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Calculating the Maximum Compression of a Loaded Spring: FE Exam Review

June 1, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article, (and video above), we calculate the compression of a loaded spring to give you a better understanding of what you can expect during the exam. This week’s problem was created and solved by Enrique Ivers, an Engineer in Training.

Question:

A disk with a mass of 1kg, a diameter of 10cm, and a width of 5cm is placed on the edge at the top of an inclined ramp 1m high. The ramp is inclined at 15°. At the bottom of the ramp is a spring whose spring constant is 2,000 N/m. The disk rolls down the ramp and compresses the spring while coming to a complete stop. What is the maximum compression of the loaded spring?

Solution:

Is The Water Resources & Environmental Civil PE Exam Worth Taking?

May 25, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In our previous four episodes in this series, I discussed four of the depth areas that you can take for your Civil PE Exam: geotechnical, construction, structural, as well as the transportation depth area, and in this article, (and video above), I review-in detail the Civil: Water Resources & Environmental depth portion of the PE Exam to help you decide if this might be the right option for you. You can find links to the first four videos in this series below.

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

PE Civil: Geotechnical
PE Civil: Construction
PE Civil: Structural
PE Civil: Transportation
PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental

Remember that the PE Water Resources & Environmental exam is a breadth and depth examination. The breadth items (typically known as the morning section) cover topics from all areas of civil engineering. However, the depth items (also known as the afternoon section) focus more closely on a single area of practice, like structural engineering.

What Is Water Resources & Environmental Engineering?

Calculating the Velocity of a Falling Ball | FE Exam Prep

May 19, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article, (and video above), we calculate the velocity of a falling ball. A question on this topic would typically be found in the Dynamics section of the FE Exam and therefore will give you a better understanding of what you can expect during the exam. This week’s problem was created and solved by Enrique Ivers, an Engineer in Training.

Question:

The velocity (in m/s) of a falling ball is described by the equation:

What is the acceleration at time t=2s?

Solution:

PE Civil Exam Depth: Transportation

May 11, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In our previous three videos, I discussed three of the PE depth areas that you can take for your Civil PE Exam, geotechnical, construction, and structural, and in this week’s article, (and video above) I review in detail the transportation depth portion of the Civil PE Exam to help you decide if this might be the right option for you. You can find links to the first three videos below.

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

PE Civil: Geotechnical
PE Civil: Construction
PE Civil: Structural
PE Civil: Transportation
PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental

Remember that the PE Civil Structural exam is a breadth and depth examination. The breadth items (typically known as the morning section) cover topics from all areas of civil engineering. However, the depth items (also known as the afternoon section) focus more closely on a single area of practice, like structural engineering.

What Is Transportation Engineering?

FE Mechanical Exam Review: Calculating Heat Transfer Through A Concrete Wall

May 3, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article, (and video above), we’re going to calculate the heat transfer through a concrete wall. This question forms part of the Mechanical section of the FE Exam and will give you a better understanding of what you can expect during the exam. This week’s problem was solved by Enrique Ivers, an Engineer in Training.

Question:

A concrete wall is 20 cm thick and has an overall thermal resistance of 0.2 m2 ·°C/W. The temperature difference between the two wall surfaces is 5°C. What is most nearly the heat transfer through the wall?

Solution:

PE Civil Exam Depth: Structural

April 27, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In our previous two videos, I discussed two of the depth areas that you can take for your PE Exam, Geotechnical and Construction, and in this article (and video above), I review, in detail, the structural depth portion of the Civil PE Exam to help you decide if this might be the right option for you.

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

PE Civil: Geotechnical
PE Civil: Construction
PE Civil: Structural
PE Civil: Transportation
PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental

Please note that the PE Civil: Structural exam is not the same as the SE (Structural Engineering) exam. The PE Civil: Structural exam is to obtain your Professional Engineering license, while the SE Exam is one you would take to obtain your structural engineering license.

What Is Structural Engineering?

5 Tips & Tricks to Pass the FE Exam in 2 Months

April 19, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I talk with Alejandro Patino, EIT, Senior Engineer at Colliers Engineering & Design, who gives us five specific tips on how he prepared, studied, and passed the FE exam with two months of focused study time.

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Alejandro:

Talk to us about your first tip which is about creating an exam schedule?
What process did you use to prepare for the FE exam?
What advice can you share with the listeners when doing practice problems?
How did you time yourself during the exam and why do you think this was the reason you failed the exam the first time?
What final tip would you like to share with the listeners?

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed in This Episode:

PE Civil Exam Depth: Construction

April 13, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In the previous article, I talked about one of the five depth areas of the Civil PE Exam, Geotechnical, and in this article (and video above), I review, in detail, the construction depth portion of the Civil PE Exam to help you decide if this might be the right option for you.

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

PE Civil: Geotechnical
PE Civil: Construction
PE Civil: Structural
PE Civil: Transportation
PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental

Remember that the PE Civil exam is a breadth and depth examination. The breadth items (typically known as the morning section) cover topics from all areas of civil engineering. However, the depth items (also known as the afternoon section) focus more closely on a single area of practice, like construction engineering

What Is Construction Engineering?

FE Exam Prep: Probability & Statistics – Normal Distribution

April 5, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article, (and video above), we’re going to use a normal distribution to determine the probability of a curve. This question forms part of the probability & statistics section of the FE Exam and will give you a better understanding of what you can expect during the exam.

Question:

Given a normal distribution of quantity x, where n(x) represents the unit normal distribution function, what is the probability that a given sample quantity, x1, will lie between x = x0 and x = x2?

Solution:

PE Civil Exam Depth: Geotechnical

March 29, 2022 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

Are you struggling to decide what depth exam you should take for your Civil PE Exam? Where do you start when trying to figure this out? Passing the PE exam is the last milestone in the journey towards your professional engineering license, so you must make the right decision.

In the next 5 articles, we will cover each of these Civil PE depth exams in detail, outline which topics show up on each exam, what the pass rates are for each topic, and provide some valuable information that will help you in your decision.

Let’s Look at the PE Civil: Geotechnical Depth Section of the PE Exam:

There are five different areas that you can choose from when taking the PE Civil exam which are:

PE Civil: Geotechnical
PE Civil: Construction
PE Civil: Structural
PE Civil: Transportation
PE Civil: Water Resources & Environmental

Remember that the PE Civil exam is a breadth and depth examination. The breadth items (typically known as the morning section) cover topics from all areas of civil engineering. However, the depth items (also known as the afternoon section) focus more closely on a single area of practice, like Geotechnical Engineering.

Blog

Question:

Solution:

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

What Is Water Resources & Environmental Engineering?

Question:

Solution:

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

What Is Transportation Engineering?

Question:

Solution:

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

What Is Structural Engineering?

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Alejandro:

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed in This Episode:

The Five Different Areas That You Can Choose From When Taking the PE Civil Exam Are:

What Is Construction Engineering?

Question:

Solution:

Let’s Look at the PE Civil: Geotechnical Depth Section of the PE Exam:

What Is Geotechnical Engineering?