Mechanical PE exam difficulty

[woojaedang]

I am currently studying for mechanical PE exam using Lindeburg's reference manual.

Is afternoon problems on PE exam as hard as the problems on this book? There is no way I would be able to solve those problems under 6 minutes. Looking up the charts, graphs to find correct data, then equations, and to solve...I would need more than 6 minutes.

What you guys think?

 

[Rockettt]

I would say comparable. You'll get faster. Most of us have the intelligence to get a 80/80 right on the PE exam if given a week to do it. But now tell us to do it in 480 minutes..... well thats a different story. Rarely did I ever solve anything in less than 6 minutes until the practice exams. Get the knowledge you need first...then speed starts to come with it.

 

[Jonhnny123]

I disagree. The questions in the MERM are far more involved than what you'll see on the exam. The MERM has you make assumptions and do iterations that can be very time consuming.

You'll definitely have to use certain concepts in the problems, but it's usually just to solve one thing (like the temperature or enthalpy at one point in a process instead of solving the entire process). So if you can work through the problems and understand them, you'll be in good shape. When you get to the point of trying to time yourself though, stick with the NCEES sample exams, or you'll get very stressed out!

 

[MapuaTech]

If you will encounter a single problem with 10 paragraphs with complicated diagram and a lot of paramaters (given datas)... Just focus on the question and what is being asked, determine what point is being asked and what is the nearest "equipment" on that point provided that the said equipment have also given datas in-outgoing. The simplest solution on any complicated problem tends to be the right one. Goodluck, you can do it.

 

[Jonhnny123]

That's great advice. You may have to do a little work and back-tracking to get the answer at that point, but don't look at a huge problem and think you need to figure out the state at every point.

 

[oneseason]

I passed the April 2012 ME Thermal/Fluids. I agree that the NCEES sample questions/solutions were very useful for preparing; I wish some of the exam solutions had more explanation though. As many have noted, speed was the issue of concern for me. Fast lookup of constants, conversion factors, and equations was what I needed.

I used the Engineering Unit Conversion book by Lindburg a lot in the actual exam. I also prepared two Mead composition books with key physical constants & equations that I used in the NCEES sample questions; I didn't end up with that many pages in either book, but it saved me a boatload of time. I would recommend making very sure the values/equations are correct.

I think it helped me to have the Lindeburg Reference Manual "tabbed" for the different sections and index, and highlighted the index keywords that I used the most. I may have overdone it on the tabbing, but had the tabs within major sections color coded and sharpie marked with whatever they pointed to (i.e. Pump Eff, Turbine Eff, Rankine Cycle).

 

[MapuaTech]

Here is what I did...

Nov. 21. I received the authorisation letter from the State Board.

Nov. 22. I ordered the MERM, Quick Reference, NCEES Sample, Mark's Handbook, Six Minutes Solution, 2 inch binder, 1 ream of bond paper, 1000 pages of yellow pad (for scratch), 3 pcs Red Ballpen, and set of smallest size post it notes for tabs (with scotch tape).

Nov. 30... I received all the books.

Nov. 31- Dec. 31... Read the entire MERM. Highlighted the information page by page as I read it. More focus on my depth TF chapters.

Jan 1.- Jan 31. Read, understand, master, and solved the Six Minute Solution Thermo Fluids, I practiced solving all the 85 problems 7 times till I made it perfect at exact 8 hours only.

Feb. 1- Feb. 28. Read, understand, master, and solved the NCEES Sample Thermal Fluids. I practiced solving 80 problems. 7 rounds till I got perfect score in 8 hours only.

March. 1- March 30. Read, understand, master, and solved the 500 Solved Mechanical Problems of Lindberg. 4 rounds till I got 100% score in Thermo Fluid Chapters and 80% on HVAC and Mechanical Design chapters.

While I'm solving all these books, I am tabbing the pages of MERM, Quick Reference, photocopied graphs and tables in my binder, and Marks Handbook. Im doing this because I believe that the tables/graphs required in solving the problems in the six minutes, Lindberg 500 problems, and NCEES Sample problems will most likely be needed on actual exam day. (Still more focus on TF).

April. 1- April 10 Solved 2 rounds each of the entire Six Minutes Solution, NCEES Sample Problem, and Lindberg 500 Solved Problems.

April 11. Thinking of what problem did I missed or I doubt my solution approach. I did solve more than 10 problems, just to make sure that the approach that comes first into my mind is the right one.

April. 13... CHICKEN! I just ate the exam like a roasted one.

You may try this approach but it is very exhausting since you may find yourself reading what is being asked and not reading the entire problem anymore. That is why on actual exam, I am just reading the last sentence/question part of problem, then writing down the formula, double check the units on the question book ( without writing it down), then direct substitution on calculator. That's it. That's my trick.

 

[Rockettt]

Hmm some of the MERMs were longer but most I dont recall too bad. But I guess when you think about it some of the problems were a bit shorter. definitly the NCEES sample is the most representative though was a little weak i thought. But to each their own just my opinion.

 

[Krakosky]

For the Mechanical Systems and Material depth I also highly recommend the sample exam by Carlos Chapek. There is a morning portion and afternoon portion that are sold separately. I found this exam to be on par with the NCEES sample exams and very beneficial.

 

[wongdaisiu]

Hi Woodaejang:

I didn't go as far as Mapua Tech, but I did do a LOT of problems, especially in my discipline (T&F). The problems in MERM Practice Problems and Six Minutes are MUCH harder, and MUCH more time consuming than the exam. The NCEES practice problems are much more indicative of what you will see on the exam. With that being said, just because the MERM Practice Problems and the Six Minutes are much harder and/or time consuming, it does not mean that they do not have their merits. The Six Minute problems easily humbled me, and made me take the exam seriously. The MERM Practice Problems forced me to learn every cycle and their assumptions. You have to learn them eventually, why not learn them on the hardest problems where you have time to practice.

One time saver that I used was to write some common equations with the units that I was most likely going to see (e.g. Bernoulli's equation with velocity in ft/min, head in feet). Another one I did was to write some of the assumptions and calculations for some common cycles (e.g. refrigeration cycle, and the open feedwater system).

I hope this helps. The way that I studied was to do problems, problems, problems. If you have to go back to your old schoolbooks for problems, go do it.

Good luck.

 

[Krakosky]

Also, make sure to look at the NCEES exam outline and cover each topic area. This helps to ensure you don't miss anything.

 

[tmacier]

There is no doubt it is intimidating at first.

Preparing, taking, and then waiting will be an emotional roller coaster.

As mentioned above, work thru the problems and the speed will come.

I am not a rocket science smart engineer and I was able to pass- for me it required a year of working problem after problem.

The more problems you expose yourself too the better.

Dont be afraid to repeat the problems also as it helps to drill the approach home.

By the time I was done I bet I took the full NCEES practice test at least 10 times!

Good luck

Tim

 

[Coastal Engineer]

I disagree. The questions in the MERM are far more involved than what you'll see on the exam. The MERM has you make assumptions and do iterations that can be very time consuming.

You'll definitely have to use certain concepts in the problems, but it's usually just to solve one thing (like the temperature or enthalpy at one point in a process instead of solving the entire process). So if you can work through the problems and understand them, you'll be in good shape. When you get to the point of trying to time yourself though, stick with the NCEES sample exams, or you'll get very stressed out!

I agree with Johnny123. The MERM seemed harder to me than the actual test. The practice test I bought from NCEES (I believe) was representative of the actual difficulty (i.e., not as hard as many of the MERM problems).