General Pass Criteria

So, I just finished taking the practice exam for next weeks PE exam in Mechanical Engineering Fluids and Heat Transfer. I scored a 33/40 on Part 1 and 35/40 on Part 2.

In general, would these scores be considered a pass? Just trying to see how I am fairing overall.

God, I hope so. The NCEES practice test?

Yes, the NCEES Practice Exam 2011. It seemed way easier than the Lindeburgh Exam. I couldn't finish either section of Lindeburgh in the 4hr limit. I finished the General section of the NCEES test with 1:15 left and the Fluids/Heat Transfer section with 0:35 left.

From what I have been told I believe you will be fine. I will be taking it for the first time next week, mechanical HVAC and refrigeration. I did it backwards from you though, taking the NCEES and six minute solutions before doing the practice problems that accompany the MERM. The practice exam from Lindeburgh I've heard the problems are much harder than the actual test.

This thread might help too

http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=24858

Sounds like you're in good shape LWhitson2. My only suggestion is that you, which you've probably already done, is to review the problems you got wrong and identify if it was a simple (arithmetic/calculator etc.) or fundamental (formula, concepts) error.

As I stated in the thread that lundy provided, I would not be too worried about your performance on the Lindeburg practice exam. Some board members may not agree with this recommendation because of burn out but you may want to retest the NCEES practice exam and try to avoid the errors you made.

Best of luck on the exam.

Thanks to both of you for the information and vote of confidence. I reviewed all my missed questions and a couple of them were simple calculation errors and a couple were from the use of wrong units (is conversion of rad/sec to linear frequency for the spring mass problem). I only had to guess on one question regarding metallurgy and AISI steel quenching. I couldn't find the AISI standards in the MERM.

I will say this though, I find the FE Reference Manual in conjunction with my old thermo, machine design, heat transfer, and fluids tables much more efficient than the MERM. The MERM is filled with a lot of good information and problem specific solutions, but the Index is confusing and the information seems to be spread out everywhere. This is all just my opinion though.

LWhitson2 said:

Thanks to both of you for the information and vote of confidence. I reviewed all my missed questions and a couple of them were simple calculation errors and a couple were from the use of wrong units (is conversion of rad/sec to linear frequency for the spring mass problem). I only had to guess on one question regarding metallurgy and AISI steel quenching. I couldn't find the AISI standards in the MERM.

I will say this though, I find the FE Reference Manual in conjunction with my old thermo, machine design, heat transfer, and fluids tables much more efficient than the MERM. The MERM is filled with a lot of good information and problem specific solutions, but the Index is confusing and the information seems to be spread out everywhere. This is all just my opinion though.

Click to expand...

You'll see a lot of debate about reference materials on this forum. At the end of the day, the reference material that you used in practice and are most familiar with is the ones you should take with you.

I found it very helpful to print and bind a separate copy of the MERM Index. As I worked through the practice material I found the reference in the Index and highlighted it and the exact page. If it wasn't in the MERM, I wrote the formula in roughly the correct section and then added it to the Index and highlighted it. It is far too late at this point for you to implement this strategy so I'll reiterate that as long as you're comfortable and know your references you should be fine.

LWhitson2 said:

Thanks to both of you for the information and vote of confidence. I reviewed all my missed questions and a couple of them were simple calculation errors and a couple were from the use of wrong units (is conversion of rad/sec to linear frequency for the spring mass problem). I only had to guess on one question regarding metallurgy and AISI steel quenching. I couldn't find the AISI standards in the MERM.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I had issues initially with that same spring problem. I think i missed having the initial answer divided by 2*pi. Then that stupid perlite/ferlite 1040 quenching problem, I couldn't find a diagram for that in any of my reference books.

The linear frequency problem should be a give away. The formulas, and a worked example if I remember correctly, are right there in the MERM.

The AISI 1040 question is something I had to go back to my sophomore year Materials text book to find. As you found out, the question is testing your knowledge of material composition and AISI/SAE notation - 1040 meaning 40% carbon content.

That is what I thought I remembered but was kind of disappointed I couldn't find in the MERM. I actually fought back and forth on the 2pi deal whilst taking the exam an ultimately convinced myself the wrong way.

Bottom of page 45-6 in MERM12 has AISI-SAE steel duscussion

Excellent reference Mech. The lower left paragraph of page 45-6 in the MERM explains exactly how to interpret the AISI designations and provides a thorough chart on the same page.

I'm a ChemE but found our version of the Lindeberg practice test demoralizing somewhat and also had to guess on quite a few to finish in 4 hours. In fact, I missed guessing on one question cause I was rushed and left it blank, so I counted it wrong just like it would be on the real thing. Final score was around 50%. Can't believe I am even admitting that but maybe someone else can comment on what they think or how they did.

I am taking the NCEES version tomorrow, also timed like the real thing. I hope I fare better on it. I maybe should have done it sooner but wanted to go through all other (presumably harder) material first.

Comments and thoughts welcome.

And, good luck to you all.

And that was 4 hours for AM, 4 for PM, like the real exam. I'm pretty certain I would have done far better had I solved them at leisure.

I'm not a Chem E but here's some general advice. The Lindeburg practice exams are generally considered much more difficult than the other practice exams that are available. If you have the time, I would redo the Lindeburg exam without the timer, especially since you think you can work all the problems.

I recommend working the NCEES practice exam as soon as possible. If you do well first time through it will be a huge confidence boost. If you don't do well, don't be discouraged. Identify the problems you got incorrect and why you did so. I would strongly recommend working the NCEES practice exam at least a couple times if you have the time.

Thanks a lot Ramnares.

You're welcome, hope it was helpful.

adamn185 said:

And that was 4 hours for AM, 4 for PM, like the real exam. I'm pretty certain I would have done far better had I solved them at leisure.

Click to expand...

I bombed the TFS SMS the Saturday before the exam. It wasn't a good measure of where I was at or difficulty of the exam. Don't worry about a 50 on the Lindeburg. I got by on exam day.

Thanks a lot.

Page 45,-6 in the thirteenth edition is the statics section. I'll peak around in the next chapter though