CERM 10th vs 11th edition

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Hopefully this is the right place to post this.

I took Structural 1 for the first time in October and didn't pass. Since it will not be offered in VA and I don't want to do the 16 hour exam I'm planning on taking Civil/Structural so I need to bone up on BOD and all that mess. I have access to a CERM 10th edition from someone else in my company. Would I be putting myself at a disadvantage using that instead of acquiring the 11th edition?

Thanks,

Dave

 
I'm not sure how much content changed between the 10th and 11th editions. I want to say that the primary reason the 11th edition was released was to reflect the change in exam format (adding the construction depth and combining water/enviro). I would bet that not much has changed in the structural section of the book.

That being said, my typical response to this type of question is if in doubt, buy (or borrow) the new book. The book tends to be updated for a reason, most notably the reference material it is based on changes. I took the exam with the 10th edition CERM (when it was the current edition) but a copy of the CERM practice problems for the 7th edition. I found that the order and subject material of the editions to be pretty similar, but what had changed was the reference material that problems were based on. So while the process and formulas to solve the problems from the 7th edition hadn't changed, the numbers that you pulled from the references had, yielding different answers than what was provided in the 7th edition practice problems book. Since I had the current edition CERM I was able to recognize why my solutions weren't matching those provided in the 7th edition practice problems book.

I took the Transportation exam, so I don't know if the same situation would hold true for the Structural exams.

 
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I appreciate the response and I see what you're saying. I have the SERM to cover the structural portions of the morning and the depth in the afternoon. I would use the CERM just for non-structural questions during the breadth portion of the exam. I'll probably start reviewing the 10th edition for the time being and then upgrade ASAP.

 
I believe the 10th edition used old concrete/steal codes. So if you don't want to upgrade to the 11th version make sure you write in the proper LRFD load factors and strength reduction factors and all that jazz.

Honestly I think for $150 it's not worth the hassle (since you'll be getting the info for the 32 general questions from here) but to each their own.

 
The morning section is broken up into five sections (construction, water, geo, structural, and transportation). Say you are a structural major. You will still need to be able to do the remaining 4 out of 5 sections of the morning section (80% of the morning test). You will get the equations and information you need to complete the morning section from the CERM.

The CERM is the perfect study guide for the morning section. It is not thorough enough to complete the depth (afternoon) section but it should get you on the right track for the breadth section.

 
I would say go ahead and get the book, or borrow it from someone. You do not want to fail the exam again, and after you take the exam, you want to have done everything that you can to pass the exam, right?

This book is a great reference that I have used often as a reference even after passing the PE Exam. The CERM has some topics that are not covered in the SERM, though, but likely good enough for the structural portion of the civil exam. Obviously, you will want to supplement the CERM with other materials as well, but it is a great base to address the majority of questions.

Andy at civil pe

 
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