MT Level II practice: a study routine

3 sample questions with answers

These are original practice questions written to the MT topics below. They are not ASNT exam items. Cover the answer, pick one, then read why.

1. Technique selection

A short steel ring has a bore. You need to look for cracks that run in the direction of the bore (axial). Which setup puts the field across those cracks?

• A. A coil wrapped around the ring, so the field runs along the bore
• B. A central conductor through the bore, so the field circles around the conductor and through the ring wall
• C. Prods on the outer face, with no second direction
• D. A yoke laid flat on the outer face, held in one place for the whole ring

Answer: B. A magnetic field shows a crack best when it crosses the crack at a steep angle. Current in a conductor makes a circular field around it, and that field runs around the ring wall, across an axial crack. The coil (A) makes a field along the bore, parallel to the cracks you want, so it can miss them. Prods (C) and a single yoke placement (D) cover a small area and one direction at a time, which does not cover a whole ring.

2. Equipment and process

Before dry powder MT, a part still carries oil and loose scale. What is the likely effect?

• A. None, because the field passes through oil and scale
• B. Powder sticks to the oil and scale, hides small indications and can stop powder reaching the surface at a leakage field
• C. Indications get stronger, because the scale adds contrast
• D. The part demagnetizes itself

Answer: B. Particles are moved by leakage fields, and anything that holds them in the wrong place, or keeps them from the surface, makes the result harder to read. Scale and oil also spread the background so a real indication is harder to pick out. Option A is true of the field but misses the problem, which is with the powder. Option C reverses the effect. Option D has nothing to do with surface condition.

3. Evaluation

A steel bar is magnetized with a head shot. A sharp, tight line of wet particles sits along the bar's length, in the direction of the current. You wipe it away, reapply, and it returns in the same place. What do you do next?

• A. Reject the bar at once
• B. Treat it as non-relevant because it runs with the current
• C. Record what you see (position, length, orientation), then evaluate it against the controlling acceptance document
• D. Demagnetize the bar and stop

Answer: C. Current makes a circular field that crosses a flaw lying along the bar, so this direction is well placed to show a real discontinuity, and an indication that returns after wiping supports that. Observation and decision are separate steps: the acceptance document, not memory, tells you whether it passes. Option A skips that document. Option B invents a rule. Option D stops without recording or evaluating a result.

Match practice to your exam date

The MT General outline (for exams before 15 December 2026) covers ten topics, including principles, flux fields, discontinuities, current, technique selection, demagnetization, equipment, evaluation and process control. Our course and free check follow the same ten topics, so your practice matches what the outline asks for. ASNT publishes no percentage weights for the outline, so our practice distribution is a study choice, not an exam weighting.

If your appointment is near or after the change, read the MT outline change guide before relying on this topic arrangement. Check ASNT's published outline for your appointment date. General practice also does not cover every requirement of a sector-specific or employer practical examination. The certification comparison explains those separate roles.

Turn each missed answer into a study task

Use a short error log. Record the topic, your original reasoning, what the explanation changed and the action you will take before trying again.

These review groups come from the course modules. They are not a claim about how many questions ASNT will assign to each topic. To drill a topic beyond the three questions above, work through field direction drills with worked answers.

Review the reasoning before repeating the check

1. Read the explanation for a missed answer without changing your original notes.
2. Identify the first wrong assumption: material, orientation, equipment, process condition or interpretation.
3. Write a corrected reason in one sentence. Include why your original choice did not fit.
4. Review the relevant lesson or reference, then close it and explain the decision again.
5. Return to practice after that explanation is clear. Recognizing the same answer choice on a repeat attempt is weaker evidence than explaining it without the choices.

For field-direction errors, use the MT field and technique workflow. For current calculations, the MT amperage calculator lets you check arithmetic with stated inputs; the procedure and setup still determine which model applies.

For the full study order across UT, MT and PT, see the ASNT Level 2 study guide.

What the free check can tell you

The check is untimed, requires no signup and shows explanations. Use its topic results to choose a next lesson. Ten questions are a small sample, so a clean result is not a prediction of your examination result or proof of practical competence. Keep the error log across sessions and look for repeated reasoning errors.

For more reps after the check, the magnetic particle testing quiz gives you 18 original MT questions you can filter by topic, each with an explained answer.

For booking and test-center arrangements, use the ASNT exam-day guide. For training and experience requirements, use NDT Level II requirements.

Practice questions by topic

The free 10-question check scores you by topic. Use the list below to pick what to drill next. These groups are our own grouping of the topics in ASNT's published MT General headings before 15 December 2026.

• Principles and flux fields: the public MT sample has explained questions on field behavior and technique. The magnetic particle testing quiz lets you filter to field direction. Read magnetic leakage field when a miss was about why particles gather.
• Discontinuities and current: filter the quiz to magnetizing methods and current, and use the MT amperage calculator to check arithmetic.
• Technique selection: question 1 above is one case. The MT field and technique workflow and longitudinal vs circular magnetization cover the rest.
• Demagnetization: filter the quiz to demagnetization, and read the demagnetization guide.
• Equipment and evaluation: question 2 above and question 3 cover surface condition and reading an indication. The quiz has a group on particles, baths and viewing.

Free vs paid MT practice

Everything on this page, the free check, the sample lesson and the 18-question quiz is free and needs no card. The full course adds timed practice exams, a lesson for each topic and a study plan built from your exam date. Start with the free tools. Move to the course when your error log shows the same topics coming back.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I get a free MT Level 2 practice test? On this page, which has 3 original sample questions with explained answers, and in the free 10-question check and the 18-question quiz. None needs a signup.

Are these ASNT exam questions? No. They are original practice written to ASNT's published topics.

How many questions is the free MT check? Ten, untimed, with an explanation for each answer and a score by topic. It is a sample, not a prediction of your exam result.

Do I need to memorize current values? Use your own procedure for the values. Practice should train you to choose the right model and explain why. The amperage calculator checks arithmetic only.

Sources

Show the list

This study routine follows Angle Beam's MT course modules on magnetism, leakage fields, technique selection, equipment, discontinuities and evaluation. Outline checked 19 October 2026.

• ASNT NDT Level II examinations, the published outline and exam formats.
• ASNT NDT Level II program, the certification program requirements.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by ASNT.