CE 466 FE Exam Review David McLean, Ph.D., P.E.
mclean@wsu.edu
Spring 2013
CE 466 – Course Overview
• Review of subjects covered on national FE Exam
• 1 credit, P/F
• Meet 5:10 to 8:00 pm Monday and Wednesday, January 28th
through April 1st (no class February 18th) • Mix of lectures, example problems and practice exams
• Students are expected to attend class sessions - student
with more than 2 unexcused absences will receive an F
Reference Materials
•  FE Supplied Reference Handbook – free http://ncees.org/exams/study-materials/download-fe-suppliedreference-handbook/ •  FE Review Manual: Rapid Preparation for the Fundamentals of
Engineering Exam, 3rd Ed., by Lindeburg. Available from ASCE
student chapter - $55.
•  Fundamentals of Engineering: FE/EIT Exam Preparation, 18th Ed.,
Kaplan. •  Discipline-specific FE Exam Preparation Handbooks. ~ $40 – more
details to be provided later. •  Course materials will be posted at
http://courses.cee.wsu.edu/site/mclean/classes/ce-466-fe-exam-review Tentative Schedule
Jan 28, 30:
Introduction, Ethics, Computers; Chemistry Feb 4, 6: Math; Statistics, Thermodynamics
Feb 11, 13:
Electricity; Statics, Strength of Materials
Feb 20: Dynamics
Feb 25, 27:
Fluid Mechanics; Material Properties
Mar 4, 6:
Engineering Econ; Discipline Specific Topics Mar 18, 20:
Discipline Specific Topics Mar 25, 27:
Discipline Specific Topics, Morning Practice Exam
April 1:
Afternoon Practice Exam
Important Reminders
FE Exam is scheduled for April 13th here in Pullman.
You MUST apply with the National Council of Examiners for
Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) to take the April exam by
February 21st. There is a $125 fee by NCEES to take the exam.
Here is the website to sign up for the exam:
http://ncees.org/exams/state-pages/washington-exam-registration/
Students who have not already been approved by the state (deadline
to apply to the state was January 15th) will not be permitted to take
the exam until October 2013. Calculator Requirements
http://ncees.org/exams/calculator-policy/ The following are the only calculators that will be permitted in the
exam room for the 2011 exam administrations. Casio: All fx-115 models. Any Casio calculator must contain
fx-115 in its model name. Hewlett Packard: The HP 33s and HP 35s models, but no
others. Texas Instruments: All TI-30X and TI-36X models. Any Texas
Instruments calculator must contain either TI-30X or TI-36X in
its model name. Professional Engineer (P.E.)
Legal qualifications required to practice engineering for the
general public Professional engineering license (registration) granted by
states once certain requirements and qualifications met
P.E. required for some engineering positions; beneficial for
many others
P.E. requirements establish high ethical standards, quality
engineering services, ensure sound judgment and protection
for the public welfare Becoming a Professional Engineer
Regulations established by state licensing boards
General requirements:
• Graduate from an ABET-accredited engineering program
• Pass FE exam
• Obtain 4 or more years of engineering experience (some
credit given for advanced engineering degree)
• Pass PE exam
FE Exam Structure
•  Administered as a national exam by the National Council of
Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)
•  Exam is 8 hours long - all multiple choice questions
•  Morning session: - 120 problems (average 2 minutes each) – 1 pt per question
-  Covers general engineering topics (12 areas)
•  Afternoon session:
-  60 problems (average 4 minutes each) – 2 pts per question
-  Option of different discipline specific topics (civil, environmental,
mechanical, etc.)
Passing the FE Exam
• Nationally, about 70% on average of test takers pass the FE
exam
• WSU passing rate averages around 80% - above both the
state and national averages
• Passing scores are based on performance of group taking the
specific exam – correctly answering around 50% of the
questions is roughly enough to pass
• There is no penalty for wrong answers!!
Morning Session – 4 hours
Subjects Covered
•  Chemistry – 9% of questions
•  Ethics and business practices – 7%
•  Computers – 7%
•  Fluid mechanics – 7%
•  Electricity and magnetism – 9%
•  Material properties – 7%
•  Engineering economics – 8%
•  Mathematics – 15%
•  Engineering mechanics – 10%
•  Strength of materials – 7%
•  Probability and statistics – 7%
•  Thermodynamics – 7% Afternoon Session – 4 hours
Civil Option - Subjects Covered
•  Construction management – 10% •  Structural analysis – 10%
of questions
•  Structural design – 10%
•  Environmental engineering – 12%
•  Hydraulics and hydrologic
systems - 12%
•  Soil mechanics and foundations –
15%
•  Transportation – 12% •  Materials – 8%
•  Surveying - 11%
Afternoon Session – 4 hours
Environmental Option - Subjects Covered
•  Water resources – 25% of
questions
•  Water and wastewater
engineering – 30%
•  Air quality engineering - 15%
•  Solid and hazardous waste
engineering – 15%
•  Environmental Science and
Management – 15% NCEES Supplied Reference Book
No outside books may be brought to the FE exam
Only the supplied reference book is available during the
exam
Covers general and discipline-specific materials
IMPORTANT: you should use the reference book to help
you prepare for the exam and know where materials are
located
Units on FE Exam
Both metric system of units (SI) and US customary units
are used in the problem
Don’t overlook or mix up units!
Distinguish pound-force (lbf) from pound-mass (lbm)
Reference Handbook provides unit conversion factors as
well as fundamental constants (e.g, gravity acceleration),
definitions of metric prefixes (e.g., micro μ = 10-6) and
commonly used equivalents (e.g., 1 gallon of water =
8.34 lbf)
Suggestions for Taking the FE Exam
Start with subject areas you are familiar with, and work
from strength areas to weaker areas
Don’t spend more than about 3 minutes on a morning
question or 5 minutes on an afternoon question – come
back to it later
About 20 minutes before the end of a session, go back
to questions you skipped
At 5 minutes from the end of a session, go ahead and
guess (fill in all bubbles) – no penalty for wrong answers