# Oct 06' Mechanical PE



## apk71 (Jun 21, 2006)

Is anybody taking the ME PE this October? First time taker, just started to study about 15 hours a week for the next 4 months.


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## EdinNO (Jun 21, 2006)

Not taking it. Just passed in April. I will try to stick around and help out with questions though. What PM session are you considering? I did machine design.

Ed


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## EdinNO (Jun 21, 2006)

We may want to move this to the Mechanical section of the board.

Ed


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## RIP - VTEnviro (Jun 22, 2006)

That or it might be time to launch that new "exam prep" forum. It's about 4 months to d-day, and people are starting to think about testing/re-testing.


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## JoeysVee (Jun 22, 2006)

I think the proper place for this thread is the ME section...

I will most likely take the exam again in October becuase I think I failed the April exam but I'm waiting on results.


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## WarEagleEngr (Jun 22, 2006)

I am trying to decide if I want to study through the summer. Then again, I hate to not turn around and take it again. I will make up my mind this weekend.

Just like a girl to not be able to make up her mind right away!!!

:lol:


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## JoeysVee (Jun 22, 2006)

I will start studying within 2 weeks of getting my letter! I should recieve the letter soon. I will retake it in October...no way will I wait to retake this thing. Hopefully I still remember some stuff.


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## EdinNO (Jun 22, 2006)

Joey,

Still no results yet right? You might still have passed!

Ed


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## JoeysVee (Jun 22, 2006)

No results yet. Trust me I just know I didn't pass. I had a horrible felling about it the whole day. I guessed on more than half of them.


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## EdinNO (Jun 22, 2006)

When I got done answering all the ones I could actually work out an answer, I only had about 22 to 24 answered on each session. Most of the rest were either wild guesses or educated guesses, although I might have worked a few more here or there.

I will tell you that when the proctor started counting down minutes I was literally playing connect-the-dots!

Ed


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## Nevadabob (Jun 22, 2006)

APK71, here's my thoughts on preparation. I'm sure others will chime in on this.

I used "the other board"'s Passing Zone for preparation and was pleased with it. However, I think you can do the same thing on your own and save $195. For me, the biggest thing the Passing Zone did was put a schedule right in front of me that I felt compelled to stick to. It was 14 weeks, which I felt packed a lot of stuff into a short period of time. Even so, I was getting pretty burnt out by week 11-12. I'd be more than happy to share that schedule with you; I don't think it could be considered "proprietary" in any way.

The other thing the Passing Zone touts is its access to instructors. I used them some, but while their responses were usually pretty quick, they were often pretty short and a lot of times required some back and forth postings with them. You may be able to get similar help from the people who watch this forum.

I was pretty surprised when I found out today that I'd passed the test. In fact, I had already put together a study schedule for the October test, breezing over stuff I feel pretty confident with and spending extra time on the stuff that tripped me up on April's test.

Make a schedule, stick to it, and allow yourself time at the end to review everything you did, and to relax a little bit. If you're hitting the books now, you'll be pretty burnt by October.

Good Luck


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## apk71 (Jun 23, 2006)

I plan on taking the HVAC indepth module. I came up with somewhat of schedule. I plan on reading through MERM and doing the example problems in the middle of the chapters. I'm not sure that I will do the ones at the end of the chapters. After, I get done reading MERM, I plan on doing the NCEES proplems, Six Minute Problems, and some of the problems from the 101 solved mechanical engineering problems.

I'm just worried about not having enough time to read through MERM and doing problems.


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## Nevadabob (Jun 23, 2006)

apk71: I'd highly recommend doing all the problems at the end of the chapters. The more problems you do, the better off you'll be.


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## apk71 (Jun 27, 2006)

How much time should I dedicate to solving problems? And much time should I use reading over the MERM chapters? I have four months and I want to use the time wisely. I have a schedule for reading the next two months, and then solving problems for two months. I'll probably take the week of the exam to relax.


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## WarEagleEngr (Jun 27, 2006)

I would dedicate more time to working problems then reading. I did a lot of reading and not enough problems and I believe this practice cost me dearly on the test. This time I am not going to bother reading much and just work as many problems as possible. Do the example problems in the MERM and the end of chapter problems. The 1 hour problems are too involved for the exam but I did find a few of them were good.

Good luck!


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## alaskachic (Jul 25, 2006)

I too plan on taking the PE in Oct. '06. This will be the 2nd time around. I started taking the "the other board" this past winter and got waaaay behind in my studying. Like NevadaBob said...it was a lot of information in 14 weeks. And now I'm 14 weeks into it again and haven't picked up a book since March! I plan on starting soon and would like to use this as a source to help me with end of chapter problems if the help is there!


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## moodyj2000 (Aug 1, 2006)

I purchased the 6 min solutions for HVAC and the NCEES practice exam with CD and worked through the problems in both. Additionally, I tabbed my book to any resources looked at while doing both of these practice exams. Between that and just generally looking over any topics having to do with HVAC (vibration mounts, food freezing, etc.) I passed the first time without excessively studying.

As for reference materials in the exam. Take the MERM, the above listed practice exams, and a full set of ASHRAE handbooks. I left one out and it came back to bite me on one question.

There are just some basics that a HVAC designer should know cold: Heating and Cooling Loads, Psychrometrics Processes and using the chart efficiently, pump calculations, duct calculations, heat transfer problems, etc. These were stressed throughout the above listed references.

Do the problems in the practice exams and do them all until you understand their solution thoroughly.

Organization is half the battle. Don't go into the exam without clearly tabbing your references. Also, practice solving problems using your tabbing system. Don't do it the week before and spend precious minutes fumbling for answers. Like we say in the military, "Train like you fight." Use the same calculator, the same references, and the same tabs over and over until it is automatic. This is probably the single most important step to passing the exam. Too many people in the exam room were fumbling all around in a panic while taking the exam. I know because I had time to set back, relax, and watch what was going on. The exam is mental and if you stumble looking something up you will be in danger of getting confused and losing your train of thought. That is why organization is the key.


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## alaskachic (Aug 4, 2006)

> I purchased the 6 min solutions for HVAC and the NCEES practice exam with CD and worked through the problems in both. Additionally, I tabbed my book to any resources looked at while doing both of these practice exams. Between that and just generally looking over any topics having to do with HVAC (vibration mounts, food freezing, etc.) I passed the first time without excessively studying.
> As for reference materials in the exam. Take the MERM, the above listed practice exams, and a full set of ASHRAE handbooks. I left one out and it came back to bite me on one question.
> 
> There are just some basics that a HVAC designer should know cold: Heating and Cooling Loads, Psychrometrics Processes and using the chart efficiently, pump calculations, duct calculations, heat transfer problems, etc. These were stressed throughout the above listed references.
> ...


moodj2000-

thanks for the tips! i will be taking hvac depth in the afternoon and i appreciate your helpful hints. i think that is exactly what i need to do is to start organizing my stuff so they are easier to find during the exam. i heard that post-it notes to tag pages are not allowed? has anybody else heard this? they are no different than the adhesive tabs which can be written on as well.


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## apk71 (Aug 4, 2006)

Post-It notes are allowed as tabs in South Dakota as long as don't remove them during the exam.


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