National Electrical Code Articles and Information

Code Quiz: Article 100, Part 1

Based on the 2005 NEC

Questions and answers written by Mark Lamendola, who has worked as a master electrician, electrical inspector, and design engineer. Mark is an IEEE Senior Member, and the Code article author for Codebookcity.com. Since 1996, he has been writing National Electrical Code articles for electrical trade magazines and has an extensive portfolio of hundreds of NEC articles..

1.   Does ampacity refer to the minimum load at which a breaker will trip?

2.   How does being "approved" relate to having a UL listing?

3.   Is the Authority Having Jurisdiction the local electrical inspector, the project manager, or the fire chief? Which one has the final say?

4.   Bathrooms have special rules for GFCIs. For example, you have to put fans and bathroom receptacles on separate circuits. Does a half-bath fall under these regulations? How does the NEC define a bathroom?

5.   What is bonding? Do you need bonding if you already have grounding?

6.   How do a bonding jumper, an equipment bonding jumper, and a main bonding jumper differ from each other?

7.   What is a branch circuit?

8.   How do an appliance branch circuit, an individual branch circuit, and a general-purpose branch circuit differ from each other?

10.  The NEC often refers to a “building.” If you're working on a factory that has undergone several expansions, is each addition a building or is the whole structure a building?