# Anyone Taking the October ME PE?



## JoeysVee (Jul 11, 2009)

If so what depth section are you taking?

We can all help each other by asking and answering questions to the practice problems here. arty-smiley-048:


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## JGG (Jul 13, 2009)

JoeysVee said:


> If so what depth section are you taking?
> We can all help each other by asking and answering questions to the practice problems here. arty-smiley-048:



I took the HVAC&amp;R section in April and passed. I have worked through all the NCEES sample test problems, 6 min solutions for HVAC&amp;R, and Lindenburg Sample test if there's anything I can help anyone with, let know. I have a friend that is about to sign up for engineerboards and I'll direct him to this thread. He's taking the mechanical systems and materials depth section.


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## JoeysVee (Jul 13, 2009)

Yeah, please direct him to this thread...we can help each other along!


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## JR MOORE (Jul 13, 2009)

JoeysVee said:


> Yeah, please direct him to this thread...we can help each other along!


I am the friend of JGG that is taking the afternoon section Mechanical Systems and Materials. Are there any specific reference books for this section?

Thanks


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## kcnorth (Jul 14, 2009)

JR MOORE said:


> I am the friend of JGG that is taking the afternoon section Mechanical Systems and Materials. Are there any specific reference books for this section?
> Thanks



I too am taking the Mechanical Systems and Materials afternoon section. Any help would be appreciated! So far I have an old Shigley Machine Design book and the MERM by Lindeburg.


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## Kephart P.E. (Jul 14, 2009)

JoeysVee said:


> If so what depth section are you taking?
> We can all help each other by asking and answering questions to the practice problems here. arty-smiley-048:


Joey,

I took the Therm and Fluids section this spring and passed first time. I did many of the things you have listed, and did very well ( I think) in the morning. I should have spent more time on the depth stuff in the afternoon.

Also Lindeburg's Sample Exam was pretty worthless as a actual test. Good for practice problems, it just wasn't representative of the actual difficulty of the Exam.

Know the NCEES Sample Exam forward and backwards, I actually used it as a reference on the Exam for a problem or 2.


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## JoeysVee (Jul 14, 2009)

Maybe others can chime in and tell you what other references to bring since you are taking the MD depth section of the exam. I will be taking either the T/F or HVAC depth so I don't think I can help you much.


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## jonstone (Sep 5, 2009)

Hello,

I am taking the machine depth portion. This will be my second try... I would love to discuss material/references with people, just give me a holler!


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## ekd (Sep 23, 2009)

I'm taking the ME exam in October with the HVAC depth portion.

Sort of freaking out over here. All I can think about is 4 weekends left to study.  Where are all these sample tests people keep talking about?


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## JoeysVee (Sep 24, 2009)

ekd said:


> I'm taking the ME exam in October with the HVAC depth portion.
> Sort of freaking out over here. All I can think about is 4 weekends left to study.  Where are all these sample tests people keep talking about?


http://ppi2pass.com/ppi/PPIShop?ct=MECHANI...NCPEM5&amp;psp=


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## buick455 (Sep 25, 2009)

I am taking the MD afternoon depth this fall for the third time. Good luck.


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## chaocl (Sep 29, 2009)

I am going to take my first PE exam in Mechanical and I will take the Thermal and Fluid system in the afternoon. I failed once before for the FE and I know how bad the feeling was therefore, I will try my best for the coming ME PE.

I will post a topic of how I am study for this exam after I pass because I don't know that I am on the right track or not. However, the testing result will give me the answer.


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## PKT1106 (Sep 30, 2009)

I will be taking the PE in Oct 2009 as well. This is the first (and only, I hope) attempt. I am taking machine design afternoon. I think I totally got the study cycle wrong. I ordered MERM and the NCEES sample exam and went through it, then went through the Lindburgh sample exam. Then I found out there was the practice problems for the MERM and I am going through that now.

Does anyone else think the Lindburgh problems are way too complex for 6 minutes each? Some of them can be very time consuming. Some of them you can't even straight copy the answer in 6 minutes (I am working through them, but one day I tried to straight up copy down all the info from one problem I had already done and it was like 8 minutes and I was hauling).

Anyway, after going through most of the Lindburgh stuff and then looking back through the NCEES sample exam, I don't know wether to feel good or bad. The NCEES looks so much easier than the Lindburgh. Maybe Lindburgh is just putting you through the ringer to give you practice?

Anyway, I am in Lexington, KY and and getting pretty antsy to get this done.


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## chaocl (Oct 1, 2009)

PKT1106 said:


> I will be taking the PE in Oct 2009 as well. This is the first (and only, I hope) attempt. I am taking machine design afternoon. I think I totally got the study cycle wrong. I ordered MERM and the NCEES sample exam and went through it, then went through the Lindburgh sample exam. Then I found out there was the practice problems for the MERM and I am going through that now.
> Does anyone else think the Lindburgh problems are way too complex for 6 minutes each? Some of them can be very time consuming. Some of them you can't even straight copy the answer in 6 minutes (I am working through them, but one day I tried to straight up copy down all the info from one problem I had already done and it was like 8 minutes and I was hauling).
> 
> Anyway, after going through most of the Lindburgh stuff and then looking back through the NCEES sample exam, I don't know wether to feel good or bad. The NCEES looks so much easier than the Lindburgh. Maybe Lindburgh is just putting you through the ringer to give you practice?
> ...


Some problems won't take you more than 2 mintues plus you should used those spare time for the other longer question. 6 mins just the avg time....


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## goodal (Oct 1, 2009)

PKT1106 said:


> I will be taking the PE in Oct 2009 as well. This is the first (and only, I hope) attempt. I am taking machine design afternoon. I think I totally got the study cycle wrong. I ordered MERM and the NCEES sample exam and went through it, then went through the Lindburgh sample exam. Then I found out there was the practice problems for the MERM and I am going through that now.
> Does anyone else think the Lindburgh problems are way too complex for 6 minutes each? Some of them can be very time consuming. Some of them you can't even straight copy the answer in 6 minutes (I am working through them, but one day I tried to straight up copy down all the info from one problem I had already done and it was like 8 minutes and I was hauling).
> 
> Anyway, after going through most of the Lindburgh stuff and then looking back through the NCEES sample exam, I don't know wether to feel good or bad. The NCEES looks so much easier than the Lindburgh. Maybe Lindburgh is just putting you through the ringer to give you practice?
> ...


I took HVAC depth in April 09 and passed. You are correct that the Linburgh problems take longer than 6 minutes. They are deisgned to take you completely through the thought process where the actual test questions will only require part of a problem to be solved. I didnt take the lindburgh practice test but i did go through the NCEES test and found it to be similar (not identical) to the actual test. I suggest doing ALL the MERM practice problems that you can in the next few weeks and try to understand the process not just get their answer.


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## PKT1106 (Oct 1, 2009)

badal said:


> I suggest doing ALL the MERM practice problems that you can in the next few weeks and try to understand the process not just get their answer.


Oh yes, as I am going through, if there is a part I get hung up on, I have been going through references until I understand how the answer is to be found. There are no short-cuts on this, I want to take this one time only.


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## Master slacker (Oct 2, 2009)

For those who are taking the machine design depth, see the following references I took to the exam (and subsequently passed):

*The one's I actually used frequently:*

MERM

Shigley

Machinery's Handbook

*The one's brought "just in case" or cracked once:*

Statics

Dynamics

Vibrations

Pipefitters manual

Materials

Fluids

Economics

HVAC

Thermo

Remember, tests will vary each time. Yours may require a reference mine did not. Bring all the references you can because it is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.


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## PKT1106 (Oct 2, 2009)

Master slacker said:


> Bring all the references you can because it is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.


I don't agree with the "bring all the refereces you can" part. That's gonna scare some people into bringing a bookshelf's worth of books. I think most would be overwhelmed by so many during the test.

I am taking the MERM, Shigley, and maybe one more.


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## Master slacker (Oct 2, 2009)

PKT1106 said:


> I don't agree with the "bring all the refereces you can" part. That's gonna scare some people into bringing a bookshelf's worth of books. I think most would be overwhelmed by so many during the test.
> I am taking the MERM, Shigley, and maybe one more.


That's fine. Finding a couple of answers for a couple of obscure questions in a "just in case" reference was worth it for me. I don't have to take the test again.


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## buick455 (Oct 5, 2009)

I agree with Master Slacker:

You may be able to get by with the two references but I used the Machinery Handbook, Marks, my statics and physics book for a few problems which I would have got wrong if I did not have them. I could have used other books I did not have with me as well.

Do not feel over confident feeling if you can get through the NCEES sample problems with a few references that is what the exam will be like, believe me it is not. There will be problems you have never seen before on this exam and you will say WTF.



PKT1106 said:


> I don't agree with the "bring all the refereces you can" part. That's gonna scare some people into bringing a bookshelf's worth of books. I think most would be overwhelmed by so many during the test.
> I am taking the MERM, Shigley, and maybe one more.


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## MechGuy (Oct 5, 2009)

Master slacker said:


> That's fine. Finding a couple of answers for a couple of obscure questions in a "just in case" reference was worth it for me. I don't have to take the test again.



I would take a Marks Standard if you can -- I found a couple of obscure references in there when I took the exam. I would also take an ASHRAE Fundamentals, even if you're not taking the HVAC depth. I found some good stuff in there too.

Like Master Slacker said, this is just advice from those that have been there before. Take from it whatever you want.

In my opinion, its worth lugging in the extra books just in case you run across a problem you have never seen and have no clue on. If you have a few extra minutes to look up the Index in Marks or whatnot, its better than guessing.


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## JoeysVee (Oct 5, 2009)

I will be taking lots of references in. I may only use a few of them but they'll be there if I need them.

I plan to take

MERM*

MERM Questions and Solutions

6 Minute problems (3 of them)

ASHRAE (all 4 Books)*

Crane*

Cameron's

1 three ring binder with my 4 equations sheets, ASHRAE Index and MERM index*

My 8 Clemson refresher course workbooks*

Shigleys

Sample Exams (1995, 2001, 2008)

Keenan and Kaye steam tables book US Customary*

Keenan and Kaye steam tables book SI*

Keenan and Kaye gas tables book US Customary

Keenan and Kaye gas tables book SI

Unit Conversions*

That's all I can think of. Thats a lot of books and workbooks. My guess is, I will only use the ones with an * by them. I guess it never hurts to bring in extra books as long as you are familiar with them. Oh and I have another MERM that will be in my truck so I will have it at lunch if I need to look something up.


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## Master slacker (Oct 5, 2009)

I would not plan on using your practice exams, worked problems, solutions, etc... Those WILL be a crutch. You'll see a problem in the exam that "looks" familiar and then spend time looking for that practice problem and how to solve it. Truth is, the PE problem will not be anything like the practice problem and you just wasted 2+ minutes looking for it. :2cents:


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## MechGuy (Oct 5, 2009)

Master slacker said:


> I would not plan on using your practice exams, worked problems, solutions, etc... Those WILL be a crutch. You'll see a problem in the exam that "looks" familiar and then spend time looking for that practice problem and how to solve it. Truth is, the PE problem will not be anything like the practice problem and you just wasted 2+ minutes looking for it. :2cents:


I agree to this somewhat but not completely. The reason being that I did happen to take all my sample exams, 6 minute soultions, practice problems books ect. and to my amazement found a problem on the exam that were almost identical to a problem in one of the books. It just happened that I took a quick glance at one of my problems books the night before in the hotel, and when I saw that same problem on the test I remembered where it was in the problems book and was able to look it up.

Now granted this example is just plain dumb luck, but it saved me on one question. Sometimes one question is the difference between passing and not passing....so as long as you don't fall into the trap of using those practice problem books as a crutch, I think its a good idea to take them all. Just in case!


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## chaocl (Oct 6, 2009)

Master slacker said:


> I would not plan on using your practice exams, worked problems, solutions, etc... Those WILL be a crutch. You'll see a problem in the exam that "looks" familiar and then spend time looking for that practice problem and how to solve it. Truth is, the PE problem will not be anything like the practice problem and you just wasted 2+ minutes looking for it. :2cents:


I will mainly use the MERM and my worked samples (with equations and solved methods)...I don't know it is the right approach or not because this is my first time try taking the PE.....But I will bring all related books which I have to the exam (just be a backup)


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