# Mechanical/HVAC PE Crazy problems



## MechE1906 (Mar 21, 2016)

For people who have taken the Mechanical/HVAC PE, were there any crazy problems not in the 6 minute solutions or NCEES practice exam that appeared on the exam?

Also, for those who failed the Mechanical/HVAC PE, what tips would you give a first time taker? Why do you think you failed?


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## JHW 3d (Mar 21, 2016)

I think you can safely assume the 6MS do not capture every problem type. Be prepared to react to problems that will require applying several principles in combinations you haven't seen before, especially in your afternoon session. There will be a few plug and chug problems but don't expect them all to be that way.

Good Luck!


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## Audi Driver P.E. (Mar 21, 2016)

Keep in mind that the NCEES practice exams are really only to give you an idea of the breadth of material they will cover as well as they level of difficulty of problems you can expect to see on any exam.  They have almost no bearing whatsoever on whether any particular subject matter will be covered or not.  I wouldn't expect to see many problems that are very similar to the ones given as examples, except as subject matter allows, of course.

From reading these boards, it seems there is one common factor for those that did not pass first time around and that simply is they didn't have enough depth of knowledge required for the breadth of problems that are asked on the test.


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## MechE1906 (Mar 24, 2016)

JHW 3d said:


> I think you can safely assume the 6MS do not capture every problem type. Be prepared to react to problems that will require applying several principles in combinations you haven't seen before, especially in your afternoon session. There will be a few plug and chug problems but don't expect them all to be that way.
> 
> Good Luck!


Thanks for your reply! I've been studying a lot. Prayerfully, it all pays off.


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## MechE1906 (Mar 24, 2016)

Audi driver said:


> Keep in mind that the NCEES practice exams are really only to give you an idea of the breadth of material they will cover as well as they level of difficulty of problems you can expect to see on any exam.  They have almost no bearing whatsoever on whether any particular subject matter will be covered or not.  I wouldn't expect to see many problems that are very similar to the ones given as examples, except as subject matter allows, of course.
> 
> From reading these boards, it seems there is one common factor for those that did not pass first time around and that simply is they didn't have enough depth of knowledge required for the breadth of problems that are asked on the test.


For the Breadth? or for the Depth? Like did they not know enough for the morning or for the Afternoon? I'm most concerned about the AM section.


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## Audi Driver P.E. (Mar 24, 2016)

MechE1906 said:


> For the Breadth? or for the Depth? Like did they not know enough for the morning or for the Afternoon? I'm most concerned about the AM section.


For either or both.  It doesn't seem to bias one way or the other, from what I can tell.  Nearly all the material in the MERM is fair game in either section of the exam (save for the strictly mathematics sections and a few others that are spelled out in the book).  The only difference is the number of questions from any section that are asked and there is some level of increased complexity (usually more steps to solve the problem) for some problems should be expected for the depth.  It's just how you would expect, based on looking at the NCEES sample exams.


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## Phenomenon083 (Mar 24, 2016)

Sounds scary if all the material in the MERM is fair game, especially for the Morning section. I hope it is easy enough so that I can answer it within the time limit just by looking in the MERM.


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## Audi Driver P.E. (Mar 24, 2016)

Phenomenon083 said:


> Sounds scary if all the material in the MERM is fair game, especially for the Morning section. I hope it is easy enough so that I can answer it within the time limit just by looking in the MERM.


I wouldn't count on being able to "just look in the MERM" to answer.  As I've said in other posts, NCEES knows the MERM exists, and it is my opinion that they craft problems that are not easily answered by looking for a solution in the MERM.  You will be able to find a relevant equation most likely, but not the methodology and terminology necessarily.


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## JHW 3d (Mar 24, 2016)

Audi driver said:


> > 31 minutes ago, Phenomenon083 said:
> >
> > Sounds scary if all the material in the MERM is fair game, especially for the Morning section. I hope it is easy enough so that I can answer it within the time limit just by looking in the MERM.
> 
> ...


Agree with this for the depth/morning portion. It was pretty MERM accessible -IMO (I'm basing this on a feeling. I seriously cannot remember actual problems). Would you agree? I took MD and didn't touch my expanded psych charts, Mollier diagrams and Cameron in the morning. I was paranoid for nothing. In the afternoon I pretty much used the MERM again but had several problems straight out of Shigley. One I didn't realize until the next day. I'm still pissed about that one. I'm referring to OCT 2015 exam for those interested. YMMV. yadda X 3.

Caveat: I'm in Netherlands right now for work. Eating dinner and drinking wine. Fantastic country, warm and friendly people. But all I can hear is "Fluten Tuten Farfegnuten Beshtuten." My mind is like jelly. I'm in a foreign language sensory deprivation chamber. It all sounds familiar until you really concentrate and you can't understand anything.


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