MERM practice problems book

[Firefly]

Long time lurker, first time poster....

Hey y'all! What is your take on the "max time limit: one hour" problems in the practice book? Do you go over those at all?

How do the problems in the book compare to the test?

Thanks!

 

[Shaggy]

I would recommend to do them if they are in the area you plan to take in the afternoon. The deal with those long problems is that a portion of it is similar to a test problem. So effectively that one hour problem will prepare you for 10 test problems.

In general the MERM problems are harder than test problems. Same with PPI sample exam problems. The NCEES sample exam are comparable to slighly easier. PPI 6min sol'ns are comparable.

Recommendation: Do as many problems as you have time for. Stay away from Kaplan, they are a waste of time.

 

[JoeysVee]

I skipped the 1 hour problems...most of them envole things you will not see on the exam. Skipping them gives you more time for shorter problems. Once you finish all the MERM non 1 hour problems then work all the 6 minute problem books and the sample exam.

I read each chapter of the MERM except ch 1-14 and a few chapters in the 60's. I worked all the problems except the one hour problems and did all of this in 1 month...yes it's rigorous but that's what I did. Then I spent the next 3-4 months working the 3 six-minute problem books, the sample exam, and some other 6 minute type problems I picked up. While working all of those I would consult the MERM and tab accordingly. I was continuously adding to my binder that included the MERM index. Working all those problems did 3 things....1) Force me to learn how to work the problems better (ie. at first I got about 75% wrong but as time whent on I got most right), 2) Made me a lot quicker at learning what the problem was asking and where to find the info needed to solve it, 3) I got really quick at solving problems.

So in a nut shell I would recommend going through the MERM in 1 month then work problems from that point forward. Expect this whole process to take about 400 hours.

 

[Firefly]

Thanks y'all. both good advice. I had started out doing the 14 week plan laid out in MERM, but realize that won't give me enough time to really know my area. How much time did you spend on the breadth problems?

 

[Firefly]

also, I appreciate the motivation you gave me by stating that initially you got 75% problems wrong. That's where I'm at and wondering how I'm going to get 75% correct! I appreciate that boost of encouragement.

 

[MechGuy]

The first and second times I took the exam I skipped the 1 hr problems...that obviously didn't work out for me very well, so on the 3rd try I did all the problems in the MERM including the 1 hour problems. Like Shaggy said, one of those 1 hour problems is like 10 test problems.

Some of the 1 hour problems were really complicated, and if I found myself spending too much time on them, (say, in excess of 1 hour!) I would just look at the answer and figure out where I was stuck.

But I thought they were good to look at overall, even if I couldn't finish them all myself.

Anyway, it all depends on what works for you and the amount of time you have. We all learn differently, so its hard to say what the right method of studying is. The one thing we all agree on is do as many problems as you can!

Good luck!!

 

[mepe_tn]

I used the one-hour problems as extra bonuses. My priority was to work the others first. Any extra time I had left was used on the one hour problems. In most cases it did not take an hour to complete them.

 

[JoeysVee]

The only way I would work the 1 hours problems is if I had worked all the other problems in the MERM and other books (ie. the three 6-minute solutions)

 

[Shanks]

I agree w/JoeysVee. I didn't work enough problems for the first time. But I am planning on working first all the problems in MERM/MERM Practices/SMS and NCEES Sample Exam and if I still got time, I'll work on 1hr problems.