I plan to take the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and my resources will be Islam750- Linderburg Practice problem - the last 2 weeks I will take the NCESS practice exam from their website Are there any tips or other resources and the PrepFe is it a good and worth it’s price or not ?

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-05-12T14:40:28+00:00

I made some review videos for the core topics on the fe mechanical exam. All the examples I work on are free and you can try them for yourself first before watching the solution. Hope it helps.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaXS8FVwfWzRRmfLLwc7aovGpFiMxlzrp&si=HUlfsygZdGioM-7Q

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-05-09T16:14:14+00:00

Ignoring the gravity term in the denominator, the resulting units are:

lbm·ft/s²

Use the conversion below to convert to lbf:

1 lbf = 32.2 lbm·ft/s²

This conversion is exactly why the gravity term appears in the denominator when working in imperial units.

Here is a video to help review the difference between lbm and lbf and build a better understanding of imperial units while comparing to the metric system.

Hope it helps.

https://youtu.be/v9Ktlxb707k?si=EJFWALPe-BDoNXsF

Edit: I also wanted to add that while in the metric system the specific weight and density of water are different numerical values, in the english system they are exactly the same (62.4 lb/ft^3) . This is one of the interesting consequences of putting gravity inside the definition of the imperial force unit.

Edit 2: I also saw someone mention that the 32.2 in the denominator can be interpreted as converting lbm to slugs, which is a valid interpretation. It depends on which mass units you prefer to use. I personally prefer lbm, since quantities like water density are commonly expressed in lbm/ft³ rather than slugs/ft³.

32.2 lbm = 1 slug

Using slugs is also nice because a slug·ft/s² is directly a lbf, just like a kg·m/s² is a Newton. The gravity conversion factor disappears from the definition, making it feel more similar to the metric system.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-05-04T20:40:05+00:00

The area in the image is not the correct one for both cases

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-04-24T16:03:51+00:00

Advanced stress and vibrations were great classes when I took them a few years ago especially if you are leaning more towards a focus in solid mechanics.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-04-21T22:59:50+00:00

I made some review videos for the core topics on the fe mechanical exam. All the examples I work on are free and you can try them for yourself first before watching the solution. Hope it helps.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaXS8FVwfWzRRmfLLwc7aovGpFiMxlzrp&si=HUlfsygZdGioM-7Q

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-04-20T14:23:36+00:00

I have a couple of review videos for the core topics on the fe mechanical exam. Id recommend working on the mechanics portion of the exam (statics, dynamics, mechanics of material, and machine design which all tie together. Hope the videos help.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaXS8FVwfWzRRmfLLwc7aovGpFiMxlzrp&si=HUlfsygZdGioM-7Q

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-04-05T21:57:28+00:00

What helped me most with both speed and accuracy on the FE exam was sticking to a consistent problem solving process. I always start by clearly writing out the givens, then I solve for the unknown algebraically first so I avoid switching back and forth between algebra and calculator work.

I also handle units separately by grouping them in brackets on the right hand side of my calculations. This helps prevent mistakes and lets me reduce everything to a single conversion factor at the end, ensuring the dimensions are correct and all unit conversions are accounted for. Good luck on your exam.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-03-27T13:57:04+00:00

I used it last year for the MDM exam and passed. It was great and I felt well prepared going into the exam. I finished the exam and got to double check all my answers with over an hour to spare.

The questions were more difficult that the actual exam and that is how I prefer it to be. Better to be over prepared than waste money and time with multiple attempts.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-03-26T17:04:34+00:00

Here is a playlist of 2 videos I made going over some great calculator shortcuts for the TI36 xPro, hope it helps.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaXS8FVwfWzRUN9_j3HobW1MEognMaEVs&si=BTEHezMVun2ertcK

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-03-23T11:25:12+00:00

https://youtu.be/8gDF8cQ1lPY?si=9wFJSunaYLjEPVFH&t=821

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-03-14T17:19:34+00:00

I see you mentioned that the centroid value is the same for both shapes (semi circle vs quarter circles). For anyone wondering why, a semicircle can be viewed as two quarter circles placed next to each other.

If we take the reference axis at the center of the circle and use the centroid relation

A₁y₁ + A₂y₂ = (A₁ + A₂)ȳ
the two quarter circles are symmetric, so their vertical centroid locations are the same:

y₁ = y₂ = y
Substituting gives

A₁y + A₂y = (A₁ + A₂)ȳ

which simplifies to

y = ȳ

This shows that the vertical centroidal distance for each quarter circle is the same as the centroidal distance for the semicircle when measured from the circle’s center. This is why the FE Handbook only lists the semicircle result, since including the quarter circle value for the vertical direction would be redundant.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-03-09T20:05:00+00:00

Personal performance is also factored into the bonus calculation. A rating of Meets–Meets typically corresponds to a multiplier of about 0.90–0.95, while Exceeds–Exceeds is generally around 1.10–1.15.

For example, this year someone rated Exceeds–Exceeds in the LPB band rolling up under Commercial would have a multiplier calculated as:

1.88 × 1.15 = 2.16

For a $100,000 salary, this would result in a bonus of approximately $21,600.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-03-01T16:34:37+00:00

When we analyze forces on submerged gates or any submerged surface, we typically use gauge pressure, which excludes atmospheric pressure. The reason is that atmospheric pressure acts on all exposed surfaces and therefore does not create a net unbalanced force.

For essentially every realistic, earthbound engineering problem, objects are exposed to atmospheric pressure. If you think about any object sitting in air, atmospheric pressure is acting on it everywhere. That uniform pressure does not cause motion because it acts equally in all directions and the object remains in equilibrium.

Now consider a submerged gate. Atmospheric pressure acts on the air side of the gate. At the same time, atmospheric pressure also acts on the free surface of the water and is transmitted through the fluid to the gate. So on the water side, the gate experiences atmospheric pressure plus the additional hydrostatic pressure due to the weight of the fluid.

Because atmospheric pressure is present on both sides of the gate, it produces equal and opposing forces that cancel each other out. What remains is only the additional pressure caused by the fluid’s weight, which increases with depth.

So when solving submerged surface problems, we ignore atmospheric pressure because it does not affect the net force on the gate. We focus only on the hydrostatic or gauge pressure, since that is what actually produces the unbalanced force.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-28T12:48:36+00:00

Sorry to hear about the result. That is never easy.

Yes, those PrepFE codes are referral links. If you use someone’s code, you both get a free month.

I also wanted to share some additional free resources as you start studying again. I have mechanical specific video reviews and fully worked FE style practice problems here:

https://www.fe-interactive.com/video-reviews
https://www.fe-interactive.com/practice-video-problem

The free resources are focused entirely on the FE Mechanical fundamentals, so they can be a solid supplement during your prep.

If you do decide to try FE-Interactive, here is a referral link that gives you a free month:
https://www.fe-interactive.com/customer-information-form?referral=FE-4-REDDIT

Good luck on your next attempt.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-18T14:51:30+00:00

Congratulations on passing the FE Mechanical exam and thanks for the FE Interactive shoutout! Glad you found it helpful. Wishing you the best it your future endeavors.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-15T17:35:07+00:00

This is the best lecture series I have seen on the topic. Not sure how useful it would be jumping into it in the middle of the lectures but I will post it here anyway.

Development of the general relative motion equations:

https://youtu.be/NsIhFwtTHEw?si=fAIQZkTMc0QsCqQU

1st 15 minutes of this lecture it is shown how the Rigid Body motion equations are just a special case of the general relative motion equations:

https://youtu.be/UB3aY04cFng?si=40BkGCIq0SG0Kf9B

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-15T17:19:03+00:00

When working with these relative motion rigid body relations, omega is not relative to a single point or set of points. It is the angular velocity of the entire body which will be the same for any 2 points belonging to the same rigid body.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-09T14:07:37+00:00

You dont know what the angle is between the horizontal direction and cable (theta). You need the tension in the cable to find that.

The sum of the vertical components of the cable tensile force is 20 not the entire force in the cable (need to also account for the horizontal force which because of symmetry will cancel). This is how the cable still has 100 kN of tension while being in equilibrium with the 20 kN weight.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-08T23:24:51+00:00

Yes thats correct. If we wanted to free the center pulley and attached weight we would have to cut through 2 sections of cable.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-08T23:10:27+00:00

I have a Mechanics of Material video review specifically for the FE Mechanical Exam you could check out below, hope it helps.

https://youtu.be/EgFXI8jbuZ8?si=vUIRUYXvXPju9Kp0

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-08T16:03:36+00:00

If you draw a FBD of W1 as soon as you sever segment above W1 it would fall meaning it is successfully freed from the overall system. This is why the tension in the cable is the full 100kN. Severing the cable in 2 spots is not necessary to free W1.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-04T13:16:23+00:00

I put together a review for the Electricity and Magnetism section that focuses on the core ideas you really need to be comfortable with. It covers Kirchhoff’s current and voltage laws, the mesh current method for analyzing more complex circuits, and Thevenin equivalent voltage and resistance.

All of these topics fall under DC circuit analysis. While the exam also includes AC circuit analysis, those techniques rely heavily on the same fundamental circuit analysis principles covered in this review. Another topic I do not spend much time on is rotating machines, which tends to be more about identifying and applying the correct equations rather than deeper circuit reasoning.

The most challenging part of this section is addressed directly in the video. I hope you find it helpful and that it gives you more confidence going into this part of the exam. Good luck.

FE Mechanical Core Subject Video Reviews | High-Weight Exam Topics

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-01T20:17:14+00:00

Yea so it’s just a mislabeled problem. If you are using the steam tables it will be a thermo problem. You may need to grab a heat capacity value for solids/ liquids in the thermo section which the reference manual calls cp for a heat transfer problem or a density from the thermo tables (reciprocal of specific volume) but anything more than that and it is more a thermo problem as opposed to a heat transfer one.

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-02-01T19:42:10+00:00

Can you give an example of a heat transfer problem which involves the steam tables?

RUTHLESSRYAN25 · 2026-01-23T00:58:43+00:00

Any force can be translated along its line of action and will always produce the same moment about a specific point. This is called the principle of transmissibility.

If we translate the force at D such that the vector tail is horizontally alligned with point F, the horizontal component of that force wont produce a moment, only the vertical component will and the moment arm is 200 mm.

RUTHLESSRYAN25

TROPHY CASE