Six-Minute Solutions - Thermal and Fluids

[RVincent]

Hi All,

I'm preparing for the April PE Mechanical exam. After going through the NCEES sample problems, I started working the Six-Minute Solutions problems, and find them to be pretty hairy compared to the NCEES problems. Are the NCEES problems or the Six-Minute problems more representative of what we will find on the exam? I've been reading that the NCEES problems are the most representative...I hope so!

 

[MetroRAFB]

Hi All,
I'm preparing for the April PE Mechanical exam. After going through the NCEES sample problems, I started working the Six-Minute Solutions problems, and find them to be pretty hairy compared to the NCEES problems. Are the NCEES problems or the Six-Minute problems more representative of what we will find on the exam? I've been reading that the NCEES problems are the most representative...I hope so!

I never worked the six-minute solutions in my studying, but I found the NCEES sample problems to be representative of what you'll see on the exam. Some exam problems are more difficult and some are easier, but overall I think the NCEES sample problems are pretty close. Don't let that lull you into a false sense of security though. You should work all the problems you can between now and the exam, even if they take you 20 min. to do.

I found the phrasing of the "the other board" problems (MERM, problems of the week and "the other board" sample exam) to be very different from the NCEES problems. I worked the NCEES sample problems in an 8hr timed format a month before the real exam and the phrasing really threw me. I think that if you just worked nothing but "the other board" problems for all of your studying the actual exam would seem "weird" because of the way NCEES frames the questions. "the other board" overprepares you for the most part, but I would highly highly highly recommend that you become very familiar with the NCEES sample problems before the exam. I think that if you prepare mentally for your exam questions to be a tad more difficult than the sample problems, but not as difficult and involved as the "the other board" problems, you'll be right where you need to be.

 

[RVincent]

I never worked the six-minute solutions in my studying, but I found the NCEES sample problems to be representative of what you'll see on the exam. Some exam problems are more difficult and some are easier, but overall I think the NCEES sample problems are pretty close. Don't let that lull you into a false sense of security though. You should work all the problems you can between now and the exam, even if they take you 20 min. to do.
I found the phrasing of the "the other board" problems (MERM, problems of the week and "the other board" sample exam) to be very different from the NCEES problems. I worked the NCEES sample problems in an 8hr timed format a month before the real exam and the phrasing really threw me. I think that if you just worked nothing but "the other board" problems for all of your studying the actual exam would seem "weird" because of the way NCEES frames the questions. "the other board" overprepares you for the most part, but I would highly highly highly recommend that you become very familiar with the NCEES sample problems before the exam. I think that if you prepare mentally for your exam questions to be a tad more difficult than the sample problems, but not as difficult and involved as the "the other board" problems, you'll be right where you need to be.

Hey thanks, Metro.

I have been reading up on some other posts, and the consensus agrees with what you say about the NCEES sample problems being representative. I have already been through the NCEES sample problems, and I plan on going back and working them over again, after I finish going through the Six-Minute Solutions problems.

One thing that I am finding is that it is really easy to get burned on units! I was working a problem yesterday that involved converting barrels of crude oil into gallons. I looked up the conversion in the unit conversion book that I bought from "the other board", went straight to the U.S. liquid - gallons conversion, not realizing that just below that was U.S. PETROLEUM - gallons, so I would have missed that one...AHRRR! What is up with this country's system of units??!!

 

[MetroRAFB]

Hey thanks, Metro.
I have been reading up on some other posts, and the consensus agrees with what you say about the NCEES sample problems being representative. I have already been through the NCEES sample problems, and I plan on going back and working them over again, after I finish going through the Six-Minute Solutions problems.

One thing that I am finding is that it is really easy to get burned on units! I was working a problem yesterday that involved converting barrels of crude oil into gallons. I looked up the conversion in the unit conversion book that I bought from "the other board", went straight to the U.S. liquid - gallons conversion, not realizing that just below that was U.S. PETROLEUM - gallons, so I would have missed that one...AHRRR! What is up with this country's system of units??!!

I don't mean this next statement to sound quite as bad as it probably will, but if you aren't meticulous about your units during the exam you're almost certainly doomed to fail. It's just that simple. I wrote out every single unit on every single problem because that's the only way I could be certain that I wouldn't make a boneheaded mistake.

For example, don't be surprised to find fluid problems with a working fluid other than water. You've probably become proficient by now on converting head to psi, and vice versa using the quick shortcut conversions for water (in which you don't even consider density). If you rush through and don't catch that the working fluid is actually sulfuric acid or whatever, you will work the whole problem and be so proud of yourself that you got the right answer (because your "right" answer will certainly be one of the choices), when in fact you were wrong before you even got halfway through your solution. I can't stress the importance of units enough. Just be glad that we don't have to worry about doing both metric and English during the test. We Mech's have it easy in that sense at least.

 

[JohnNevets]

RV,

Metro is compleatly right about units, follow them through always. I will say that I did think the 6 min problems were much closer to the NCEES format then the ones from MERM, but I also thought they were typically a little tougher. Just keep working them problems, from 6 min, from MERM, from NCEES, and any other sourse you want to use. Don't worry to much if you still get tripped up by some, just keep working them, and you will get to a spot where you don't get tripped up as often. For me, I didn't hit that spot until about a week before the test, so you still got time. Also pay attention to what types of things do trip you up, and possibly go back and read those sections of MERM again, that seemed to help me some.

Keep pluging Bud!!

John

 

[RVincent]

RV,
Metro is compleatly right about units, follow them through always. I will say that I did think the 6 min problems were much closer to the NCEES format then the ones from MERM, but I also thought they were typically a little tougher. Just keep working them problems, from 6 min, from MERM, from NCEES, and any other sourse you want to use. Don't worry to much if you still get tripped up by some, just keep working them, and you will get to a spot where you don't get tripped up as often. For me, I didn't hit that spot until about a week before the test, so you still got time. Also pay attention to what types of things do trip you up, and possibly go back and read those sections of MERM again, that seemed to help me some.

Keep pluging Bud!!

John

Thanks for the words of encouragement and advice, guys! It is all really helpful. I have a brief business trip coming up, and I'm thinking about a study strategy for the two days that I am on travel. For the time I spend on the plane and at the airport, I am thinking about just taking the MERM and also the flash cards from "the other board", so that I can brush up on the fundamentals and key equations. Does that sound like a wise plan?

 

[MetroRAFB]

That certainly couldn't hurt.

Everyone is different, but it helped my state of mind to lay off the books for two or three days before the exam. I took Friday off from work, and drove to the test site that morning. I physically went to the building the test would be given in the following day so I knew exactly where it was, and then got a hotel room. I caught a movie that afternoon, and basically veged out all day. I ate a good meal Friday night and went to bed earlier than usual to make sure I was well rested Sat. morning for the test. I tried not to even think about the test, I just focused on relaxing and getting some rest. I was able to go into the test very well rested and in a good mood. I saw a few folks cramming in their hotel rooms on my way to dinner Friday night and I just felt sorry for them. Like I said, everyone is different but my feeling is that if you don't know it by a couple of days before the exam, you're not going to learn it the night before by cramming.

:17:

 

[EdinNO]

I only did NCEES, but thought they were slighly easier than the actual exam.

Ed

 

[Fordman101]

I did Potter 3rd Edition, MERM11, 6 Min Solutions then finally the NCEES sample test (Breadth and all three Depths) during the the last two weeks.

The NCEES was the most representative with Potter's format being second.

Potter's solutions manual has a few typos but the concepts are in alignment with MERM.

I solved all the problems by doing the calculations in the book.

On the PE you have to work out the problems in the space provided, so I practiced for months doing that.

My books are worthless to anyone else after that, but my objective was to prepare then perform using a familiar format.

My Examination Results Notice confirmed that this system worked for me.

I'm certain there are other ways to PASS the PE but you've got to find a system that prepares you to solve problems the NCEES way.