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NATE_CORE NEC 2023

NATE Core Practice Test 4

This practice test focuses on basic science topics from the NATE Core exam blueprint, especially heat transfer. You will see questions on conduction, convection, radiation, sensible heat, latent heat, BTU and ton-of-cooling conversions, and watt-to-BTU calculations.

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NATE Core

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — completely free with no signup required. Every question includes a full explanation of the correct answer.

Two: the NATE Core exam plus at least one specialty exam (for example AC Service, Heat Pump Service, or Air Distribution Service). You can take them on the same day or separately.

The Core exam has 50 questions and each installation or service specialty exam has 100 questions. You need 70% on each to pass — 35 of 50 on Core and 70 of 100 on a specialty. Check natex.org for the current format before you book.

NATE certification lasts two years. To renew, you submit 16 hours of continuing education or retake the specialty exam before your certification expires.

No. These are independent practice tests written to match the published NATE exam topics. They are not official NATE exam questions.

Exam Tip: Picture the example in each question. Touching = conduction, moving air/fluid = convection, and heat with no contact or airflow = radiation.

30

Questions

30 min

Time

70%

Pass

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NATE Core Practice Test 4 — Question List

Question 1: Which method of heat transfer happens through direct contact between two objects?

Radiation
Convection
Latent heat
Conduction

Question 2: Which method of heat transfer happens when air or a fluid moves and carries heat with it?

Convection
Conduction
Radiation
Sensible heat

Question 3: Which method of heat transfer can move through empty space, without needing to touch anything or have air movement?

Conduction
Radiation
Convection
Latent heat

Question 4: What is the key difference between sensible heat and latent heat?

Sensible heat only applies to gases; latent heat only applies to liquids
There is no real difference between them
Sensible heat changes temperature without changing state; latent heat changes state without changing temperature
Sensible heat always removes energy; latent heat always adds energy

Question 5: A technician touches a hot refrigerant line and feels heat immediately. Which type of heat transfer is this?

Convection
Radiation
Latent heat
Conduction

Question 6: Air blows across a hot evaporator coil and carries heat away into the room. Which type of heat transfer is this?

Convection
Conduction
Radiation
Sensible cooling only, not heat transfer

Question 7: A person standing near a wood stove feels heat on their skin, even without touching the stove or feeling any air movement. Which type of heat transfer is this?

Conduction
Radiation
Convection
Sensible heat only

Question 8: What is a BTU (British Thermal Unit)?

The unit used to measure electrical current
The unit used to measure refrigerant pressure
The amount of heat needed to raise 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit
The amount of heat needed to boil 1 gallon of water completely

Question 9: How many BTUs per hour does 1 ton of cooling capacity equal?

1,000 BTU/hr
6,000 BTU/hr
24,000 BTU/hr
12,000 BTU/hr

Question 10: A system is rated at 3 tons of cooling. How many BTUs per hour is this?

36,000 BTU/hr
12,000 BTU/hr
24,000 BTU/hr
48,000 BTU/hr

Question 11: Water is boiling at a steady 212 degrees F, changing from liquid to steam, while heat is still being added. What kind of heat is this?

Sensible heat
Latent heat
Conductive heat only
Radiant heat only

Question 12: A pot of water is heated from 60 to 100 degrees F but stays a liquid the whole time. What kind of heat caused this temperature rise?

Latent heat
Radiant heat only
Sensible heat
Convective heat only, with no other type present

Question 13: Why does touching a bare metal duct feel colder than touching nearby insulation at the same temperature?

Metal is always colder in temperature than insulation
Insulation radiates more heat than metal
Metal has no relationship to conduction
Metal conducts heat away from your hand much faster than insulation does

Question 14: Which two types of heat transfer require some form of matter (a medium) to occur, unlike radiation?

Conduction and convection
Radiation and convection
Sensible heat and radiation
None of them require a medium

Question 15: A cooling system is rated at 24,000 BTU/hr. How many tons of cooling is this?

1 ton
2 tons
3 tons
4 tons

Question 16: Latent heat is involved when a substance changes between which states?

Only between solid and gas
Only when electricity is involved
Between states of matter, such as liquid and gas, or solid and liquid
Latent heat never involves a change of state

Question 17: Sunlight passes through a window and warms a room, even though the outside air temperature is cold. What is this an example of?

Conduction
Convection
Latent heat only
Radiation

Question 18: A furnace blower pushes warm air through ducts and into a room. What type of heat transfer is mainly responsible for warming the room?

Convection
Conduction
Radiation
Latent heat only

Question 19: In an air-cooled condenser, heat moves from the hot refrigerant, through the metal coil, into the surrounding air pushed by a fan. Which two types of heat transfer are both involved in this process?

Radiation only
Conduction (refrigerant to coil metal) and convection (coil to moving air)
Latent heat only, with no conduction or convection
Radiation and latent heat only

Question 20: How many BTUs are needed to raise the temperature of 5 pounds of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit?

1 BTU
10 BTU
5 BTU
50 BTU

Question 21: An electric duct heater is rated at 10 kW. About how many BTU/h of heat does it produce?

About 10,000 BTU/h
About 12,000 BTU/h
About 29,300 BTU/h
About 34,120 BTU/h

Question 22: An ice cube stays at 32 degrees F the entire time it is melting into water. What explains this?

The heat being added is latent heat, used to change the ice from solid to liquid
The heat being added is sensible heat, which always changes temperature
No heat is being added during melting
The ice is releasing heat instead of absorbing it

Question 23: In which direction does heat naturally flow between two objects?

From cold to hot only
From hot to cold
Heat does not flow; it stays in place
In a random direction, regardless of temperature

Question 24: How many BTU/hr does a 5-ton air conditioning system provide?

12,000 BTU/hr
50,000 BTU/hr
60,000 BTU/hr
5,000 BTU/hr

Question 25: As an air conditioner cools and dehumidifies air, it lowers the air temperature (sensible heat) and also removes moisture by condensing water vapor into liquid on the coil (latent heat). Why is it useful for a technician to understand both?

Only sensible heat matters for comfort
Only latent heat matters for comfort
Sensible and latent heat cannot happen at the same time
Total system capacity includes both the sensible cooling and the latent (dehumidification) effect on comfort

Question 26: How much heat must be added to melt 10 lb of ice that is already at 32°F into 32°F water?

About 10 BTU
About 144 BTU
About 1,440 BTU
About 9,700 BTU

Question 27: A person's bare feet feel cold quickly when standing on a tile floor, but feel warmer on a carpeted floor at the same room temperature. Why?

Carpet is always a warmer material
Tile conducts heat away from the feet faster than carpet does
Tile radiates less heat than carpet
This has nothing to do with heat transfer

Question 28: How many BTU are needed to raise 50 lb of water from 60°F to 80°F?

1,000 BTU
50 BTU
20 BTU
4,000 BTU

Question 29: Why can an evaporator absorb a large amount of heat without a large temperature change in the refrigerant?

The heat is absorbed mostly as sensible heat after the refrigerant leaves the coil
The metal fins store the heat instead of the refrigerant
Evaporator pressure rises steadily, raising the boiling point as heat is added
Most of the heat is absorbed as latent heat while the refrigerant boils at a nearly constant saturation temperature

Question 30: A thermostat reads a rising room temperature with no change in humidity. What kind of heat is mainly responsible for this reading?

Sensible heat
Latent heat
Radiant heat only, with no other type possible
No heat transfer is occurring

EXAM CARD NATE_CORE

Questions30

Time limit30 min

Pass score70%

Code editionNEC 2023

DifficultyIntermediate

Last reviewedJun 2026

Timer starts immediately. Progress is auto-saved.

Source: NEC 2026 (NFPA 70)