North Carolina General Contractor Exam — All Questions
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A contractor's total direct cost for a job is $18,000. The contractor adds a 15% markup to cover overhead and profit. What is the bid price?
- a.$18,150
- b.$18,270
- c.$20,700✓
- d.$21,150
Markup is a percentage added on top of cost. Multiply the cost by (1 + markup): $18,000 x 1.15 = $20,700. The markup dollars are $18,000 x 0.15 = $2,700, which is added to the $18,000 cost to reach the bid price. Markup covers both company overhead and profit.
A job costs the contractor $8,000. The contractor wants a 20% gross profit MARGIN (profit as a percentage of the selling price). What must the selling price be?
- a.$9,600
- b.$10,000✓
- c.$9,800
- d.$10,400
Margin is measured against the selling price, not the cost, so you cannot simply add 20% to cost. Price = cost / (1 - margin) = $8,000 / (1 - 0.20) = $8,000 / 0.80 = $10,000. Check: profit is $2,000, and $2,000 / $10,000 = 20% margin. Adding 20% to cost ($9,600) would only give a 16.7% margin — a common and costly estimating error.
How many cubic yards of concrete are needed for a slab 27 ft long, 30 ft wide, and 4 inches thick?
- a.3.3 cubic yards
- b.6.7 cubic yards
- c.8.5 cubic yards
- d.10 cubic yards✓
First convert thickness to feet: 4 in / 12 = 0.3333 ft. Volume in cubic feet = 27 x 30 x 0.3333 = 270 cubic feet. Convert to cubic yards by dividing by 27 (there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard): 270 / 27 = 10 cubic yards. Getting units consistent — feet for all three dimensions — is the key step.
On a project where the exact quantities of excavation and fill are not yet known, which bidding method best protects both owner and contractor from large quantity surprises?
- a.A unit-price contract, paying a set price per unit for the actual quantity installed✓
- b.A lump-sum contract with no measurement of quantities
- c.A verbal handshake agreement
- d.A cost-plus contract with no cost records kept
Unit pricing sets a fixed price per unit (for example, per cubic yard of excavation), and the contractor is paid for the actual measured quantity. This fairly handles uncertain quantities: the owner pays only for work performed, and the contractor is protected if quantities grow. A lump sum forces the contractor to guess and gamble on the quantity, which is risky when the amount is genuinely unknown.