CPO Certification Practice Test
You operate a 120,000 gallon pool, and upon performing your hourly chemical tests you observe
the following readings:
Total Available Chlorine reading is 1.6
Free available chlorine reading is 1.5
pH is 7.4
Your supervising lifeguard has just informed you that you have had a fecal incident occur; a
solid stool has been discharged into the pool. According to the Centers for Disease Control, as
the CPO, you should do the following:
A. clear the pool of users and boost the free chlorine to 17 ppm
B. clear the pool and raise the free chlorine to 2 ppm
C. allow swimmers to remain in the pool, but raise the free chlorine to 10 ppm.
D. none of the above - ANS B. clear the pool and raise the free chlorine to 2 ppm
Assuming that your local health department requires you to raise the free chlorine to 5 ppm,
how much sodium hypochlorite would be needed to raise the free chlorine in the pool in
question #1 to that level?
A. 6 gallons
B. 3.5 gallons
C. 9 gallons
D. 35 gallons - ANS B. 3.5 gallons
You are the CPO for an indoor health club pool. The facility manager informs you that he is
receiving complaints about a strong chlorine odor in the pool area, and several members have
complained of eye irritation. The most likely cause of these complaints is:
A. too much free chlorine in the water
B. too few swimmers in the pool
C. high levels of chloramines in the pool
D. high calcium levels in the water - ANS C. high levels of chloramines in the pool
To determine the level of chloramines in the water, you should do which of the following?
A. test for free chlorine and pH, then divide the pH number by the free chlorine number
B. test for total chlorine and free chlorine, then subtract the free chlorine number from the total
chlorine number
C. test for total chlorine and combined chlorine, then subtract the combined chlorine number
from the free chlorine number
, D. test for total alkalinity and pH, then multiply the total alkalinity number by the pH number -
ANS B. test for total chlorine and free chlorine, then subtract the free chlorine number from the
total chlorine number
You operate a 45,000 gallon indoor pool, and upon doing your hourly chemical tests you
observe the following readings:
Total available chlorine is 2.2
Free available chlorine is 1.4
pH is 7.6
What is the level of chloramines in this pool?
A. 3.6
B. .8
C. -.8
D. 2.8 - ANS
To remove the chloramines in the pool in question #5, how much of the following compounds
would be needed?
A). Using Chlorine gas:
A. 4 lbs.
B. 24.13 lbs.
C. 5.666 lbs.
D. 2.413 lbs.
B). Using Sodium Hypochlorite:
A. 12 gallons
B. 2.48 gallons
C. 4.05 gallons
D. 3.11 gallons
C). Using Calcium Hypochlorite:
A. 3.71 lbs.
B. 2.36 lbs.
C. 37.1 lbs.
D. 5 lbs. - ANS A) A
B) B
C) A
You are the operator of a 330,000 gallon outdoor pool. Your local health department requires
you to perform a water balance calculation once monthly. Upon performing the water tests
necessary to perform this calculation, you observe the following readings in your pool:
Total alkalinity is 50 ppm
pH is 7.2
Calcium Hardness is 150 ppm
You operate a 120,000 gallon pool, and upon performing your hourly chemical tests you observe
the following readings:
Total Available Chlorine reading is 1.6
Free available chlorine reading is 1.5
pH is 7.4
Your supervising lifeguard has just informed you that you have had a fecal incident occur; a
solid stool has been discharged into the pool. According to the Centers for Disease Control, as
the CPO, you should do the following:
A. clear the pool of users and boost the free chlorine to 17 ppm
B. clear the pool and raise the free chlorine to 2 ppm
C. allow swimmers to remain in the pool, but raise the free chlorine to 10 ppm.
D. none of the above - ANS B. clear the pool and raise the free chlorine to 2 ppm
Assuming that your local health department requires you to raise the free chlorine to 5 ppm,
how much sodium hypochlorite would be needed to raise the free chlorine in the pool in
question #1 to that level?
A. 6 gallons
B. 3.5 gallons
C. 9 gallons
D. 35 gallons - ANS B. 3.5 gallons
You are the CPO for an indoor health club pool. The facility manager informs you that he is
receiving complaints about a strong chlorine odor in the pool area, and several members have
complained of eye irritation. The most likely cause of these complaints is:
A. too much free chlorine in the water
B. too few swimmers in the pool
C. high levels of chloramines in the pool
D. high calcium levels in the water - ANS C. high levels of chloramines in the pool
To determine the level of chloramines in the water, you should do which of the following?
A. test for free chlorine and pH, then divide the pH number by the free chlorine number
B. test for total chlorine and free chlorine, then subtract the free chlorine number from the total
chlorine number
C. test for total chlorine and combined chlorine, then subtract the combined chlorine number
from the free chlorine number
, D. test for total alkalinity and pH, then multiply the total alkalinity number by the pH number -
ANS B. test for total chlorine and free chlorine, then subtract the free chlorine number from the
total chlorine number
You operate a 45,000 gallon indoor pool, and upon doing your hourly chemical tests you
observe the following readings:
Total available chlorine is 2.2
Free available chlorine is 1.4
pH is 7.6
What is the level of chloramines in this pool?
A. 3.6
B. .8
C. -.8
D. 2.8 - ANS
To remove the chloramines in the pool in question #5, how much of the following compounds
would be needed?
A). Using Chlorine gas:
A. 4 lbs.
B. 24.13 lbs.
C. 5.666 lbs.
D. 2.413 lbs.
B). Using Sodium Hypochlorite:
A. 12 gallons
B. 2.48 gallons
C. 4.05 gallons
D. 3.11 gallons
C). Using Calcium Hypochlorite:
A. 3.71 lbs.
B. 2.36 lbs.
C. 37.1 lbs.
D. 5 lbs. - ANS A) A
B) B
C) A
You are the operator of a 330,000 gallon outdoor pool. Your local health department requires
you to perform a water balance calculation once monthly. Upon performing the water tests
necessary to perform this calculation, you observe the following readings in your pool:
Total alkalinity is 50 ppm
pH is 7.2
Calcium Hardness is 150 ppm
