# Qualitative Questions on the exam



## S28 (Mar 4, 2013)

From reading through many threads on this site, it seems most people who have taken the exam have found about 25-33% of three exam questions to be qualitative, and maybe even a higher percentage on the last October exam. So my question is this, would you say these types of questions are generally questions you either know or don't know, do either you know the answer and you're going to get it right, or you don't and your SOL on that question... OR... Do you feel like many of these types of questions can be looked up via cerm index, and fairly quickly find in CERM or AI1?

I'm trying to figure out if I should continue to study by going through more practice problems or if I should be trying to read and attempt to get a better understanding of all of the concepts, almost attempting to study for more qualitative questions. Although reading the CERM can be pretty boring!


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## ptatohed (Mar 5, 2013)

S, my advice is to not try to guess what will be on your exam. Study it all. Work problems and understand the concepts. Good luck.


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## snickerd3 (Mar 5, 2013)

there is a high probablity that there will be qualitative ?s, not tons, in any of the exam types that references will not help you with answering. That is why it is a principals and PRACTICE exam. Yeah it sucks if that topic isn't something you are familar with, but it is what it is.


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## solomonb (Mar 5, 2013)

Review the syllabus of the test on the NCEES web site. This will give you the categories of test items that you can be expected to be tested on. You must know (have a strong undergraduate working knowledge) of ALL of these subjects. Now, what is being tested is for the MINIMALLY COMPETENT engineer, the C- student. That does not mean that you should not study or not review all of the material and elements of test identified--- failure to have a good understanding of each test item category will handicap your ability to do well on the examination.

If you graduated from an ABET accredited engineering program, you should be able to pass this test with some strong and concerted effort. Reviewing and understanding the elements of test will allow you to do an acceptable, read passing score on the examination.

Good Luck! You can do this and do it the first time!


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## S28 (Mar 7, 2013)

Ptatohead, I never planned on guessing what to study, just was trying to figure out if my time would be best spent continuing to do practice problems, or if I should attempt to go and read all the sections in the CERM that are on the syllabus. I've heard very mixed reviews about going through and reading all the material, so that's why I posed my question. Just trying to figure out how to best spend the time I have left to study before the exam.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.


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## blybrook PE (Mar 7, 2013)

I actually read the entire CERM during my studies for the first attempt. I then reread sections as required for the second attempt based on my test results. It is a dry read, but a great reminder for subjects I had not worked on since college. I will state that if you are not a fast reader, then do not attempt this before the upcoming exam; it takes quite a while to read the whole thing. Concentrate on areas you know you are weak in from the practice problems or where you feel you need additional reinforcement based on the syllabus.

I would concentrate on working through as many practice problems as you can get your hands on. As you find yourself needing additional background information, study those sections of the CERM.

Good luck on the upcoming test.


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## ptatohed (Mar 7, 2013)

S28 said:


> Ptatohead, I never planned on guessing what to study, just was trying to figure out if my time would be best spent continuing to do practice problems, or if I should attempt to go and read all the sections in the CERM that are on the syllabus. I've heard very mixed reviews about going through and reading all the material, so that's why I posed my question. Just trying to figure out how to best spend the time I have left to study before the exam.
> 
> Thanks for the feedback everyone.




I understand. I was just saying that since you don't know what will be on your exam, be prepared for both qualitative and quantitative problems. There is nothing wrong with reading the CERM. Just make sure you read only topics from the exam outline/syllabus so you don't waste time on topics in which you won't be tested. I'd suggest you place your emphasis on problem solving though, if you have to choose. Good luck.


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## MWC PE (Mar 11, 2013)

A qualitative question disguised as a quantitative is something NCEES seems to like to do. When I help people study for the test I usually give them this question (not a PE question on my test but similar in style to a geometric transportation question I remember):

A pile of sand has an angle of repose of x, what is the internal angle of friction?

A 1/2 X

B X

C 2 X

D 10 X

If you know that the angle of repose and angle of internal friction are nearly equal a question like this should take 1 second. Good luck finding an equation equating the angle of repose of sand to the angle of repose to internal friction.


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## S28 (Mar 13, 2013)

MWC, but if you weren't sure about angle of repose, you coups look it up in the cerm index, the index would take you to 40-7, where it states "angle of friction, also known as angle of repose". So you'd still solve it in 2 minutes or less.

Which brings me back to my original question. I'm starting to think anything qualitative like this could be looked up using cerm index during the exam. As opposed to just reading the cerm to try to learn all of this qualitative stuff.


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## K19 (Mar 13, 2013)

ptatohed said:


> There is nothing wrong with reading the CERM. Just make sure you read only topics from the exam outline/syllabus so you don't waste time on topics in which you won't be tested.




This is wise advice. While I can't speak for other disciplines, I took (and passed) the morning breadth + WR/Env afternoon and only read/studied about half the chapters in the CERM, as the other half consisted material that I knew wasn't going to be on the exam.

Having taken the exam and worked all the 2008/11 NCEES problems, my general observation on qualitative questions from is that most all relate directly to an item on the syllabus (e.g., some fundamental principle, law, or method) that you should at least aquire some basic understanding of through your studies. While there aren't really any trick questions, I wouldn't rely on being able to simply look up a topic by the index.


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## S28 (Mar 13, 2013)

Thanks for all the feedback! Definitely appreciated!


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## S28 (Mar 13, 2013)

Thanks for all the feedback! Definitely appreciated!


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