FE Mechanical exam prep, hours by weight

Where the points are

Each area comes with a question range in the specification. Grouped into blocks, the outline looks like this:

• Mechanics: statics (9–14), dynamics (10–15), mechanics of materials (9–14). The largest block, and the foundation of design.
• Thermal-fluids: fluid mechanics (10–15), thermodynamics (10–15), heat transfer (7–11). Nearly as large.
• Design and materials: mechanical design and analysis (10–15), material properties and processing (7–11).
• Smaller technical areas: measurements, instrumentation and controls (5–8), electricity and magnetism (5–8).
• Shared FE areas: mathematics (6–9), probability and statistics (4–6), ethics (4–6), engineering economics (4–6).

The upper ends of the ranges add up to far more than the exam length, so no form contains the maximum of every area. Planning on the midpoints is the honest approach.

Hours by area, for a 120-hour budget

Take your own total and keep the proportions. Split by the midpoint of each range, 120 hours look like this (rounded):

• Mechanics block: about 34 hours: statics 11, dynamics 12, mechanics of materials 11.
• Thermal-fluids block: about 32 hours: fluid mechanics 12, thermodynamics 12, heat transfer 8–9.
• Design and materials: about 20 hours: mechanical design 12, materials 8–9 (the same range as heat transfer, so the same time).
• Controls and electricity: about 12 hours, 6 each.
• Shared FE areas: about 21 hours: mathematics 7, the other three about 5 each.

Shift hours toward the areas where your diagnostic score is lowest, but do not drop any area: even the smallest ranges are worth several questions.

A 12-week plan

1. Week 1. Take the practice exam cold, with the Handbook open, and note your weakest areas. Download the Handbook from MyNCEES if you have not.
2. Weeks 2–4: mechanics. Statics first, because its reactions feed mechanics of materials; then dynamics and vibrations.
3. Weeks 5–7: thermal-fluids. Thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer.
4. Weeks 8–9: design and materials. Mechanical design and analysis reuses the stresses from weeks 2–4; material properties is mostly definitions and diagrams.
5. Week 10: the rest. Measurements and controls, electricity and magnetism on circuit analysis, and the shared mathematics, statistics and ethics and engineering economics.
6. Week 11. One full timed rehearsal, ideally an NCEES practice exam, in a single sitting with a break at the halfway point.
7. Week 12. Redo every problem you missed, then rest the day before.

With eight weeks, merge weeks 2–4 into two and weeks 8–10 into two, and keep the timed rehearsal.

Traps that cost mechanical candidates points

Each is explained on its area page; this is the checklist to run before you click an answer.

• lbm and lbf in USCS problems: a missing g_c is off by a factor of about 32.2.
• rpm, rad/s and Hz for the same shaft (dynamics).
• Absolute temperature in gas laws, cycles and radiation (thermodynamics, heat transfer).
• Gauge or absolute pressure in gas laws and nozzles (explained on FE Environmental fluid mechanics).
• J or I, top or bottom fiber (mechanics of materials).
• Pin reactions and friction limits (statics).
• K_t or K_f, thin or thick wall (mechanical design).

Review manuals and courses

Searches for an FE Mechanical review manual usually mean the large discipline review books from commercial publishers. They help as a structured syllabus with worked examples. Three things to check before buying:

• Edition. The specification in force is the July 2020 edition. A book written for the older outline organizes the topics differently.
• Notation. The exam uses the Handbook's symbols and formulas. Rework a book's examples with the Handbook open, so the formulas you practice are the ones you will find on screen.
• It stays at home. No book, notes or printed Handbook is allowed in the room; only the on-screen copy.

A course adds pacing and someone to ask. Neither is required: the specification, the free Handbook and a large set of worked problems cover the same ground.

More on FE Mechanical

• FE MechanicalThe FE exam for mechanical engineers: 14 areas, format, fees, where to practice each topic
• FE Mechanical practice testA mixed set across all 14 areas, sized by the specification's question ranges
• FE Mechanical exam infoTest dates, scoring, retakes, results and the on-screen Handbook
• FE Mechanical costFee, expected attempts at this pass rate, optional extras
• FE Mechanical pass rateEight half-years of first-time results, repeat rates, why it is hard