force that acts to shorten the member it acts on is called what?TeachEngineering (University of Colorado Boulder), Bridging the Gaps (bridge lesson 1). Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain IV, competency 016
A ground-fault circuit interrupter protects a worker using a power tool. What makes it shut off the power?OSHA, Construction eTool, Electrical Incidents: Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain IV, competency 019
An extension ladder leans against a wall with 16 feet of working length between its foot and its top support. About how far from the wall should the foot be set?OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.1053, Ladders. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain IV, competency 017
How does an arch bridge carry its load?TeachEngineering (University of Colorado Boulder), Bridging the Gaps (bridge lesson 1). Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain IV, competency 016
On a construction site, at what height above a lower level must a worker at an unprotected side or edge be protected from falling?OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.501, Duty to have fall protection. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain IV, competency 017
Under OSHA's excavation rule, a trench must have a protective system against cave-ins unless it is cut entirely in stable rock or is less than how deep, with no sign of a possible cave-in?OSHA, 29 CFR 1926.652, Requirements for protective systems. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain IV, competency 019
Why do engineers choose steel rather than plain concrete for structural members that carry tensile loads?TeachEngineering (University of Colorado Boulder), Strength of Materials (bridge lesson 4). Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain IV, competency 018
Energy, power and transportation 8
A 12-volt source is connected across a 60-ohm resistor. How much current flows?Iowa State University, NDE-Ed.org, Ohm's Law. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain V, competency 023
A car engine burns gasoline. According to the law of conservation of energy, what happens to the fuel's chemical energy?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Explained: Laws of energy. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain V, competency 020
A fluid power system uses a compressed fluid to provide force and motion. What is the system called when the fluid is a gas, and when it is a liquid?TeachEngineering (Purdue University), Fluid Power Basics. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain V, competency 022
A hoist lifts a 550-pound load 10 feet in 5 seconds. How much power does it deliver?NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics: Power. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain V, competency 020
In what order do the four processes of a four-stroke engine cycle take place?U.S. Department of Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office, Internal Combustion Engine Basics. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain V, competency 024
What do the transformers at electricity substations do?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electricity Explained: Delivery to consumers. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain V, competency 022
Which list holds only renewable energy sources, as the Energy Information Administration classes them?U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Explained: Sources of energy. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain V, competency 021
Which of the four forces on an airplane in flight is the resistance of the air, directed along and opposed to the flight direction?NASA Glenn Research Center, Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics: Four Forces on an Airplane. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain V, competency 024
Biotechnology and computer technology 8
A lab needs millions of copies of one short segment of DNA from a tiny sample. Which technique produces them?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain VI, competency 026
A student wants to reuse material found online. Which of these does copyright NOT protect, according to the U.S. Copyright Office?U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright in General (FAQ). Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain VI, competency 028
A wastewater plant runs primary and then secondary treatment. About what share of suspended solids does each stage remove, according to the U.S. Geological Survey?U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School: Wastewater Treatment Water Use. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain VI, competency 026
Before a file is sent over a network, software transforms its plaintext into ciphertext that hides the meaning. What is this transformation called?NIST Computer Security Resource Center glossary, encryption. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain VI, competency 028
On a school network, one computer stores shared files and another manages the printers. What is the general name for a computer that manages network resources in this way?NIST Computer Security Resource Center glossary, server. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain VI, competency 027
What can recombinant DNA technology be used to do?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Recombinant DNA Technology. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain VI, competency 026
Which network device is a gateway between two networks that relays and directs data packets between them?NIST Computer Security Resource Center glossary, router. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain VI, competency 027
Which three federal agencies work together to regulate most genetically modified organisms in the United States?U.S. Food and Drug Administration, How GMOs Are Regulated in the United States. Written to TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) Domain VI, competency 025
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the exam framework of TExES Technology Education 6–12 (171) in Section 3 of the preparation manual on the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program website, https://www.tx.nesinc.com/Content/StudyGuide/TX_SG_obj_171.htm (copyright Texas Education Agency), read 2026-10-08: 100 selected-response questions in six domains, Fundamentals of Technology Education about 17%, Communication 14%, Manufacturing 17%, Construction 17%, Energy, Power and Transportation 17%, Biotechnology and Computer Technology 17%. This bank holds 47: seven for Communication and eight for each other domain. Every fact was read on the public page named under its question (42 pages, each opened 2026-10-08): OSHA standards and eTools, NASA, NOAA, the Energy Information Administration, the Department of Energy, EPA, USGS, FDA, NHGRI, NIST, USPTO, the Copyright Office, the Library of Congress, MIT OpenCourseWare, TeachEngineering, NDE-Ed.org and the International Code Council. Three answers are arithmetic from a rule the source gives. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
A free TExES Technology Education practice test for the 6–12 exam, code 171: 47 questions written for this site, seven in Communication, eight in each other domain. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Texas Education Agency or Pearson.
Read the full guide
The six domains
Five carry about 17% of the exam each: Fundamentals of Technology Education; Manufacturing; Construction; Energy, Power and Transportation; and Biotechnology and Computer Technology. Communication, which takes in drafting, graphic design and electronic communication, carries 14%. The framework spreads 28 competencies over them.
Questions and clock
Candidates answer 100 selected-response questions and have 4 hours 45 minutes of testing time inside a 5-hour appointment. Exam mode on this page runs all 47 questions in 133 minutes, which is that pace.
Where the facts come from
OSHA standards for shop and site safety, NASA for flight and the spectrum, the Energy Information Administration for energy, and university teaching sites for drafting, materials and structures. The page read is linked under each question.
Three questions need arithmetic: a ladder's setback, horsepower, and Ohm's law.
Questions and answers
What is on the TExES 171 practice test?
The same six domains as the exam framework. Safety rules, the design process, technical drawing, lean manufacturing, structures, energy and power, circuits, flight, biotechnology and computer networks all appear, in the proportions the preparation manual gives.
Where is the TExES Technology Education 6-12 study guide?
The exam program publishes a free preparation manual. Its Section 3 lists every domain and competency, and this page follows it: the questions here are grouped by its six domains.
What score do you need to pass TExES Technology Education?
240, according to the exam's page on the Texas Educator Certification Examination Program site. Scores are scaled, so no number of right answers on a practice page can be turned into that figure.
Is this practice test made of real exam questions?
No. Every question was written for this site from one competency and one public source. The manual's sample questions were not used, and no real exam item is copied or reworded.