FE Exam

FE Mathematics Exam Prep Question

December 28, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I solve a FE mathematics exam prep question similar to one you might encounter during the FE Exam, to give you a better understanding of what you can expect during the exam. These types of questions and answers will help you prepare for your FE Exam and help you get a better understanding of what to expect during the exam.

I also provide tips for how to visualize questions like this and how to to find the right equations in the reference handbook, which is critical to exam success.

Question:

Which of the following expressions is equal to the angle between two planes whose normals are given by V1 and V2?

Solution:

FE Exam Mechanical Practice Question: Continuity Equation

December 14, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article, (and video above), I solve a continuity equation question similar to one you might encounter on the mechanical section of the FE Exam.

Question:

Which of the statements is true concerning the following continuity equation?

What’s the BEST Calculator for the FE Exam?

November 2, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

To prevent unauthorized transcription and distribution of the exam questions, calculators with communicating and text editing capabilities have been banned by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (aka NCEES). You may love the reverse Polish notation of your HP calculator; however, you’ll have to get used to one of the calculators NCEES has approved.

You should start using one of these approved calculators at the beginning of your study preparation, so that you are familiar enough with it by the time of the exam. Please note that the list of approved calculators is reviewed annually. All of the articles we pulled information from for this post are listed at the bottom of this article.

The following calculator models are the only ones acceptable for use during the 2021 exams, as of the publication of this video:

Engineering Practice Quiz: Environmental Engineering & Water Resources

October 19, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (And video above), I solve a problem related to the surface water system hydrologic budget that falls under the environmental engineering & water resources section of the FE exam, similar to what you may encounter during the exam.

Question:

A 7-acre surface area pond is located within a 520-acre watershed. Assume that the infiltration and the seepage are negligible. There is no plant biota around the pond. The watershed received 3.20 in of rainfall for the last 30-day month. The pond elevation at the beginning of the month is 520.5 ft with respect to mean sea level (MSL). By the end of the 30-day month, the pond had risen to 522.2 ft, MSL. Average stream flows into and out the pond during the month are 0.522 cfs and 0.22 cfs respectively. The amount of evaporation (in) of water that take place from the surface of the pond during the month is most nearly:

7.10
16.2
13.6
1.44

Solution:

Engineering Practice Quiz: Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics – Fluid Dynamics

October 5, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I solve a fluid dynamics question that would fall under the water resources and hydrology section of the FE exam, similar to what you may encounter during the exam.

Question:

A 500 mm circular pipe carries a flow of 0.28 m3/s of water under a pressure of 0.34 cm, mercury (Hg). If the pipe is laid at an elevation of 9.3 m above a reference datum, then the total head (m) with respect to the reference datum is most nearly:

9.45 m
9.37 m
9.66 m
9.71 m

Solution:

Should I Take the PE or FE Exam?

September 29, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this week’s Pass the PE Exam article (and video above), I answer a question I get often from engineering students and recent graduates that ask: “Should I take the PE or FE exam?”

If you are an engineering student and this is something you have been wondering about, then this video is for you. Remember that right now, at this very point in history, you control the direction of your career more than ever. So it’s important to make the right decisions today, and I hope this video will help you do just that!

Let’s Define the Two Different Exams:

The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam

This exam is designed for recent engineering graduates and students who are close to finishing an undergraduate engineering degree from an EAC (or Engineering Accreditation Commission )/ABET (or Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology)-accredited program. The FE exam is a computer-based exam administered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson VUE test centers. It includes 110-questions and the exam appointment time is six hours long with about five hours and twenty minutes of that time being actual exam time. If you take and pass the FE exam, you have the choice after roughly four years of progressive experience as an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) to take the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam (PE exam)

The PE Exam or The Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam

This exam is the examination required for one to become a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in the United States, and is the second exam required, coming after the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, created and scored by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). As a general rule, a professional engineer who has number one an approved four-year engineering degree, number 2 – four years of qualifying engineering experience, and number 3 who successfully completes (3) the eight-hour Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Examination can take the PE exam. That being said, you should confirm these items with your local state education board as some states do vary on these experience and timeline requirements. You can register for the exam through the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) website at NCEES.org.

Here Are Some of the Advantages of Having an EIT Certificate:

FE Exam Review: Surface Water Resources and Hydrology – Runoff Calculations

September 21, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I solve a new surface water resources and hydrology question by calculating the runoff volume, similar to what you may encounter on the FE exam.

Question:

A 53-acre watershed (curve number = 79) receives 122 mm of precipitation. The runoff volume (ac-ft) is most nearly:

4.11
11.62
18.15
4,615

Solution:

FE Exam Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics: Steady and Unsteady Flow

September 7, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I solve a fluid mechanics and hydraulics question, similar to what you may encounter on the FE exam.

Question:

A 8-ft wide rectangular channel carries a flow of 400 ft3/s at an initial depth of 2.1-ft before entering a jump. The sequent depth (ft) at the low velocity flow (or sub-critical) is most nearly:

4.27
3.83
5.25
7.60

Solution:

Water Resources Problem & Solution: Calculating the Amount of Runoff

July 13, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this Pass the FE Exam article (and video above), I take you step by step through a type of problem you’ll likely have to solve during the FE Exam as part of the hydrology/water resources section by calculating the amount of runoff from a commercial site.

This sample problem has been provided to us by PrepFE. PrepFE is one of the most effective FE exam self-study prep services out there and happens to be one of the most affordable too. It is an app that gives you access to countless sample FE problems to bolster your self-study efforts.

You can visit PrepFE here and use the discount code in the description of this video here to receive 10% off and get some great FE practice problems.

Question:

A 20-acre suburban commercial lot has stores and parking lots. The corresponding NRCS curve number is 97. What is most nearly the amount of runoff created after a 2.75″ rain event over the course of 24 hours?

Solution:

FE Practice Problem: Consolidation of Clay

June 15, 2021 by Anthony Fasano, P.E. Leave a Comment

In this article (and video above), I solve a consolidation of clay practice problem that you will encounter during the FE exam. This example is of a geotechnical investigation at a proposed road construction site that contains a subsurface clay soil layer and looks at the consolidation of that layer.

You can visit PrepFE here and use the discount code in the description of this video here to receive 10% off and get some great FE practice problems.

The Question Is:

A geotechnical investigation at a proposed road construction site spotted a 7 ft thick weak clay layer, 10 feet below the ground surface. On top of the weak clay layer, there is 10 feet of fill material. A sample was obtained from the drilling investigation and was subsequently sent to a lab for testing. The lab results for the weak clay layer and the fill material layer can be seen below. Assume building a road on top of the soil profile will increase vertical stress by 100 psf at the midpoint of the weak clay layer and the clay layer is a normally consolidated clay. What is most nearly the primary consolidation of the weak clay layer?

FE Exam

Question:

Which of the following expressions is equal to the angle between two planes whose normals are given by V1 and V2?

Solution:

Question:

The following calculator models are the only ones acceptable for use during the 2021 exams, as of the publication of this video:

Question:

Solution:

Question:

Solution:

Let’s Define the Two Different Exams:

The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam

The PE Exam or The Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam

Here Are Some of the Advantages of Having an EIT Certificate:

Question:

Solution:

Question:

Solution:

Question:

Solution:

The Question Is:

Here is the Solution: