Fec Erm Intro

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Introduction

PART 1: ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book is intended to guide you through the CivilFundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination body ofknowledge and the idiosyncrasies of the National Councilof Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES) FEReference Handbook (NCEES Handbook). This book isnot intended as a reference book, because you cannot useit while taking the FE examination. The only referenceyou may use is the NCEES Handbook. However, theNCEES Handbook is not intended as a teaching tool,nor is it an easy document to use. The NCEES Handbookwas never intended to be something you study or learnfrom, or to have value as anything other than an exam-day compilation. Many of its features may distract youbecause they differ from what you were expecting, wereexposed to, or what you currently use.

To effectively use the NCEES Handbook, you mustbecome familiar with its features, no matter how oddthey may seem. FE Civil Review Manual will help youbecome familiar with the format, layout, organization,and odd conventions of the NCEES Handbook. Thisbook, which displays the NCEES Handbook material inblue for easy identification, satisfies two importantneeds: it is (1) something to learn from, and (2) some-thing to help you become familiar with the NCEESHandbook.

Organization

This book is organized into topics (e.g., “StructuralDesign”) that correspond to the knowledge areas listedby NCEES in its Civil FE exam specifications. However,unlike the NCEES Handbook, this book arranges sub-topics into chapters (e.g., “Reinforced Concrete:Beams”) that build logically on one another. Each chap-ter contains sections (e.g., “Design of Doubly ReinforcedBeams”) organized around NCEES Handbook equations,but again, the arrangement of those equations is basedon logical development, not the NCEES Handbook.Equations that are presented together in this bookmay actually be many pages apart in the NCEESHandbook.

The presentation of each subtopic or related group ofequations uses similar components and follows a specificsequence. The components of a typical subtopic are:

. general section title

. background and developmental content

. equation name (or description) and equation number

. equation with NCEES Handbook formatting

. any relevant variations of the equation

. any values typically associated with the equation

. additional explanation and development

. worked quantitative example using the NCEESHandbook equation

. footnotes

Not all sections contain all of these features. Some fea-tures may be omitted if they are not needed. Forexample, “g ¼ 9:81 m=s2” would be a typical value asso-ciated with the equation W ¼ mg. There would be notypical values associated with the equation F ¼ ma.

Much of the information in this book and in the NCEESHandbook is relevant to more than one knowledge areaor subtopic. For example, equations related to the Sta-tics knowledge area also pertain to the subtopics ofStructural Analysis. Many Hydraulics and HydrologicSystems concepts correlate with Environmental Engi-neering subtopics. The index will help you locate allinformation related to any of the topics or subtopicsyou wish to review.

Content

This book presents equations, figures, tables, and otherdata equivalent to those given in the NCEES Handbook.For example, the NCEES Handbook includes tables forconversion factors, material properties, and areas andcentroids of geometric shapes, so this book providesequivalent tables. Occasionally, a redundant element ofthe NCEES Handbook, or some item having no value toexaminees, has been omitted.

Some elements, primarily figures and tables, that wereoriginally published by authoritative third parties (andfor whom reproduction permission has been granted)have been reprinted exactly as they appear in theNCEES Handbook. Other elements have been editoriallyand artistically reformulated, but they remain equiva-lent in utility to the originals.

Colors

Due to the selective nature of topics included in theNCEES Handbook, coverage of some topics in theNCEES Handbook may be incomplete. This book aimsto offer more comprehensive coverage, and so, it con-tains material that is not covered in the NCEES

P P I * w w w . p p i 2 p a s s . c o m

Handbook. This book uses color to differentiate betweenwhat is available to you during the exam, and what issupplementary content that makes a topic more inter-esting or easier to understand. Anything that closelyparallels or duplicates the NCEES Handbook is printedin blue. Headings that introduce content related toNCEES Handbook equations are printed in blue. Titlesof figures and tables that are essentially the same as inthe NCEES Handbook are similarly printed in blue.Headings that introduce sections, equations, figures,and tables that are NOT in the NCEES Handbook areprinted in black. The black content is background,preliminary and supporting material, explanations,extensions to theory, and application rules that aregenerally missing from the NCEES Handbook.

Numbering

The equations, figures, and tables in the NCEES Hand-book are unnumbered. All equations, figures, and tablesin this book include unique numbers provided to helpyou navigate through the content.

You will find many equations in this book that have nonumbers and are printed in black, not blue. Theseequations represent instructional material, often missingpieces or interim results not presented in the NCEESHandbook. In some cases, the material was present inthe eighth edition of the NCEES Handbook, but isabsent in the ninth edition. In some cases, I includedinstruction in deleted content. (This book does not con-tain all of the deleted NCEES Handbook eighth editioncontent, however.)

Equation and Variable Names

This book generally uses the NCEES Handbook termi-nology and naming conventions, giving standard, nor-mal, and customary alternatives within parentheses orfootnotes. For example, the NCEES Handbook refers towhat is commonly known as Bernoulli equation as the“energy equation.” This book acknowledges the NCEESHandbook terminology when introducing the equation,but uses the term “Bernoulli equation” thereafter.

Variables

This book makes every effort to include the NCEESHandbook equations exactly as they appear in theNCEES Handbook. While any symbol can be defined torepresent any quantity, in many cases, the NCEES Hand-book’s choice of variables will be dissimilar to what mostengineers are accustomed to. For example, althoughthere is no concept of weight in the SI system, theNCEES Handbook defines W as the symbol for weightwith units of newtons. While engineers are comfortablewith E, Ek, KE, and U representing kinetic energy, afterintroducing KE in its introductory pages, the NCEESHandbook uses T (which is used sparingly by some scien-tists) for kinetic energy. The NCEES Handbook desig-

nates power as _W instead of P. The NCEES Handbookuses Greek omega, !, to represent water content, rather

than the industry-standard w. Because you have to befamiliar with them, this book reluctantly follows all ofthose conventions.

This book generally follows the NCEES Handbook con-vention regarding use of italic fonts, even when doing soresults in ambiguity. For example, as used by theNCEES Handbook, aspect ratio, AR, is indistinguishablefrom A�R, area times radius. Occasionally, the NCEESHandbook is inconsistent in how it represents a partic-ular variable, or in some sections, it drops the italic fontentirely and presents all of its variables in roman font.This book maintains the publishing convention of show-ing all variables as italic.

There are a few important differences between the waysthe NCEES Handbook and this book present content.These differences are intentional for the purpose of main-taining clarity and following PPI’s publication policies.

. pressure: The NCEES Handbook primarily uses P forpressure, an atypical engineering convention. Thisbook always uses p so as to differentiate it from P,which is reserved for power, momentum, and axialloading in related chapters.

. velocity: The NCEES Handbook uses v and occasion-ally Greek nu, �, for velocity. This book always usesv to differentiate it from Greek upsilon, �, whichrepresents specific volume in some topics (e.g., ther-modynamics), and Greek nu, �, which representsabsolute viscosity and Poisson’s ratio.

. specific volume: The NCEES Handbook uses v forspecific volume. This book always uses Greek upsi-lon, �, a convention that most engineers will befamiliar with.

. units: The NCEES Handbook and the FE examgenerally do not emphasize the difference betweenpounds-mass and pounds-force. “Pounds” (“lb”) canmean either force or mass. This book always distin-guishes between pounds-force (lbf) and pounds-mass (lbm).

Distinction Between Mass and Weight

The NCEES Handbook specifies the unit weight ofwater, �w, as 9.810 N/m3. This book follows that con-vention but takes every opportunity to point out thatthere is no concept of weight in the SI system.

Equation Formatting

The NCEES Handbook writes out many multilevel equa-tions as an awkward string of characters on a single line,using a plethora of parentheses and square and curlybrackets to indicate the precedence of mathematicaloperations. So, this book does also. However, in exam-ples using the equations, this book reverts to normalpublication style after presenting the base equationstyled as it is in the NCEES Handbook. The change instyle will show you the equations as the NCEES


xvi F E C I V I L R E V I E W M A N U A L

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Handbook presents them, while presenting the calcula-tions in a normal and customary typographic manner.

Footnotes

I have tried to anticipate the kinds of questions aboutthis book and the NCEES Handbook that an instructorwould be asked in class. Footnotes are used in this bookas the preferred method of answering those questionsand of drawing your attention to features in the NCEESHandbook that may confuse, confound, and infuriateyou. Basically, NCEES Handbook conventions are usedwithin the body of this book, and any inconsistencies,oddities and unconventionalities, and occasionally, evenerrors, are pointed out in the footnotes.

If you know the NCEES knowledge areas backward aswell as forward, many of the issues pointed out in thefootnotes will seem obvious. However, if you have only asuperficial knowledge of the knowledge areas, the foot-notes will answer many of your questions. The footnotesare intended to be factual and helpful.

Indexed Terms

The print version of this book contains an index withthousands of terms. The index will help you quickly findjust what you are looking for, as well as identify relatedconcepts and content.

PART 2: HOW YOU CAN USETHIS BOOK

IF YOU ARE A STUDENT

In reference to Isaac Asimov’s Foundation and Empiretrilogy, you’ll soon experience a Seldon crisis. Given allthe factors (the exam you’re taking, what you learned asa student, how much time you have before the exam,and your own personality), the behaviors (strategiesmade evident through action) required of you will beself-evident.

Here are some of those strategies.

GET THE NCEES FE REFERENCEHANDBOOK

Get a copy of the NCEES Handbook. Use it as you readthrough this book. You will want to know the sequenceof the sections, what data is included, and the approx-imate locations of important figures and tables in theNCEES Handbook. You should also know the terminol-ogy (words and phrases) used in the NCEES Handbookto describe equations or subjects, because those are theterms you will have to look up during the exam.

The NCEES Handbook is available both in printed andPDF format. The index of the print version may helpyou locate an equation or other information you arelooking for, but few terms are indexed thoroughly. The

PDF version includes search functionality that is similarto what you’ll have available when taking the computer-based exam. In order to find something using the PDFsearch function, your search term will have to match thecontent exactly (including punctuation).

DIAGNOSE YOURSELF

Use the diagnostic exams in this book determine howmuch you should study in the various knowledge areas.You can use diagnostic exams (and, other assessments)in two ways: take them before you begin studying todetermine which subjects you should emphasize, or takethem after you finish studying to determine if you areready to move on.

MAKE A SCHEDULE

In order to complete your review of all examinationsubjects, you must develop and adhere to a reviewschedule. If you are not taking a live review course(where the order of your preparation is determined bythe lectures), you’ll want to prepare your own schedule.If you want to pencil out a schedule on paper, a blankstudy schedule template is provided at the end of thisIntroduction.

The amount of material in each chapter of this book,and the number of questions in the corresponding chap-ter of FE Civil Practice Problems, were designed to fitinto a practical schedule. You should be able to reviewone chapter in each book each day. There are 62 chap-ters and 16 diagnostic exams in this book, as well ascorresponding chapters of practice problems in the com-panion book FE Civil Practice Problems. So, you needat least 78 study days. This requires you to treat everyday the same and work through weekends.

If you’d rather take all the weekends off and otherwisestick with the one-chapter-per-study-day concept, youwill have to begin approximately 110 days before theexam. Use the off days to rest, review, and study ques-tions from other books. If you are pressed for time or getbehind schedule, you don’t have to take the days off.That will be your choice.

Near the exam date, give yourself a week to take arealistic practice exam, to remedy any weaknesses itexposes, and to recover from the whole ordeal.

WORK THROUGH EVERYTHING

NCEES has greatly reduced the number of subjectsabout which you are expected to be knowledgeable andhas made nothing optional. Skipping your weakest sub-jects is no longer a viable preparation strategy. Youshould study all examination knowledge areas, not justyour specialty areas. That means you study every chap-ter in this book and skip nothing. Do not limit thenumber of chapters you study in hopes of findingenough questions in your areas of expertise to pass theexam.


I N T R O D U C T I O N xvii

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BE THOROUGH

Being thorough means really doing the work. Read thematerial, don’t skim it. Solve each numerical exampleusing your calculator. Read through the solution, andrefer back to the equations, figures, and tables itreferences.

Don’t jump into answering questions without firstreviewing the instructional text in this book. Unlikereference books that you skim or merely refer to whenneeded, this book requires you to read everything. Thatreading is going to be your only review. Reading theinstructional text is a “high value” activity. There isn’tmuch text to read in the first place, so the value perword is high. There aren’t any derivations or proofs, sothe text is useful. Everything in blue titled sections is inthe NCEES Handbook, so it has a high probability ofshowing up on the exam.

WORK PROBLEMS

You have less than an average of three minutes toanswer each question on the exam. You must be ableto quickly recall solution procedures, formulas, andimportant data. You will not have time to derive solu-tion methods—you must know them instinctively. Thebest way to develop fast recall is to work as manypractice problems as you can find, including those inthe companion book FE Civil Practice Problems.

Solve every example in this book and every problem inFE Civil Practice Problems. Don’t skip any of them. Allof the problems were written to illustrate key points.

FINISH STRONG

There will be physical demands on your body during theexamination. It is very difficult to remain alert, focused,and attentive for six hours or more. Unfortunately, themore time you study, the less time you have to maintainyour physical condition. Thus, most examinees arrive atthe examination site in high mental condition but indeteriorated physical condition. While preparing forthe FE exam is not the only good reason for embarkingon a physical conditioning program, it can serve as agood incentive to get in shape.

CLAIM YOUR REWARD

As Hari Seldon often said in Isaac Asimov’s Foundationand Empire trilogy, the outcome of your actions will beinevitable.

IF YOU ARE AN INSTRUCTOR

CBT Challenges

The computer-based testing (CBT) FE exam format,content, and frequent administration present severalchallenges to teaching a live review course. Some of thechallenges are insurmountable to almost all reviewcourses. Live review courses cannot be offered yearround, a different curriculum is required for each

engineering discipline, and a hard-copy, in-class mockexam taken at the end of the course no longer preparesexaminees for the CBT experience. The best thatinstructors can do is to be honest about the limitationsof their courses, and to refer examinees to any othercompatible resources.

Many of the standard, tried-and-true features of live FEreview courses are functionally obsolete. These obsoletefeatures include general lectures that cover “everything,”complex numerical examples with more than two orthree simple steps, instructor-prepared handouts con-taining notes and lists of reference materials, and ahard-copy mock exam. As beneficial as those featureswere in the past, they are no longer best commercialpractice for the CBT FE exam. However, they may stillbe used and provide value to examinees.

This book parallels the content of the NCEES Handbookand, with the exceptions listed in this Introduction, usesthe same terminology and nomenclature. The figuresand tables are equivalent to those in the NCEES Hand-book. You can feel confident that I had your studentsand the success of your course in mind when I designedthis book.

Instruction for Multiple Exams

Since this book is intended to be used by those studyingfor the Civil FE exam, there is no easy way to use it asthe basis for more than a Civil FE exam review course.

Historically, most commercial review courses (taken pri-marily by engineers who already have their degrees)prepared examinees for the Other Disciplines FE exam-ination. That is probably the only logical (practical,sustainable, etc.) course of action, even now. Few com-mercial review course providers have the large customerbase and diverse instructors needed to offer simulta-neous courses for every discipline.

University review courses frequently combine studentsfrom multiple disciplines, focusing the review coursecontent on the core overlapping concepts and the topicscovered by the Other Disciplines FE exam. The changein the FE exam scope has made it more challenging thanever to adequately prepare a diverse student group.

If you are tasked with teaching a course to examineestaking more than one exam, refer to the guidelines andsuggestions posted at feprep.com/instruct. Thematerials available to review course instructors (as wellas for examinees) continue to evolve, and that site willreference the most current resources available.

Lectures

Your lectures should duplicate what the examineeswould be doing in a self-directed review program. Thatmeans walking through each chapter in this book in itsentirety. You’re basically guiding a tour through thebook. By covering everything in this book, you’ll covereverything on the exam.


xviii F E C I V I L R E V I E W M A N U A L

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Handouts

Everything you do in a lecture should be tied back tothe NCEES Handbook. You will be doing your studentsa great disservice if you get them accustomed to usingyour course handouts or notes to solve problems. Theycan’t use your notes in the exam, so train them to usethe only reference they are allowed to use.

NCEES allows that the exam may require broaderknowledge than the NCEES Handbook contains. How-ever, there are very few areas that require formulas notpresent in the NCEES Handbook. Therefore, youshouldn’t deviate too much from the subject matter ofeach chapter.

Homework

Students like to see and work a lot of problems. Theyderive great comfort from exposure to exam-like prob-lems. They experience great reassurance in workingexam-like problems and finding out how easy the prob-lems are. However, most students are impatient. So, therepetition and reinforcement should come from workingadditional problems, not from more lecture.

It is unlikely that your students will be working tocapacity if their work is limited to what is in this book.You will have to provide or direct your students to moreproblems in order to help them effectively master theconcepts you will be teaching.

Schedule

I have found that a 15-week format works best for a liveFE exam review course that covers everything and isintended for working engineers who already have their

degrees. This schedule allows for one 2 to 21=2 hour lectureper week, with a 10-minute break each hour.

Table 1 outlines a typical format for a live commercialCivil FE review course. To some degree, the lecturesbuild upon one another. However, a credible decisioncan be made to present the knowledge areas in the orderthey appear in the NCEES Handbook.

However, a 15-week course is too long for junior andsenior engineering majors still working toward a degree.College students and professors don’t have that muchtime. And, students don’t need as thorough of a reviewas do working engineers who have forgotten more of thefundamentals. College students can get by with themost cursory of reviews in some knowledge areas, suchas mathematics, fluid mechanics, and statics.

For college students, an 8-week course consisting of sixweeks of lectures followed by two weeks of open ques-tions seems appropriate. If possible, two 1-hour lecturesper week are more likely to get students to attend than asingle 2- or 3-hour lecture per week. The course consistsof a comprehensive march through all knowledge areasexcept mathematics, with the major emphasis being onproblem-solving rather than lecture. For current engi-neering majors, the main goals are to keep the students

focused and to wake up their latent memories, not toteach the subjects.

Table 2 outlines a typical format for a live universityreview course. The sequence of the lectures is less impor-tant for a university review course than for a commercialcourse, because students will have recent experience inthe subjects. Some may actually be enrolled in some ofthe related courses while you are conducting the review.

I strongly believe in the benefits of exposing all reviewcourse participants to a realistic sample examination.Unless you have made arrangements with feprep.comfor your students to take an online exam, you probablycannot provide them with an experience equivalent tothe actual exam. A written take-home exam is betterthan nothing, but since it will not mimic the examexperience, it must be presented as little more thanadditional problems to solve.

I no longer recommend an in-class group final exam.Since a review course usually ends only a few days beforethe real FE examination, it seems inhumane to makestudents sit for hours into the late evening for the finalexam. So, if you are going to use a written mock exam, Irecommend distributing it at the first meeting of thereview course and assigning it as a take-home exercise.

PART 3: ABOUT THE EXAM

EXAM STRUCTURE

The FE exam is a computer-based test that contains110 multiple-choice questions given over two consecu-tive sessions (sections, parts, etc.). Each session containsapproximately 55 multiple-choice questions that aregrouped together by knowledge area (subject, topic,etc.). The subjects are not explicitly labeled, and thebeginning and ending of the subjects are not noted. Nosubject spans the two exam sessions. That is, if a subjectappears in the first session of the exam, it will notappear in the second.

Each question has four possible answer choices, labeled(A), (B), (C), and (D). Only one question and its answerchoices is given onscreen at a time. The exam is notadaptive (i.e., your response to one question has nobearing on the next question you are given). Even ifyou answer the first five mathematics questions cor-rectly, you’ll still have to answer the sixth question.

In essence, the FE exam is two separate, partial examsgiven in sequence. During either session, you cannotview or respond to questions in the other session.

Your exam will include a limited (unknown) number ofquestions (known as “pretest items”) that will not bescored and will not have an impact on your results.NCEES does this to determine the viability of newquestions for future exams. You won’t know whichquestions are pretest items. They are not identifiableand are randomly distributed throughout the exam.


I N T R O D U C T I O N xix

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EXAM DURATION

The exam is six hours long and includes an 8-minutetutorial, a 25-minute break, and a brief survey at theconclusion of the exam. The total time you’ll have toactually answer the exam questions is 5 hours and 20 min-utes. The problem-solving pace works out to slightly lessthan 3 minutes per question. However, the exam does notpace you. You may spend as much time as you like oneach question. Although the onscreen navigational inter-face is slightly awkward, you may work through thequestions (in that session) in any sequence. If you wantto go back and check your answers before you submit asession for grading, you may. However, once you submita section you are not able to go back and review it.

You can divide your time between the two sessions anyway you’d like. That is, if you want to spend 4 hours onthe first section, and 1 hour and 20 minutes on thesecond section, you could do so. Or, if you want to spend2 hours and 10 minutes on the first section, and 3 hoursand 10 minutes on the second section, you could do that

instead. Between sessions, you can take a 25-minutebreak. (You can take less, if you would like.) You cannotwork through the break, and the break time cannot beadded to the time permitted for either session. Onceeach session begins, you can leave your seat for personalreasons, but the “clock” does not stop for your absence.Unanswered questions are scored the same as questionsanswered incorrectly, so you should use the last fewminutes of each session to guess at all unansweredquestions.

THE NCEES NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

At the beginning of your CBT experience, a nondisclo-sure agreement will appear on the screen. In order tobegin the exam, you must accept the agreement withintwo minutes. If you do not accept within two minutes,your CBT experience will end, and you will forfeit yourappointment and exam fees. The CBT nondisclosureagreement is discussed in the section entitled “Subver-sion After the Exam.” The nondisclosure agreement, as

Table 1 Recommended 15-Week Civil FE Exam Review Course Format for Commercial Review Courses

week FE Civil Review Manual chapter titles

FE Civil ReviewManual chapter

numbers

1 Analytic Geometry and Trigonometry; Algebra and Linear Algebra; Calculus; Differential Equationsand Transforms; Probability and Statistics

1�5

2 Calculus; Differential Equations and Transforms; Probability and Statistics 3�5

3 Engineering Economics; Professional Practice; Ethics; Licensure 59�62

4 Systems of Forces and Moments; Trusses; Pulleys, Cables, and Friction; Centroids and Moments ofInertia; Indeterminate Statics

21�25

5 Kinematics; Kinetics; Kinetics of Rotational Motion; Energy and Work 26�29

6 Fluid Properties; Fluid Statics; Fluid Measurement and Similitude 6�8

7 Hydrology; Hydraulics; Groundwater 9�11

8 Water Quality; Water Supply Treatment and Distribution; Wastewater Collection and Treatment;Activated Sludge and Sludge Processing; Air Quality

12�16

9 Soil Properties and Testing; Foundations; Rigid Retaining Walls; Excavations 17�20

10 Material Properties and Testing; Engineering Materials 34�35

11 Stresses and Strains; Thermal, Hoop, and Torsional Stress; Beams; Columns 30�33

12 Structural Design: Materials and Basic Concepts; Reinforced Concrete: Beams; Reinforced Concrete:Columns; Reinforced Concrete: Slabs; Reinforced Concrete: Walls; Reinforced Concrete: Footings;Structural Steel: Beams; Structural Steel: Columns; Structural Steel: Tension Members; StructuralSteel: Beam-Columns; Structural Steel: Connectors

36�46

13 Transportation Capacity and Planning; Plane Surveying; Geometric Design; Earthwork; PavementDesign; Traffic Safety

47�52

14 Construction Management, Scheduling, and Estimating; Procurement and Project Delivery Methods;Construction Documents; Construction Operations and Management; Construction Safety

53�57

15 Computer Software 58


xx F E C I V I L R E V I E W M A N U A L

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stated in the November 2013 edition of the NCEESExaminee Guide, is as follows.

This exam is confidential and secure, owned andcopyrighted by NCEES and protected by thelaws of the United States and elsewhere. It ismade available to you, the examinee, solely forvalid assessment and licensing purposes. In orderto take this exam, you must agree not to disclose,publish, reproduce, or transmit this exam, inwhole or in part, in any form or by any means,oral or written, electronic or mechanical, for anypurpose, without the prior express written per-mission of NCEES. This includes agreeing not topost or disclose any test questions or answersfrom this exam, in whole or in part, on anywebsites, online forums, or chat rooms, or inany other electronic transmissions, at any time.

YOUR EXAM IS UNIQUE

The exam that you take will not be the exam taken bythe person sitting next to you. Differences betweenexams go beyond mere sequencing differences. NCEESsays that the CBT system will randomly select different,but equivalent, questions from its database for eachexaminee using a linear-on-the-fly (LOFT) algorithm.Each examinee will have a unique exam of equivalentdifficulty. That translates into each examinee having aslightly different minimum passing score.

So, you may conclude that either many questions arestatic clones of others, or that NCEES has an immensedatabase of trusted questions with supporting econo-metric data.1,2 However, there is no way to determineexactly how NCEES ensures that each examinee is givenan equivalent exam. All that can be said is that lookingat your neighbor’s monitor would be a waste of time.

THE EXAM INTERFACE

The onscreen exam interface contains only minimal navi-gational tools. Onscreen navigation is limited to selectingan answer, advancing to the next question, going back tothe previous question, and flagging the current questionfor later review. The interface also includes a timer, thecurrent question number (e.g., 45 of 110), a pop-up scien-tific calculator, and access to an onscreen version of theNCEES Handbook.

During the exam, you can advance sequentially throughthe questions, but you cannot jump to any specific ques-tion, whether or not it has been flagged. After you havecompleted the last question in a session, however, thenavigation capabilities change, and you are permittedto review questions in any sequence and navigate toflagged questions.

Table 2 Recommended 8-Week Civil FE Exam Review CourseFormat for University Courses

class FE Civil Review Manual chapter titles

FE CivilReviewManualchapternumbers

1 Computer Software; EngineeringEconomics; Ethics

58, 59, 61

2 Trusses; Pulleys, Cables, and Friction;Centroids and Moments of Inertia;Indeterminate Statics; Kinematics;Kinetics; Kinetics of RotationalMotion; Energy and Work

22�29

3 Fluid Properties; Fluid Statics; FluidMeasurement and Similitude

6�8

4 Water Quality; Water SupplyTreatment and Distribution;Wastewater Collection andTreatment; Activated Sludge andSludge Processing; Air Quality; SoilProperties and Testing; Foundations;Rigid Retaining Walls; Excavations

12�20

5 Stresses and Strains; Thermal, Hoop,and Torsional Stress; Beams;Columns; Material Properties andTesting; Engineering Materials;Structural Design: Materials andBasic Concepts; Reinforced Concrete:Beams; Reinforced Concrete:Columns; Reinforced Concrete: Slabs;Reinforced Concrete: Walls;Reinforced Concrete: Footings;Structural Steel: Beams; StructuralSteel: Columns; Structural Steel:Tension Members; Structural Steel:Beam-Columns; Structural Steel:Connectors

30�46

6 Transportation Capacity and Planning;Plane Surveying; Geometric Design;Earthwork; Pavement Design; TrafficSafety; Construction Management,Scheduling, and Estimating;Procurement and Project DeliveryMethods; Construction Documents;Construction Operations andManagement; Construction Safety

47�57

7 open questions �8 open questions �

1The FE exam draws upon a simple database of finished questions.The CBT system does not construct each examinee’s questions from aset of “master” questions using randomly generated values for eachquestion parameter constrained to predetermined ranges.2Questions used in the now-obsolete paper-and-pencil exam wereeither 2-minute or 4-minute questions, based on the number of ques-tions and time available in morning and afternoon sessions. Since all ofthe CBT exam questions are 3-minute questions, a logical conclusion isthat 100% of the questions are brand new, or (more likely) thatmorning and afternoon questions are comingled within each subject.


I N T R O D U C T I O N xxi

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THE NCEES HANDBOOK INTERFACE

Examinees are provided with a 24-inch computer moni-tor that will simultaneously display both the examquestions and a searchable PDF of the NCEES Hand-book. The PDF’s table of contents consists of live links.The search function is capable of finding anything inthe NCEES Handbook, down to and including individ-ual variables. However, the search function finds onlyprecise search terms (e.g., “Hazenwilliams” will notlocate “Hazen-Williams”). Like the printed version ofthe NCEES Handbook, the PDF also contains an index,but its terms and phrases are fairly limited and likely tobe of little use.

WHAT IS THE REQUIRED PASSING SCORE?

Scores are based on the total number of questionsanswered correctly, with no deductions made for ques-tions answered incorrectly. Raw scores may be adjustedslightly, and the adjusted scores are then scaled.

Since each question has four answer choices, the lowerbound for a minimum required passing score is theperformance generated by random selection, 25%. Whileit is inevitable that some examinees can score less than25%, it is more likely that most examinees can scoreslightly more than 25% simply with judicious guessingand elimination of obvious incorrect options. So, thegoal of all examinees should be to increase their scoresfrom 25% to the minimum required passing score.

In the past, NCEES has rarely announced a minimumrequired passing score for the FE exam, ostensiblybecause the average score changed slightly with eachadministration of the exam. However, inside informa-tion reports that the raw percentage of questions thatmust be answered correctly was low—hovering around50%. NCEES intends to release performance data on theCBT examinations approximately quarterly. That datawill probably not include minimum required passingscore information.

Since each state requires a passing score of 70, NCEESsimply scales 50% (or whatever percentage the mini-mum required passing score represents) up to 70. Every-one seems happy with this practice—one of the fewtimes that you can get something for nothing.

For the CBT examination, each examinee will have aunique exam of equivalent difficulty. This translatesinto a different minimum passing score for each exam-ination. NCEES “accumulates” the passing score bysumming each question’s “required performance value”(RPV).3 The RPV represents the fraction of minimallyqualified examinees that it thinks will solve the questioncorrectly. In the past, RPVs for new questions weredependent on the opinions of experts that it polled withthe question, “What fraction of minimally qualifiedexaminees do you think should be able to solve thisquestion correctly?” For questions that have appeared

in past exams, including the “pre-test” items that areused on the CBT exam, NCEES actually knows thefraction. Basically, out of all of the examinees whopassed the FE exam (the “minimally qualified” part),NCEES knows how many answered a pre-test questioncorrectly (the “fraction of examinees” part). A partic-ularly easy question on Ohm’s law might have an RPVof 0.88, while a more difficult question on Bayes’ theo-rem might have an RPV of 0.37. Add up all of theRPVs, and bingo, you have the basis for a passing score.What could be simpler?4

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE PASSING RATE?

For the five-year period of 2005 through April 2010,approximately 74% of first-time test takers passed thewritten discipline-specific Civil FE exam. The averagefailure rate was, accordingly, 26%. Some of those whofailed the first time retook the FE exam, although thepercentage of successful examinees declined precipitouslywith each subsequent attempt, averaging around 30%.

For the October 2013 administration, 75% of civil first-time examinees passed the FE exam; 34% of repeat testtakers passed. These passing rates are higher than nor-mal, and higher than when the FE exam had a differentformat.

Passing rates for the CBT exam are not yet known.

WHAT REFERENCE MATERIAL CAN I BRINGTO THE EXAM?

Since October 1993, the FE exam has been whatNCEES calls a “limited-reference exam.” This meansthat nothing except what is supplied by NCEES maybe used during the exam. Therefore, the FE exam isreally an “NCEES-publication only” exam. NCEES pro-vides its own searchable, electronic version of theNCEES Handbook for use during the exam. Computerscreens are 24 inches wide so there is enough room todisplay the exam questions and the NCEES Handbookside-by-side. No printed books from any publisher maybe used.

WILL THE NCEES HANDBOOK HAVEEVERYTHING I NEED DURING THE EXAM?

In addition to not allowing examinees to be responsiblefor their own references, NCEES also takes no respon-sibility for the adequacy of coverage of its own reference.Nor does it offer any guidance or provide examples as towhat else you should know, study, or memorize. The

3NCEES does not actually use the term “required performance value,”although it does use the method described.

4The flaw in this logic, of course, is that water seeks its own level.Deficient educational background and dependency on automationresults in lower RPVs, which the NCEES process translates into alower minimum passing score requirement. In the past, an “equatingsubtest” (a small number of questions in the exam that were associatedwith the gold standard of econometric data) was used to adjust thesum of RPVs based on the performance of the candidate pool. Thoughunmentioned in NCEES literature, that feature may still exist in theCBT exam process. However, the adjustment would still be based onthe performance (good or bad) of the examinees.


xxii F E C I V I L R E V I E W M A N U A L

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following warning statement comes from the NCEESHandbook preface.

The FE Reference Handbook does not contain allthe information required to answer every ques-tion on the exam. Basic theories, conversions,formulas, and definitions examinees are expectedto know have not been included.

As open-ended as that warning statement sounds, theexam does not actually expect much knowledge outsideof what is covered in the NCEES Handbook. For allpractical purposes, the NCEES Handbook will haveeverything that you need. For example, if the NCEESHandbook covers only rectangular concrete columns,you won’t be asked to design a round concrete column.If the NCEES Handbook covers only the Rankine earthpressure theory, you won’t be expected to know theCoulomb earth pressure theory. If the NCEES Hand-book only covers load and resistance factor design(LRFD) for structural calculations, you won’t beexpected to know anything about allowable stressdesign (ASD). If the NCEES Handbook doesn’t coverfooting sizing, you won’t be expected to know how todetermine the net allowable bearing capacity.

That makes it pretty simple to predict the kinds ofquestions that will appear on the exam. If you take yourpreparation seriously, the NCEES Handbook is prettymuch a guarantee that you won’t waste any time learn-ing subjects that are not on the FE exam.

WILL THE NCEES HANDBOOK HAVEEVERYTHING I NEED TO STUDY FROM?

Saying that you won’t need to work outside of thecontent published in the NCEES Handbook is not thesame as saying the NCEES Handbook is adequate tostudy from.

From several viewpoints, the NCEES Handbook is mar-ginally adequate in organization, presentation, and con-sistency as an examination reference. The NCEESHandbook was never intended to be something youstudy or learn from, so it is most definitely inadequatefor that purpose. Background, preliminary and support-ing material, explanations, extensions to the theory, andapplication rules are all missing from the NCEES Hand-book. Many subtopics (e.g., contract law) listed in theexam specifications are not represented in the NCEESHandbook.

That is why you will notice many equations, figures, andtables in this book that are not blue. You may, forexample, read several paragraphs in this book containingvarious black equations before you come across a blueequation section. While the black material may be lesslikely to appear on the exam than the blue material, itprovides background information that is essential tounderstanding the blue material. Although memoriza-tion of the black material is not generally required, thismaterial should at least make sense to you.

CIVIL FE EXAM KNOWLEDGE AREAS ANDQUESTION DISTRIBUTION

The following Civil FE exam specifications have beenpublished by NCEES. Some of the topics listed are notcovered in any meaningful manner (or at all) by theNCEES Handbook. The only conclusion that can bedrawn is that the required knowledge of these subjectsis shallow, qualitative, and/or nonexistent.

1. mathematics (7�11 questions): analytic geome-try; calculus; roots of equations; vector analysis

2. probability and statistics (4�6 questions): mea-sures of central tendency and dispersion (e.g., mean,mode, and standard deviation); estimation for a sin-gle mean (e.g., point5 and confidence intervals);regression and curve fitting; expected value(weighted average) in decision making

3. computational tools (4�6 questions): spread-sheet computations; structured programming (e.g.,if-then, loops, and macros)

4. ethics and professional practice (4�6 ques-tions): codes of ethics (professional and technicalsocieties); professional liability; licensure; sustainabil-ity and sustainable design; professional skills (e.g.,public policy, management, and business); contractsand contract law

5. engineering economics (4�6 questions): dis-counted cash flow (e.g., equivalence, present worth(PW), equivalent annual worth, future worth (FW),and rate of return); cost (e.g., incremental, average,sunk, and estimating); analysis (e.g., breakeven,benefit-cost, and life cycle); uncertainty (e.g.,expected value and risk)

6. statics (7�11 questions): resultants of force sys-tems; equivalent force systems; equilibrium of rigidbodies; frames and trusses; centroids of areas; areamoments of inertia; static friction

7. dynamics (4�6 questions): kinematics (e.g., par-ticles and rigid bodies); mass moments of inertia;force acceleration (e.g., particles and rigid bodies);impulse momentum (e.g., particles and rigid bodies);work, energy, and power (e.g., particles and rigidbodies)

8. mechanics of materials (7�11 questions): shearand moment diagrams; stresses and strains (e.g.,axial, torsion, bending, shear, and thermal); deforma-tions (e.g., axial, torsion, bending, and thermal);combined stresses; principal stresses; Mohr’s circle;column analysis (e.g., buckling and boundary condi-tions); composite sections; elastic and plastic defor-mations; stress-strain diagrams

5The term “point interval” is unique to NCEES. This may mean “pointestimation and confidence intervals” or “confidence intervals ofpoints,” but it is ambiguous in intent.


I N T R O D U C T I O N xxiii

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9. materials (4�6 questions): mix design (e.g., con-crete and asphalt); test methods and specifications(e.g., steel, concrete, aggregates, asphalt, and wood);physical and mechanical properties of concrete, fer-rous and nonferrous metals, masonry, wood, engi-neered materials (e.g., fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP),laminated lumber, and wood/plastic composites), andasphalt

10. fluid mechanics (4�6 questions): flow measure-ment; fluid properties; fluid statics; energy, impulse,and momentum equations

11. hydraulics and hydrologic systems (8�12questions): basic hydrology (e.g., infiltration, rain-fall, runoff, detention, flood flows, and watersheds);basic hydraulics (e.g., Manning equation, Bernoullitheorem, open-channel flow, and pipe flow); pump-ing systems (water and wastewater); water distribu-tion systems; reservoirs (e.g., dams, routing, andspillways); groundwater (e.g., flow, wells, and draw-down); storm sewer collection systems

12. structural analysis (6�9 questions): analysis offorces in statically determinant beams, trusses, andframes; deflection of statically determinant beams,trusses, and frames; structural determinacy and sta-bility analysis of beams, trusses, and frames; loadsand load paths (e.g., dead, live, lateral, influencelines and moving loads, and tributary areas); ele-mentary statically indeterminate structures

13. structural design (6�9 questions): design ofsteel components (e.g., codes and design philoso-phies, beams, columns, beam-columns, tension mem-bers, and connections); design of reinforced concretecomponents (e.g., codes and design philosophies,beams, slabs, columns, walls, and footings)

14. geotechnical engineering (9�14 questions):geology; index properties and soil classifications;phase relations (air-water-solid); laboratory andfield tests; effective stress (buoyancy); stability ofretaining walls (e.g., active pressure/passive pres-sure); shear strength; bearing capacity (cohesiveand noncohesive); foundation types (e.g., spreadfootings, deep foundations, wall footings, and mats);consolidation and differential settlement; seepage/flow nets; slope stability (e.g., fills, embankments,cuts, and dams); soil stabilization (e.g., chemicaladditives and geosynthetics); drainage systems; ero-sion control

15. transportation engineering (8�12 questions):geometric design of streets and highways; geometricdesign of intersections; pavement system design (e.g.,thickness, subgrade, drainage, and rehabilitation);traffic safety; traffic capacity; traffic flow theory;traffic control devices; transportation planning (e.g.,travel forecast modeling)

16. environmental engineering (6�9 questions):water quality (ground and surface); basic tests(e.g., water, wastewater, and air); environmental

regulations; water supply and treatment; waste-water collection and treatment

17. construction (4�6 questions): constructiondocuments; procurement methods (e.g., competitivebid and qualifications-based); project deliverymethods (e.g., design-bid-build, design build, con-struction management, and multiple prime); con-struction operations and methods (e.g., lifting,rigging, dewatering and pumping, equipment pro-duction, productivity analysis and improvement,and temporary erosion control); project scheduling(e.g., critical path method (CPM) and allocation ofresources); project management (e.g., owner/con-tractor/client relations); construction safety; con-struction estimating

18. surveying (4�6 questions): angles, distances, andtrigonometry; area computations; earthwork and vol-ume computations; closure; coordinate systems (e.g.,state plane and latitude/longitude); leveling (e.g.,differential, elevations, and percent grades)

DOES THE EXAM REQUIRE LOOKING UPVALUES IN TABLES?

For some questions, you might have to look up a value,but in those cases, you must use the value in the NCEESHandbook. For example, you might know that the mod-ulus of elasticity of steel is approximately 29� 106 psi forsoft steel and approximately 30� 106 psi for hard steel. Ifyou needed the modulus of elasticity for an elongationcalculation, you would find the official NCEES Handbookvalue is “29 Mpsi.” Whether or not using 30� 106 psi willresult in an (approximate) correct answer or an incorrectanswer depends on whether the question writer wants toreward you for knowing something or punish you for notusing the NCEES Handbook.

However, in order to reduce the time required to solvequestions, and to reduce the variability of answerscaused by examinees using different starting values,questions generally provide all required information.Unless the question is specifically determining whetheryou can read a table or figure, all relevant values (den-sity, modulus of elasticity, viscosity, enthalpy, yieldstrength, etc.) needed to solve question are oftenincluded in the question statement. NCEES does notwant the consequences of using correct methods withambiguous data.

DO QUESTION STATEMENTS INCLUDESUPERFLUOUS INFORMATION?

Particularly since all relevant information is provided inthe question statements, some questions end up beingpretty straightforward. In order to obfuscate the solu-tion method, some irrelevant, superfluous informationwill be provided in the question statement. For example,when finding the applied force from a given mass andacceleration (i.e., F ¼ ma), the temperature and viscos-ity of the surrounding air might be given. However, if


xxiv F E C I V I L R E V I E W M A N U A L

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you understand the concept, this practice will be trans-parent to you.

Questions in this book typically do not include super-fluous information. The purpose of this book is to teachyou, not confuse you.

REGISTERING FOR THE EXAM

The CBT exams are administered at approved PearsonVUE testing centers. Registration is open year-round andcan be completed online through your MyNCEESaccount.6 Registration fees may be paid online. Onceyou receive notification from NCEES that you are eligibleto schedule your exam, you can do so online through yourMyNCEES account. Select the location where you wouldlike to take your exam, and select from the list of avail-able dates. You will receive a letter from Pearson VUE(via email) confirming your exam location and date.

Whether or not applying for and taking the exam is thesame as applying for an FE certificate from your statedepends on the state. In most cases, you might take theexam without your state board ever knowing about it.In fact, as part of the NCEES online exam applicationprocess, you will have to agree to the followingstatement:

Passage of the FE exam alone does not ensurecertification as an engineer intern or engineer-in-training in any U.S. state or territory. To obtaincertification, you must file an application with anengineering licensing board and meet thatboard’s requirements.

After graduation, when you are ready to obtain your FE(EIT, IE, etc.) suitable-for-wall-hanging certificate, youcan apply and pay an additional fee to your state. Insome cases, you will be required to take an additionalnontechnical exam related to professional practice inyour state. Actual procedures will vary from state tostate.

WINDOWS OF OPPORTUNITY

The FE exam is administered in eight months out of theyear: January, February, April, May, July, August,October, and November. There are multiple testingdates within each of those months. No exams are admin-istered in March, June, September, or December.

WHAT TO BRING TO THE EXAM

You do not need to bring much with you to the exam.For admission, you must bring a current, signed, gov-ernment-issued photographic identification. This is typi-cally a driver’s license or passport. A student ID card isnot acceptable for admittance. The first and last nameon the photographic ID must match the name on yourappointment confirmation letter. NCEES recommends

that you bring a copy of your appointment confirmationletter in order to speed up the check in process. In mostcases, Pearson VUE will email this to you, or you candownload it from your MyNCEES account, 2–3 weeksprior to the exam date.

Earplugs, noise-cancelling headphones, and tissues areprovided at the testing center for examinees who requestthem. Additionally, all examinees are provided with areusable, erasable notepad and compatible writinginstrument to use for scratchwork during the exam.

Pearson VUE staff may visually examine any approveditem without touching you or the item. In addition tothe items provided at the testing center, the followingitems are permitted during the FE exam.7

. your ID (same one used for admittance to the exam)

. key to your test center locker

. NCEES-approved calculator without a case

. inhalers

. cough drops and prescription and nonprescriptionpills, including headache remedies, all unwrappedand not bottled, unless the packaging states theymust remain in the packaging

. bandages, braces (for your neck, back, wrist, leg, orankle), casts, and slings

. eyeglasses (without cases); eye patches; handheld,nonelectric magnifying glasses (without cases); andeyedrops8

. hearing aids

. medical/surgical face masks, medical devicesattached to your body (e.g., insulin pumps andspinal cord stimulators), and medical alert bracelets(including those with USB ports)

. pillows and cushions

. light sweaters or jackets

. canes, crutches, motorized scooters and chairs, walk-ers, and wheelchairs

WHAT ELSE TO BRING TO THE EXAM

Depending on your situation, any of the following itemsmay prove useful but should be left in your test centerlocker.

. calculator batteries

. contact lens wetting solution

. spare calculator

. spare reading glasses

. loose shoes or slippers

6PPI is not associated with NCEES. Your MyNCEES account is notyour PPI account.

7All items are subject to revision and reinterpretation at any time.8Eyedrops can remain in their original bottle.


I N T R O D U C T I O N xxv

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. extra set of car keys

. eyeglass repair kit, including a small screwdriver forfixing glasses (or removing batteries from yourcalculator)

WHAT NOT TO BRING TO THE EXAM

Leave all of these items in your car or at home: pens andpencils, erasers, scratch paper, clocks and timers, unap-proved calculators, cell phones, pagers, communicationdevices, computers, tablets, cameras, audio recorders,and video recorders.

WHAT CALCULATORS ARE PERMITTED?

To prevent unauthorized transcription and distributionof the exam questions, calculators with communicatingand text editing capabilities have been banned byNCEES. You may love the reverse Polish notation ofyour HP 48GX, but you’ll have to get used to one of thecalculators NCEES has approved. If you start using oneof these approved calculators at the beginning of yourreview, you should be familiar enough with it by thetime of the exam.

Calculators permitted by NCEES are listed at ppi2pass.com/calculators. All of the listed calculators have suf-ficient engineering/scientific functionality for the exam.

At the beginning of your review program, you shouldpurchase or borrow a spare calculator. It is preferable,but not essential, that your primary and spare calcula-tors be identical. If your spare calculator is not identicalto your primary calculator, spend some time familiariz-ing yourself with its functions.

Examinees found using a calculator that is not approvedby NCEES will be discharged from the testing centerand charged with exam subversion by their states. (Seesection “Exam Subversion.”)

WHAT UNITS ARE USED ON THE EXAM?

You will need to learn the SI system if you are notalready familiar with it. Contrary to engineering prac-tice in the United States, the FE exam primarily uses SIunits. Customary U.S. units are used for code-basedstructural topics, but for little else.

The NCEES Handbook generally presents only dimen-sionally consistent equations. (For example, F ¼ ma isconsistent with units of newtons, kilograms, meters, andseconds. However, it is not consistent for units ofpounds-force, pounds-mass, feet, and seconds.)Although pound-based data is provided parallel to theSI data in most tables, many equations cannot use thepound-based data without including the gravitationalconstant. After being mentioned in the first few pages,the gravitational constant (gc ¼ 32:2 ft-lbm=lbf-sec2),which is necessary to use for equations with inconsistent

U.S. units, is barely mentioned in the NCEES Handbookand does not appear in most equations.

Outside of the table of conversions and introductorymaterial at its beginning, the NCEES Handbook doesnot consistently differentiate between pounds-mass andpounds-force. The labels “pound” and “lb” are used torepresent both force and mass. Densities are listed intables with units of lb/in3.

Kips are always units of force that can be incorporatedinto ft-kips, units for moment, and ksi, units of stress orstrength.

IS THE EXAM HARD AND/OR TRICKY?

Whether or not the exam is hard or tricky depends onwho you talk to. Other than providing superfluous data(so as not to lead you too quickly to the correct formula)and anticipating common mistakes, the FE exam is nota tricky exam. The exam does not overtly try to get youto fail. The questions are difficult in their own right.NCEES does not need to provide you misleading orvague statements. Examinees manage to fail on a reg-ular basis with perfectly straightforward questions.

Commonly made mistakes are routinely incorporatedinto the available answer choices. Thus, the alternativeanswers (known as distractors) will seem logical tomany examinees. For example, if you forget to convertthe pipe diameter from millimeters to meters, you’ll findan answer option that is off by a factor of 1000. Perhaps,that meets your definition of “tricky.”

Questions are generally practical, dealing with commonand plausible situations that you might encounter onthe job. In order to avoid the complications of being toopractical, the ideal or perfect case is often explicitlycalled for in the question statement (e.g., “Assume anideal gas.”; “Disregard the effects of air friction.”; or“The steam expansion is isentropic.”).

You won’t have to draw on any experiential knowledgeor make reasonable assumptions. If a motor efficiency isrequired, it will be given to you. You won’t have toassume a reasonable value. If a beam is to be sized tolimit distressing architectural deflections, the limit will beexplicitly given to you. If an allowable stress requires afactor of safety, the factor of safety will be given to you.

WHAT DOES “MOST NEARLY” REALLYMEAN?

One of the more disquieting aspects of exam questions isthat answer choices generally have only two or threesignificant digits, and the answer choices are seldomexact. An exam question may prompt you to completethe sentence, “The value is most nearly...”, or may ask“Which answer choice is closest to the correct value?” Alot of self-confidence is required to move on to the nextquestion when you don’t find an exact match for the


xxvi F E C I V I L R E V I E W M A N U A L

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answer you calculated, or if you have had to split thedifference because no available answer choice is close.

At one time, NCEES provided this statement regardingthe use of “most nearly.”

Many of the questions on NCEES exams requirecalculations to arrive at a numerical answer.Depending on the method of calculation used, itis very possible that examinees working correctlywill arrive at a range of answers. The phrase“most nearly” is used to accommodate all theseanswers that have been derived correctly butwhich may be slightly different from the correctanswer choice given on the exam. You should usegood engineering judgment when selecting yourchoice of answer. For example, if the questionasks you to calculate an electrical current ordetermine the load on a beam, you should lit-erally select the answer option that is mostnearly what you calculated, regardless of whetherit is more or less than your calculated value.However, if the question asks you to select a fuseor circuit breaker to protect against a calculatedcurrent or to size a beam to carry a load, youshould select an answer option that will safelycarry the current or load. Typically, this requiresselecting a value that is closest to but larger thanthe current or load.

The difference is significant. Suppose you were asked tocalculate “most nearly” the volumetric flow rate of purewater required to dilute a contaminated stream to anacceptable concentration. Suppose, also, that you calcu-lated 823 gpm. If the answer choices were (A) 600 gpm,(B) 800 gpm, (C) 1000 gpm, and (D) 1200 gpm, youwould go with answer choice (B), because it is mostnearly what you calculated. If, however, you were askedto select a pump or pipe to provide the calculatedcapacities, you would have to go with choice (C). Gotit? If not, stop reading until you understand thedistinction.

WHEN DO I FIND OUT IF I PASSED?

You will receive an email notification that your examresults are ready for viewing through your MyNCEESaccount 7�10 days after the exam. That email will alsoinclude instructions that you can use to proceed withyour state licensing board. If you fail, you will be shownyour percentage performance in each knowledge area.The diagnostic report may help you figure out what tostudy before taking the exam again. Because each exam-inee answers different questions in each knowledge area,the diagnostic report probably should not be used tocompare the performance of two examinees, to deter-mine how much smarter than another examinee you are,to rate employees, or to calculate raises and bonus.

If you fail the exam, you may take it again. NCEES’spolicy is that examinees may take the exam once pertesting window, up to three times per 12-month period.

However, you should check with your state board to seewhether it imposes any restrictions on the number andfrequency of retakes.

SUBVERSION DURING THE EXAM

With the CBT exam, you can no longer get kicked outof the exam room for not closing your booklet or puttingdown your pencil in time. However, there are still plentyof ways for you to run afoul of the rules imposed on youby NCEES, your state board, and Pearson VUE. Forexample, since communication devices are prohibited inthe exam, occurrences as innocent as your cell phoneringing during the exam can result in the immediateinvalidation of your exam.

The November 2013 NCEES Examinee Guide gives thefollowing statement regarding fraudulent and/or unpro-fessional behavior. Somewhere along the way, you willprobably have to read and accept it, or something simi-lar, before you can take the FE exam.

Fraud, deceit, dishonesty, unprofessional behav-ior, and other irregular behavior in connectionwith taking any NCEES exam are strictly pro-hibited. Irregular behavior includes but is notlimited to the following: failing to work indepen-dently; impersonating another individual or per-mitting such impersonation (surrogate testing);possessing prohibited items; communicating withother examinees or any outside parties by way ofcell phone, personal computer, the Internet, orany other means during an exam; disruptingother examinees; creating safety concerns; andpossessing, reproducing, or disclosing nonpublicexam questions, answers, or other informationregarding the content of the exam before, during,or after the exam administration. Evidence of anexam irregularity may be based on your perfor-mance on the exam, a report from an adminis-trator or a third party, or other information.

The test administrator is authorized to takeappropriate action to investigate, stop, or correctany observed or suspected irregular behavior,including discharging you from the test centerand confiscating prohibited devices or materials.You must cooperate fully in any investigation ofa suspected irregularity. NCEES reserves theright to pursue all available remedies for examirregularities, including canceling scores and pur-suing administrative, civil, and/or criminalremedies.

If you are involved in an exam irregularity, thefollowing may occur: invalidation of results, noti-fication to your licensing board, forfeiture ofexam fees, and restrictions on future testing.Some violations may incur additional conse-quences, to be pursued at the discretion ofNCEES.


I N T R O D U C T I O N xxvii

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Based on the grounds for dismissal used for the paper-and-pencil exam up through 2013, you can expect harshtreatment for

. having a cell phone in your possession

. having a device with copying, recording, or commu-nication capabilities in your possession. Theseinclude but are not limited to cameras, pagers, per-sonal digital assistants (PDAs), radios, headsets,tape players, calculator watches, electronic diction-aries, electronic translators, transmitting devices,digital media players (e.g., iPods), and tablets (e.g.,iPads, Kindles, or Nooks)

. having papers, books, or notes

. having a calculator that is not on the NCEES-approved list

. appearing to or copying someone else’s work

. talking to another examinee during the exam

. taking notes or writing on anything other than yourNCEES-provided reusable, erasable notepad

. removing anything from the exam area

. leaving the exam area without authorization

. violating any other restrictions that are cause fordismissal or exam invalidation (e.g., whistling whileyou work, chewing gum, or being intoxicated)

If you are found to be in possession of a prohibited item(e.g., a cell phone) after the exam begins, that item willbe confiscated and sent to NCEES. While you willprobably eventually get your cell phone back, you won’tget a refund of your exam fees.

Cheating and what is described as “subversion” are dealtwith quite harshly. Proctors who observe you giving orreceiving assistance, compromising the integrity of theexam, or participating in any other form of cheatingduring an exam will require you to surrender all exammaterials and leave the test center. You won’t be per-mitted to continue with the exam. It will be a summaryexecution, carried out without due process and mercy.

Of course, if you arrive with a miniature camera dis-guised as a pen or eyeglasses, your goose will be cooked.Talk to an adjacent examinee, and your goose will becooked. Use a mirror to look around the room whileputting on your lipstick or combing your hair, and yourgoose will be cooked. Bring in the wrong calculator, andyour goose will be cooked. Loan your calculator to some-one whose batteries have died, and your goose will becooked. Though you get the idea, many of the ways thatyou might inadvertently get kicked out of the CBTexam are probably (and, unfortunately) yet to be dis-covered. Based on this fact, you shouldn’t plan on beingthe first person to bring a peppermint candy in a cracklycellophane wrapper.

And, as if being escorted with your personal items out ofthe exam room wasn’t embarrassing enough, yourordeal still won’t be over. NCEES and your state willbar you from taking any exam for one or more years.Any application for licensure pending an approval forexam will be automatically rejected. You will have toreapply and pay your fees again later. By that time, youprobably will have decided that the establishment’sresponse to a minor infraction was so out of proportionthat licensure as a professional engineer isn’t even in thecards.

SUBVERSION AFTER THE EXAM

The NCEES testing (and financial) model is based onreusing all of its questions forever. To facilitate suchreuse, the FE (and PE) exams are protected by nondis-closure agreements and a history of aggressive pursuit ofactual and perceived offenses. In order to be allowed totake its exams, NCEES requires examinees to agree toits terms.

Copyright protection extends to only the exact words,phrases, and sentences, and sequences thereof, used inquestions. However, the intent of the NCEES nondis-closure agreement is to grant NCEES protectionbeyond what is normally available through copyrightprotection—to prevent you from even discussing aquestion in general terms (e.g., “There was a questionon structural bolts that stumped me. Did anyone elsethink the question was unsolvable?”).

Most past transgressions have been fairly egregious.9 Inseveral prominent instances, NCEES has incurred sub-stantial losses and expenses. In those cases, offendershave gotten what they deserved. But, even innocentpublic disclosures of the nature of “Hey, did anyone elsehave trouble solving that vertical crest curve question?”have been aggressively pursued.

A restriction against saying anything at all to anybodyabout any aspect of a question is probably too broad tobe legally enforceable. Unfortunately, most examineesdon’t have the time, financial resources, or sophisticationto resist what NCEES throws at them. Their only courseof action is to accept whatever punishment is meted outto them by their state boards and by NCEES.

In the past, NCEES has used the U.S courts and aggres-sively pursued financial redress for loss of its intellectualproperty and violation of its copyright. It has adminis-tratively established a standard (accounting) value ofthousands of dollars for each disclosed or compromisedquestion. You can calculate your own pro forma invoicefrom NCEES by multiplying this amount by the num-ber of questions you discuss with others.

9A candidate in Puerto Rico during the October 2006 Civil PE examadministration was found with scanning and transmitting equipmentduring the exam. She had recorded the entire exam, as well as the 2005FE exam. The candidate pled guilty to two counts of fourth-degreeaggravated fraud and was sentenced to six months’ probation. All ofthe questions in both exams were compromised. NCEES obtained acivil judgment of over $1,000,000 against her.


xxviii F E C I V I L R E V I E W M A N U A L

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DOING YOUR PART, NCEES STYLE

NCEES has established a security tip line so that youcan help it police the behavior of other examinees.Before, during, or after the exam, if you see any of yourfellow examinees acting suspiciously, NCEES wants youto report them by phone or through the NCEES web-site. You’ll have to identify yourself, but NCEES pro-mises that the information you provide will be strictlyconfidential, and that your personal contact informationwill not be shared outside the NCEES compliance andsecurity staff. Unless required by statute, rules of dis-covery, or a judge, of course.

PART 4: STRATEGIES FOR PASSINGTHE EXAM

A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE EXAM

There are a few things you should do a week or so beforethe examination date. For example, visit the exam sitein order to find the testing center building, parkingareas, examination room, and restrooms. You shouldalso make arrangements for childcare and transporta-tion. Since your examination may not start or endexactly at the designated times, make sure that yourchildcare and transportation arrangements can allow forsome flexibility.

Second in importance to your scholastic preparation isthe preparation of your two examination kits. (See“What to Bring to the Exam” and “What Else to Bringto the Exam” in this Introduction.) The first kit includesitems that can be left in your assigned locker (e.g., youradmittance letter, photo ID, and extra calculator bat-teries). The second kit includes items that should be leftin your car in case you need them (e.g., copy of yourapplication, warm sweater, and extra snacks orbeverages).

THE DAY BEFORE THE EXAM

If possible, take the day before the examination off fromwork to relax. Do not cram the last night. A good priornight’s sleep is the best way to start the examination. Ifyou live far from the examination site, consider getting ahotel room in which to spend the night.

Make sure your exam kits are packed and ready to go.

THE DAY OF THE EXAM

You should arrive at least 30 minutes before your sched-uled start time. This will allow time for finding a con-venient parking place, bringing your items to the testingcenter, and checking in.

DURING THE EXAM

Once the examination has started, observe the followingsuggestions.

Do not spend more than four minutes working a prob-lem. (The average time available per problem is slightlyless than three minutes.) If you have not finished aquestion in that time, flag it for later review if you havetime, and continue on.

Don’t ask your proctors technical questions. Proctorsare pure administrators. They don’t know anythingabout the exam or its subjects.

Even if you do not discover them, errors in the exam(and in the NCEES Handbook) do occur. Rest assuredthat errors are almost always discovered during thescoring process, and that you will receive the perfor-mance credit for all flawed items.

However, NCEES has a form for reporting errors, andthe test center should be able to provide it to you. If youencounter a problem with (a) missing information,(b) conflicting information, (c) no correct response fromthe four answer choices, or (d) more than one correctanswer, use your provided reusable, erasable notepad torecord the problem identification numbers. It is notnecessary to tell your proctor during the exam. Waituntil after the exam to ask your proctor about theprocedure for reporting errors on the exam.

AFTER YOU PASS

[ ] Celebrate. Take someone out to dinner. Go off yourdiet. Get dessert.

[ ] Thank your family members and anyone who hadto put up with your grouchiness before the exam.

[ ] Thank your old professors.[ ] Tell everyone at the office.[ ] Ask your employer for new business cards and a

raise.[ ] Tell your review course provider and instructors.[ ] Tell the folks at PPI who were rootin’ for you all

along.[ ] Start thinking about the PE exam.


I N T R O D U C T I O N xxix

Fec Erm Intro

Documents

Transcript of Fec Erm Intro