# 6 Minute solutions?



## navyasw02 (Sep 15, 2010)

I dont think I've done any of the 6 minute solutions problems in 6 minutes. If I try to do them within 6 minutes, I usually get them wrong. I was fine with the NCEES practice test, but now this is giving me some apprehension. Anybody else feel this way?


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## Sschell (Sep 15, 2010)

I never did any of the 6 min books... so I can't really address that, I can say that the NCEES practice test is very realistic in terms of difficulty.


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## navyasw02 (Sep 15, 2010)

sschell_PE said:


> I never did any of the 6 min books... so I can't really address that, I can say that the NCEES practice test is very realistic in terms of difficulty.


Thanks, that's reassuring. I feel like the 6MS books are reaching for ways to make things difficult by finding some of the most obscure things to ask and then screwing you up with multiple different unit conversion trickeries. I'm still doing them for practice, but I definitely feel far more comfortable with the NCEES.


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## Bman (Sep 16, 2010)

sschell_PE said:


> I never did any of the 6 min books... so I can't really address that, I can say that the NCEES practice test is very realistic in terms of difficulty.


I just took and passed the exam in April, and I have to point out that I thought the NCEES practice test was much easier than the actual exam. Be careful of setting your expectations on difficulty too low.... I worked through the SMS book for my depth (and the morning questions for the other two depths) 3 times. Don't expect to solve the questions in 6 minutes the first time going through, but by the time you are done, you should be able to solve similar types of questions in an average of 6 minutes.


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## snickerd3 (Sep 16, 2010)

navyasw02 said:


> sschell_PE said:
> 
> 
> > I never did any of the 6 min books... so I can't really address that, I can say that the NCEES practice test is very realistic in terms of difficulty.
> ...


Expect that on the test!!!! At least for my test, there were a couple problems that literally boiled done to just a unit conversion.


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## FusionWhite (Sep 16, 2010)

I agree about the 6-Min Solutions. It takes way longer then 6 minutes to do most of them. Ive been working through the chemical book over the last couple weeks and I find the problems are good practice, but I hope they dont reflect whats on the test.


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## snickerd3 (Sep 16, 2010)

FusionWhite said:


> I agree about the 6-Min Solutions. It takes way longer then 6 minutes to do most of them. Ive been working through the chemical book over the last couple weeks and I find the problems are good practice, but I hope they dont reflect whats on the test.


For you specifically FW, No they don't. They are much more difficult than the test. If you can solve the 6 min and lindburg practice problems (ignoring the fact it took logner than 6 minutes) you will likely be over prepared for the test.


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## FusionWhite (Sep 16, 2010)

snickerd3 said:


> FusionWhite said:
> 
> 
> > I agree about the 6-Min Solutions. It takes way longer then 6 minutes to do most of them. Ive been working through the chemical book over the last couple weeks and I find the problems are good practice, but I hope they dont reflect whats on the test.
> ...


Thats good. I would say I get about 90% of the problems in the 6-Minute Solutions book right, they just take me about 20 minutes to do.

Just flipping through the tables to pull viscosities, density and pipe data to calculate a Reynolds number can take several minutes.


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## snickerd3 (Sep 16, 2010)

FusionWhite said:


> Thats good. I would say I get about 90% of the problems in the 6-Minute Solutions book right, they just take me about 20 minutes to do.
> Just flipping through the tables to pull viscosities, density and pipe data to calculate a Reynolds number can take several minutes.


Sorry the hijack *navyasw02.*

FW FOr the chemical exam, Most of the time all that information is given to you in the problem statement...unless it is a question where they are testing your graph reading ability. I mean they OVER give information probably more than half of it you don't need. I was shocked, I thought i was going to have to be flipping through charts and figues like crazy like during my problem solving but it wasn't nearly as much.


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## Sschell (Sep 16, 2010)

snickerd3 said:


> I mean they OVER give information probably more than half of it you don't need.


for me, once I realized this, and knew to expect it, the practice problems (and the actual exam questions) became ALOT easier... you just have to be comfortable disregarding irrelavant information.


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## Waterboy (Sep 16, 2010)

navyasw02 said:


> I dont think I've done any of the 6 minute solutions problems in 6 minutes. If I try to do them within 6 minutes, I usually get them wrong. I was fine with the NCEES practice test, but now this is giving me some apprehension. Anybody else feel this way?


I passed the electrical power PE exam this past April (first time) and what I found was that some of the problems on the exam will take you 20 minutes and others will take 30 seconds. The key for me was to read through all the problems on the exam before trying to work any of them. Then go back through and solve the easy ones. Next go back and solve the ones you know how to do but require you to look up some data. Last, solve the hardest problems. I did this and I finished 30 minutes early in the morning and nearly an hour early in the afternoon. This allowd me time to go back over the harder problems and make sure I did not make any mistakes. Also, what I noticed was that as I read over the exam problems before starting any, it helped to calme me down because as I read them I realized the vast majority I knew exactly how to solve. I'm sure if you put in the time to study, the same will be the case for you. Good luck.


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## FusionWhite (Sep 16, 2010)

Waterboy said:


> navyasw02 said:
> 
> 
> > I dont think I've done any of the 6 minute solutions problems in 6 minutes. If I try to do them within 6 minutes, I usually get them wrong. I was fine with the NCEES practice test, but now this is giving me some apprehension. Anybody else feel this way?
> ...



I can tell you for a fact that this method will not work for me. Im the sort of person who has to work the problems sequentially. If its something I flat out dont know how to do I will skip it, but otherwise I know I will not let a problem go unanswered. It just gnaws at me if I skip problems.


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## Master slacker (Sep 17, 2010)

FusionWhite said:


> Waterboy said:
> 
> 
> > I passed the electrical power PE exam this past April (first time) and what I found was that some of the problems on the exam will take you 20 minutes and others will take 30 seconds. The key for me was to read through all the problems on the exam before trying to work any of them. Then go back through and solve the easy ones. Next go back and solve the ones you know how to do but require you to look up some data. Last, solve the hardest problems. I did this and I finished 30 minutes early in the morning and nearly an hour early in the afternoon. This allowd me time to go back over the harder problems and make sure I did not make any mistakes. Also, what I noticed was that as I read over the exam problems before starting any, it helped to calme me down because as I read them I realized the vast majority I knew exactly how to solve. I'm sure if you put in the time to study, the same will be the case for you. Good luck.
> ...


I'm the same way FW, but I spent 4 minutes (yes, only 4 minutes) to glance over each problem and quickly tagged them a 1, 2, or 3 for difficulty. I made three passes through the section and finished ahead of time. It's not my typical way of working a test, but it worked.


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## MSEE_PE (Sep 17, 2010)

sschell_PE said:


> I never did any of the 6 min books... so I can't really address that, I can say that the NCEES practice test is very realistic in terms of difficulty.



Don't count on the difficulty to be the same, it depends on the exam...When I took the exam, the practice book was far easier than the real exam. Just try to cover as much problems and topics as possible.


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## FusionWhite (Oct 6, 2010)

Im bumping this thread because the Chemical 6-minute Solutions book pissed me off last night. The mass transfer section is full of problems in which you have to either A) iterate to an answer (6-minutes my ass) or B ) the solution in the back says "Solve this problem with a programmable calculator". I almost launched the book across my study room when I saw 3 problems in a row asking me to use a programmable calculator. In addition the problems in this section are so poorly worded that I have a hard time even figuring out what Im being asked for.

I dont know if different authors wrote different subjects in this book (the fluids and thermo sections were not this bad) but whoever did the mass transfer section needs to be dragged in front of a PE exam session to be publically caned.


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## snickerd3 (Oct 6, 2010)

FusionWhite said:


> Im bumping this thread because the Chemical 6-minute Solutions book pissed me off last night. The mass transfer section is full of problems in which you have to either A) iterate to an answer (6-minutes my ass) or B ) the solution in the back says "Solve this problem with a programmable calculator". I almost launched the book across my study room when I saw 3 problems in a row asking me to use a programmable calculator. In addition the problems in this section are so poorly worded that I have a hard time even figuring out what Im being asked for.
> I dont know if different authors wrote different subjects in this book (the fluids and thermo sections were not this bad) but whoever did the mass transfer section needs to be dragged in front of a PE exam session to be publically caned.


But did you understand how to get to the point of needed the programmable calc? I know it is frustrating, but the more difficult the practice problem the easier a simplier exam question will be.


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## FusionWhite (Oct 6, 2010)

snickerd3 said:


> FusionWhite said:
> 
> 
> > Im bumping this thread because the Chemical 6-minute Solutions book pissed me off last night. The mass transfer section is full of problems in which you have to either A) iterate to an answer (6-minutes my ass) or B ) the solution in the back says "Solve this problem with a programmable calculator". I almost launched the book across my study room when I saw 3 problems in a row asking me to use a programmable calculator. In addition the problems in this section are so poorly worded that I have a hard time even figuring out what Im being asked for.
> ...


Yes, I got the point of the problem which was good. Ive been struggling with studying lately because Im digging into the subjects that I dont have a good grasp on so progress has been slow and grinding. The frustration level is definately ratcheting up.


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## NCcarguy (Oct 6, 2010)

The 6 minute solution problems were typically much harder than the exam, but VERY GOOD preperation. The NCEES practice problems were much easier.

Keep working the 6 minute problems, but DON'T get caught up on one. work it at your pace, don't worry about time, and pay attention to DETAILS...I can't say that statement enough!

Details.....details.....details...in the QUESTION, in the UNITS and in the reference materials.

I would bet half the people that don't pass, fail from just a lack of paying attention, not from lack of knowledge.


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## dastuff (Oct 6, 2010)

I think i had one 6 min problem that took me close to 40 minutes to understand. That being said NCcarguy is 100% correct when he says they are a great preparation because it's like practicing for a marathon when you only plan on running a 10k


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## STEEL MAN (Oct 8, 2010)

I agree^^^^ 6 mins my ass, it is difficult to finish these probs in just 6 mins, or say maximum of 6 mins, NCEES sample probs too, some of them might take you more than 6 mins or less than 6 mins, depending on the data given and the solution it takes to solve the probs.


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## civilized_naah (Oct 8, 2010)

dastuff said:


> I think i had one 6 min problem that took me close to 40 minutes to understand. That being said NCcarguy is 100% correct when he says they are a great preparation because it's like practicing for a marathon when you only plan on running a 10k


As a runner, I would like to point out that training for a marathon is a BAAAD idea if you are getting ready for a 10k


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## sac_engineer (Oct 8, 2010)

civilized_naah said:


> dastuff said:
> 
> 
> > I think i had one 6 min problem that took me close to 40 minutes to understand. That being said NCcarguy is 100% correct when he says they are a great preparation because it's like practicing for a marathon when you only plan on running a 10k
> ...


I think the 6-minute solution books are great if you know how to solve the question immediately after reading it. It's not a study guide like Goswami's All-in-One or a reference like the CERM. When I studied, I found the 6-minute solutions to be very helpful rather than discouraging. It's much better than the CERM practice problems since those questions take about an hour to solve.

There's a fine line between being adequately prepared and knowing too much for the exam. If you want to pass, go with the latter. I think the ones who complain about how long it takes to do problems don't properly study the material and rely too much on example problems to get by. The efficiency in taking and passing the exam is about understanding process and not by just plugging and chugging equations.


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## Nik (Nov 2, 2010)

6 min. solution according to me is for super-intelligent guys who already know what is what.

I'd like to get there though. Lets see if I passed my PE this time ! :-/ [2nd attempt]


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## Eddierizzle (Nov 3, 2010)

I sent a comment to ppi2pass telling them that they need to revise the 6 minute solutions for Civil-Structural because their morning problems were only geared to those taking structural only since it required the Code books to actually do the problems. I thought the whole purpose of the morning problems were to be user friendly for all civil disciplines since someone who is taking transportation, geotechnical or water resources isn't going to have ACI-318-05 or AISC Steel Manual 13th edition to fall back on. I got a reply email telling me that they thanked me for my comment and will take it into consideration.


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