# I Hate you TFS Six Min Solutions



## P-E (Jan 17, 2015)

Let me start with the fact that I probably wouldn't have passed without the MERM - support your EB.com vendors.

However, am I the only one who thinks the TFS SMS is a terrible book? The Sunday before the exam I decided to work through the problems to see how prepared I was. I got half wrong, many seemed to need obscure references, most took more than six minutes, and some were poorly written. I almost gave up right there. If it wasn't for my wife I would have gone to the pub instead of the exam.

I'm planning on burning the f-ing thing in the campfire next Friday night. Don't do it? Or what is the best accelerant to use? Mmm fire.


----------



## Ramnares P.E. (Jan 17, 2015)

I had the complete opposite experience with the SMS for TF. I agree that some of the problems take more than six minutes to solve, particularly the depth section of the book. However, after working through it a couple times I was able to finish all the problems within the six minutes, most of them well ahead of that. I actually worked through the book so many times the binding is completely shot and it's fallen apart.

The only book I was thoroughly disgusted with was the Lindeburg practice exam. I thought those questions were left field and thoroughly discouraging.


----------



## MechE_in_PA_PE (Jan 18, 2015)

I've been working the TFS SMS problems as I go through my studies...I don't think the questions are that bad....sure they are a number of questions that are too long and would take more than six minutes, but there are also a few qualitative questions that can be worked in less than a minute.

I don't think the SMS problems claim to be representative of a "sample exam" and I can see how you could become discourage if you tried using them as such....I think they are more practice problems that are asked in an "exam style" wording, but are meant to reenforce the concepts and prepare you for the more difficult problems on the exam. Also based on my experience so far with the SMS books they require a lot more of looking up of data from references than the questions in the NCEES sample exam. Maybe this is to get you familiar with your reference books?

I will admit that there are some questions that seem out of left field...but that is true for some of the questions in both the SMS Mech Systems and ME PE practice problems.


----------



## P-E (Jan 19, 2015)

I haven't decided whether I'm going to toss the entire book on the fire or pluck pages one by one for burning - I hate you, i hate you not, I hate you....


----------



## MechE_in_PA_PE (Jan 19, 2015)

...hmmm power-engineer tough one...but if you hate it so much I suggest dismembering then burning.

Question did you also try the lindeburg sample exam? I've heard so many negative reviews on it that I did not even bother picking it up - just wanted to see if you tried it and if so what your take on it was compared to the SMS TFS


----------



## P-E (Jan 19, 2015)

I didn't because I ran out of time. I looked at the online sample for the NCEES practice exam. I really wish I had bought that instead.

I fear that if I burn each page separately it will take more than six minutes to burn the whole thing.


----------

