Civil PE Exam Practice Problems & Exams

New Edition. Practice Problems for the Civil Engineering PE Exam contains 755 problems designed to help you identify important civil engineering topics and apply your knowledge to a variety of problems. Short, six-minute, multiple-choice problems demonstrate the format of the NCEES Civil PE exam and help you concentrate on a single subject. More complex problems combine several concepts, illustrate efficient and accurate solving methods, and familiarize you with the codes, standards, and references you’ll need for the exam.

Solutions are clear, complete, and easy to follow. U.S. customary and SI units are equally supported, and units are meticulously identified and rigorously carried through all calculations. Where multiple methodologies (e.g., ASD and LRFD) are permitted by the exam, both solutions are presented in this book. Frequent references back to the Civil Engineering Reference Manual and the original codes and standards direct you to support material when you need it. 

Prepare for the Civil PE Exam by Solving Problems—The More Problems, the Better

• Over 750 practice problems covering the topics, codes, and standards on the Civil PE exam
• More than 350 exam-like, multiple-choice practice problems
• Over 360 scenario-based and short answer problems
• Complete step-by-step solutions
• SI and U.S. Customary units used throughout
• Chapters that correspond to those in the Civil Engineering Reference Manual
• More than 130 tables and 530 figures

What’s New in the 13th Edition

• Over 370 revised and/or updated practice problems including structural, transportation, and construction practice problems that reflect NCEES-adopted codes and standards
• More than 65 new practice problems
• Use of consistent nomenclature between chapters
• Over 80 revised and/or new figures
• More than 15 revised and/or new tables

Exam Topics Covered

• Construction: Earthwork Construction & Layout, Estimating Quantities & Costs, Construction Operations & Methods, Scheduling, Material Quality Control & Production, Temporary Structures, Worker Health, Safety, & Environment
• Geotechnical: Subsurface Exploration & Sampling, Engineering Properties of Soils & Materials, Soil Mechanics Analysis, Earth Structures, Shallow Foundations, Earth Retaining Structures, Deep Foundations
• Structural: Loadings, Analysis, Mechanics of Materials, Materials, Member Design, Design Criteria
• Transportation: Traffic Analysis, Geometric Design, Transportation Planning, Traffic Safety
• Water Resources & Environmental: Closed Conduit Hydraulics, Open Channel Hydraulics, Hydrology, Groundwater & Well Fields, Wastewater Treatment, Water Quality, Water Treatment, Engineering Economics

Exam Topics Covered

• Construction: Earthwork Construction & Layout, Estimating Quantities & Costs, Construction Operations & Methods, Scheduling, Material Quality Control & Production, Temporary Structures, Worker Health, Safety, & Environment
• Geotechnical: Subsurface Exploration & Sampling, Engineering Properties of Soils & Materials, Soil Mechanics Analysis, Earth Structures, Shallow Foundations, Earth Retaining Structures, Deep Foundations
• Structural: Loadings, Analysis, Mechanics of Materials, Materials, Member Design, Design Criteria
• Transportation: Traffic Analysis, Geometric Design, Transportation Planning, Traffic Safety
• Water Resources & Environmental: Closed Conduit Hydraulics, Open Channel Hydraulics, Hydrology, Groundwater & Well Fields, Wastewater Treatment, Water Quality, Water Treatment, Engineering Economics

With an average of only six minutes to solve each problem on the Civil PE exam, speed and accuracy are vital to your success—and nothing gets you up to speed like solving problems.

The practice problems contained in Six-Minute Solutions for Civil PE Exam Construction Problems are consistent with the multiple-choice format, difficulty, and subject matter of the exam.  Understanding how to solve construction problems quickly and efficiently is key to passing the Civil PE exam.

Solving construction problems on the Civil PE exam also requires a thorough familiarity with design standards, and Six-Minute Solutions reflects those specified for the exam.

Beat the Clock on the Civil PE Exam

• 100 challenging, multiple-choice problems
• 2 levels of difficulty: 20 morning and 80 afternoon construction problems
• Coverage of exam-adopted design standards
  • ACI 318 (2005)
  • ACI 347 (2004)
  • ACI SP-4 (2005)
  • AISC (13th ed)
  • ASCE 37 (2002)
  • CMWB (2001)
  • MUTCD Part 6 (2009)
  • NDS (2005)
  • OSHA 29 CFR Part 1926
• A hint for each problem
• Step-by-step solutions
• Explanations of how to avoid common errors

Topics Covered

• Earthwork Construction and Layout
• Estimating Quantities and Costs
• Scheduling
• Material Quality Control and Production
• Temporary Structures
• Worker Health, Safety, and Environment
• Other Topics

• Earthwork Construction and Layout
• Estimating Quantities and Costs
• Scheduling
• Material Quality Control and Production
• Temporary Structures
• Worker Health, Safety, and Environment
• Other Topics

With an average of only six minutes to solve each problem on the Civil PE exam, speed and accuracy are vital to your success—and nothing gets you up to speed like solving problems. Six-Minute Solutions prepares you to answer even the most difficult morning and afternoon water resources and environmental problems in just minutes. Learning important strategies to solve these problems quickly and efficiently is the key to passing the Civil PE exam.

Beat the Clock on the Civil PE Exam

• 100 challenging multiple-choice problems, similar in format and difficulty to the actual exam
• Two levels of difficulty: 31 morning problems and 69 afternoon problems
• A hint for each problem, to help you get started on the right path
• Step-by-step solutions outlining how to answer problems quickly and correctly
• Explanations of how to avoid common errors

Water Resources and Environmental Exam Topics Covered

• Aquatic Biology and Microbiology
• Groundwater and Well Fields
• Hydraulics
• Hydrology
• Solid and Hazardous Waste
• Wastewater Treatment
• Water Treatment
• Water Quality

• Aquatic Biology and Microbiology
• Groundwater and Well Fields
• Hydraulics
• Hydrology
• Solid and Hazardous Waste
• Wastewater Treatment
• Water Treatment
• Water Quality

Taking a practice exam is probably the easiest way to diagnose what areas of discipline need additional review.  The Breadth Practice Exam for the Civil PE is intended to be a realistic replica of the 40 question morning-section of the Civil PE exam.  The level of difficulty, format, and time constraints associated with the PE exam are all very important factors that can affect the exam candidate’s performance.  Here are a few important questions that the Breadth Practice Exam will help you answer:

• How quickly can you:
  • identify the discipline and topic of each question?
  • locate the discipline and topic of each question within our resources and reference?
• Are you resources tabbed appropriately?
• Can you answer each of the 40 problems in six minutes or less?

This is why the Breadth Practice Exam is a great resource to help you prepare the Civil PE exam.

Our approach to taking the PE Exam is simple:  Nail the morning section of the PE Exam.

This may sound a bit crazy considering each PE Exam candidate selects a specific discipline (afternoon section) for which they will specialize.  But by default, the 40 questions in the morning section of the exam are going to be easier than the 40 questions in the afternoon.  We feel that all candidates should capitalize on this particular element of the PE Exam.   Here is why— In order to pass the exam a score of approximately 70 percent or better is required (around 55 questions, give or take).  If an exam candidate can make it through the morning section with 35 out of 40 correct (which is very possible), the candidate can make it through the afternoon section with 20 out of 40 correct and still pass the PE Exam.  We are not recommending that candidates don’t prepare for the afternoon section.  We recommend that all PE Exam candidates capitalize on the “easy” questions on the exam.

This official NCEES publication contains a Civil PE morning session sample exam and a structural depth section sample exam.

Did you already purchase the Online Casio FX-115 ES Plus Calculator Class? If so, click here to login and participate in the live class or view the recorded class.

The Online Casio FX-115 ES Plus Calculator Class will take place on August 26, 2012 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Enrollment is now open.

Time is of the essence on the FE/EIT and PE exams. Maximize your time on exam day by knowing how to use your calculator. The Online Casio FX-115 ES Plus Calculator Class focuses on the operation of the NCEES-approved Casio FX-115 ES Plus calculator. Get the training, tips, shortcuts, and problem-solving practice necessary for exam success through this interactive class. The class combines the convenience of an online course with the effectiveness of an instructor-led course through a virtual classroom environment.

PPI’s Online Casio FX-115 ES Plus Calculator Class offers

• over 6 hours of expert instruction
• a recording of the class
• a focus on the operation of the Casio FX-115 ES Plus calculator
• training, tips, and shortcuts
• exam-like practice problems using your Casio FX-115 ES Plus calculator

Online Benefits 

• The class is completely interactive—you can ask questions at any time during the live session.
• You don't have to live near where the class is taught.
• You can attend class from home, or while on the road.
• The class session is recorded and archived, for viewing whenever you choose.

Topics Covered

• Basic Setup and Mode
• Basic Operations
• Base-N Operations
• Complex Algebra
• Limited Calculus Capabilities
• Matrix Operations
• Solution of Equations
• Statistical Operations
• Symbolic Math

System Requirements

All students: High-speed internet access; Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1; 1 GB of memory (recommended); audio speakers or headphones

Windows® users: Windows XP/Vista/7; Internet Explorer® 6, 7, or 8; or Mozilla® Firefox® 2.x or 3.x; or Google Chrome™; and Adobe Flash Player 10.1

Mac OS® users: Mac OS X v10.4 – 10.6 (Intel®); or Mac OS X v10.4 (PowerPC); Safari® 2.x; or Mozilla Firefox 2.x or 3.x; or Google Chrome

Linux users: Mozilla Firefox 2.x or 3.x

Location & Schedule

• Online

Solving these 120 exam-like surveying problems will help you gain confidence to take and pass the surveying portion of the California Special Civil Surveying exam. Complete solutions allow you to check your solving methods so you'll understand how to efficiently reach the correct answers. Information is provided about the exam format and how to best use this book for successful exam preparation.

The best way to assess your readiness for the California Special Civil Seismic exam is to take a practice exam. Seismic Principles Practice Exams provides the most realistic practice you can get.

These two complete practice exams, each with 47 multiple-choice problems, are designed to mimic the range of topics and degree of difficulty of the actual exam. With each practice exam, you can practice your problem-solving skills, find out how long you take to solve different types of problems, and determine which subject areas require more review or practice. Fully explained, step-by-step solutions are provided for each problem, allowing you to check your answers and understand the most efficient solving methods. Seismic Principles Practice Exams references the 2006 International Building Code (which contains the same material and section codes as Volume II of the 2007 California Building Code) and the 2005 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures.

Seismic Principles Practice Exams will help you pass the actual exam by

• preparing you for the pressure of working under timed conditions
• assessing your problem-solving skills
• reviewing seismic building codes
• identifying topics that require extra review

California Special Civil Seismic exam candidates: The California Special Civil Seismic exam references the 2009 International Building Code (which contains the same material and section codes as Volume II of the 2010 California Building Code), and this book has not been updated to those codes. The problem-solving methods reflected in this book are still up-to-date for the exam.

NCEES Civil and Structural PE exam candidates: The problem-solving methods reflected in this book are still up-to-date for the exam, but this book has not been updated to current codes used on the exam.