16-Civ-A1 Elementary Structural Analysis
The analysis half of the civil structures pair. You take loads through beams, frames and trusses to reactions, internal forces and deflections, first for determinate structures and then for indeterminate ones without sidesway.
Study 16-Civ-A1 on your phone: the topics past sittings asked most, a few minutes at a time.
In production now, in our first wave.
Also written 16 Civ A1; papers set before 2017 use the older code 98-Civ-A1.
Reviewed by Reza Kashi, P.Eng. Updated .
What it covers
- Reactions, shear, axial force and bending moment in determinate beams, frames and trusses
- Deflections of determinate structures
- Influence lines for moving loads
- Indeterminate structures without sidesway: moment distribution
- Slope deflection and energy methods
On exam day
- Closed book, with no aids (EGBC Fall 2026 schedule).
- Any non-communicating, non-programmable calculator.
- Written online and remotely proctored. EGBC's candidate guide describes a 15-minute grace period at the start and up to 30 minutes after the exam to upload your written solutions.
Texts the syllabus names
- R. C. Hibbeler, Structural Analysis (primary text)
- K. M. Leet and C.-M. Uang, Fundamentals of Structural Analysis
- A. Kassimali, Structural Analysis, SI edition
What we are building
- Short drawn lessons on each method, starting with free-body diagrams
- Original problems that build from one-member checks to full frames
- Two closed-book timed mocks, marked by topic
Most tested, 2013 to 2019
Six question types appeared in every one of the 14 sittings, and deflections plus shear and moment diagrams alone carried about half the marks. Every paper had eight questions and candidates answered six: in 12 of the 14 papers, questions one to five were compulsory plus one of the last three.
From 14 sittings and 112 questions of the papers EGBC published. Statistics only: we do not reproduce the questions. Read our method
| Topic | Sittings | Share of marks |
|---|---|---|
| Deflections by virtual work and moment-area methods | 14 of 14 | 27.1% |
| Reactions, shear and bending moment diagrams | 14 of 14 | 24.8% |
| Moment distribution and slope-deflection | 14 of 14 | 16.9% |
| Influence lines for moving loads | 14 of 14 | 13.7% |
| Truss member forces | 14 of 14 | 13.3% |
| Stability and static determinacy | 14 of 14 | 4.3% |
More civil exams
- 16-Civ-A2 Elementary Structural Design
- 16-Civ-A3 Municipal and Environmental Engineering
- 16-Civ-A4 Geotechnical Materials and Analysis
- 16-Civ-A5 Hydraulic Engineering
- 16-Civ-A6 Highway Design, Construction, and Maintenance
- 16-Civ-B1 Advanced Structural Analysis
- 16-Civ-B2 Advanced Structural Design
- 16-Civ-B3 Geotechnical Design