Civil Engineering reference manual 11th edition vs 12th edition

[sikh]

Hello,

I am not sure whether to buy CERM 11th or 12th edition in order to prepare for the April 2012 PE Civil exam. Is 12th edition very different from 11th edition or it does not matter if I purchase 11th edition. Please post your experiences in using these review manuals. Your comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Sikh

 

[jvh4]

I had a similar concern. I did not spend enough time to give you a concrete answer, but I'll give you my experience. I borrowed a friend's 11th edition book since it was free. My coworker insisted on buying the 12th edition. She let me borrow it for an evening. I obviously didn't go through page by page, but I did compare the 2 table of contents and flip through the water resources chapters. I did not not find anything that led me to believe it was worth buying the book. PPI claims over a 100 tables and figures were changed.

My conclusion was that NCEES does not use the PPI books to create questions, therefore, a new edition of reference material will not translate into a different exam. No new subjects were added, and new edition is not related to a change in the structure of the exam. For example the 10th edition was written when the exam did not include the new contruction subject, causing the 11th edition to be valuebale upgrade.

I am taking the exam in April, so I won't know until then if my conclusions are valid, but I thought I'd share it with out.

 

[cdframe]

I heard that the 12th edition has a more expanded construction section so if you are taking that depth option it may be worth it.

Otherwise I would say no it's not worth it for the cost, I have seen people pass with far older versions.

 

[noghre111]

Buy the 11th version if you are taking a review course that would cover construction seperately.

 

[ptatohed]

There is now a 13th Ed. If you already own a 10th/11th/12th, then you can still pass. If you are buying a CERM for the first time, get the latest. PPI has a really good ($75) upgrade offer right now.

 

[Black Star Oblivion]

I studied with a friend. I had the 11th edition and he had the 12th edition. What we discovered was that many sections had been omitted from the 12th edition. My friend spent some time copying things into his book from mine. We both passed Water Resources in April 2012. I would agree that if you are taking construction then one of the newer editions would be the way to go.