Practice These Topics Before You Take The FE Civil Exam

To prepare for the Civil FE Exam, you must do many practice problems from the official NCEES FE Civil topic list. That way you're only studying what you need to know to pass the exam and don't waste time studying all of engineering again.

Here at PrepFE, we developed a comprehensive list of skills and topics you need to know and practice before taking the Civil Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. This list of topics is based on the official July 2020 exam specifications posted by NCEES. We believe that you don't need to master the topics outlined below to pass the exam, instead you should be proficient in the majority of topics listed below in order to be prepared for the Civil FE Exam. We recommend you do a lot of practice problems on these different topics. You got this far in engineering school, you got this! Good luck!

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1. Familiarize yourself with the topics asked on the Civil FE Exam

2. Download the latest FE Reference Handbook pdf, which includes all the equations you need for the exam

3. Get an approved calculator already and get accustomed to it

4. Sign up for a complete and structured FE Exam prep service

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Mathematics and Statistics

• Know how and when to use the Pythagorean theorem
• Know how to use soh-cah-toa
• Know law of sines
• Know how to find the intersection point between two lines
• Know how to find the intersection point between a line and a circle
• Know how to use L'Hospital's rule to find the limit
• Know how to find the derivative of an equation quickly by using the FE Reference Handbook list of typical derivatives
• Know that the derivative of a function at a point gives you the slope of the curve at that point
• Know how to solve integrals quickly by using the FE Reference Handbook list of typical integrals
• Know that the integral of a function between two points gives you the area under a curve between those two points.
• Know how to take the dot product and cross product of two vectors
• Know how to add and subtract vectors
• Know the difference between a unit vector and a vector
• Know how to find the magnitude of a vector that is currently in i,j,k form
• Know how to solve any vector problem with a TI-36x Pro calculator
• Know that the mathematical definition of the result of the dot product
• Know that the mathematical definition of the result of the cross product
• Know how to calculate the mean, mode, median, and standard deviation from a list of unordered numbers
• Know how to use confidence interval tables
• Know how to do probability distributions

Ethics and Professional Practice

• Know when a professional engineer may or may not sign/stamp an engineering document
• Know an engineer's obligations to the client and the public
• Know the steps to engineering licensure in the US
• Know different kinds of typical contracts and legal agreements engineers might get involved in

Engineering Economics

• Know how to find future worth given a repeated series of payments with interest
• Know how to find future worth given present worth with interest, and vice-versa
• Know what to do when given compounded monthly interest as opposed to compounded yearly interest
• Know the difference-when to use straight line depreciation vs. MACRS depreciation
• Know how to use interest rate tables
• Know how to combine a time value of money equation with a break-even analysis
• Know how to calculate the equivalent uniform annual cost

Statics

• Know how to find the x and y components of a force vector
• Know how to find the resultant vector given two force vectors
• Know how to sum the moments about a point
• Know the reactions of pin, roller, and fixed supports
• Know how to calculate the resultant force off a distributed uniform load and a triangular distributed load
• Know what an equivalent force system is
• Know how to draw a free-body-diagram of an object on a flat surface and on an inclined surface
• Know how to tilt a coordinate system to solve for the free-body-diagram forces when the object is on an inclined surface
• Know how to visually spot a zero-force member in a truss
• Know the reaction forces of a member connected with hinges in a frame
• Know how to use the Parallel Axis Theorem to find the centroid of a compound shape
• Know where on the FE Reference Handbook you can find the centroid equations of common shapes
• Know how to use the Parallel Axis Theorem to find the area moment of inertia of a compound shapes
• Know where on the FE Reference Handbook you can find the area moment equations of common shapes
• Know static friction's role in a free-body-diagram

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Dynamics

• Know how to calculate linear velocity off circular motion
• Know projectile-impact calculations
• Know mathematical relationships between acceleration, velocity, and distance
• Know how to use the Parallel Axis Theorem to find the mass moment of inertia of a compound shapes
• Know where on the FE Reference Handbook you can find the mass moment equations of common shapes
• Know how to solve pulleys
• Know how to solve spring problems with Hooke's law
• Know how to draw a free-body-diagram of an object in motion
• Know how to do an energy balance with kinetic and potential energy

Mechanics of Materials

• Know how to draw a beam's shear-moment diagram
• Know the mathematical relationships between beam loading, shear, and moment
• Know the graphical relationships between shear diagrams and moment diagrams
• Know what part of a stress-strain curve is the elastic deformation region, yield point, Young's modulus, plastic deformation region, ultimate strength point, and fracture point
• Be able to differentiate elastic, brittle, and ductile materials by looking at the stress-strain curve
• Know how to use deformation equations with the right units
• Know how to use the method of sections to calculate internal stress in a member that is subject to axial loading
• Know how to calculate max principal stress off a Mohr's circle
• Know how to calculate max principal stress off a stress element
• Know how to calculate max in-plane shear stress off a stress element
• Know how to draw a Mohr's circle when given a stress element

Materials

• Know the basics behind making concrete and asphalt
• Know how the typical quality control tests for steel and concrete work
• Know the difference between ferrous and nonferrous metals

Fluid Mechanics

• Know how to solve manometer problems
• Know the difference between a suppressed weir and a contracted weir and their corresponding equations
• Know what weirs are
• Know what viscosity is
• Know how to calculate a fluid's unit weight when given its specific gravity
• Know how to draw a free-body-diagram for an object floating on water and under water
• Know how buoyancy calculations work
• Know the difference between absolute pressure and gage pressure
• Know how to use the energy equation
• Know that flow rate equals velocity times cross-sectional area

Surveying

• Know how to convert from azimuth angle to bearing and vice-versa
• Know how to properly use the Trapezoidal Rule and Simpson's 1/3 Rule formulas to calculate areas
• Know the difference between cut and fill
• Know how to properly use the average end-area, pyramid, and prismoidal volume equations
• Know how to convert cubic feet to cubic yards
• Know how to calculate departure and latitude
• Know how to do leveling circuit calculations given fore sight, back sight, or instrument height

Water Resources and Environmental Engineering

• Know how to interpret a hydrograph
• Know how to calculate a weighted curve number
• Know the basics of the water cycle
• Know how to calculate runoff given precipitation and the NRCS curve number
• Know the basics behind a NRCS curve number
• Know open channel flow calculations and Manning's equation
• Know how to do conduit flow calculations with Hazen-Williams equation
• Know the energy equation, accounting for pipe friction and other head losses
• Know how to use the Moody Diagram to determine the friction factor
• Know the basics behind Reynold's number
• Know how to interpret pump performance curves
• Know how to account for pumps in the energy equation
• Know how to calculate seepage through soil
• Know how to size a detention pond given the expected runoff volume
• Know the difference between stormwater and wastewater
• Know how to use the equations associated with wells
• Know basic water chemistry
• Know what BOD is and the BOD 5-day jar test
• Know the overall, one sentence purpose of the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act
• Know the typical potable water and wastewater treatment processes, including basic treatment calculations

Structural Engineering

• Know how to calculate the maximum moment in a statically determinant beam given different beam support-loading scenarios
• Know how to use the equilibrium equations on statically determinant beams, frames, and trusses to solve for support reaction forces
• Know how to use the method of joints and sections to find truss members' internal forces
• Know how to calculate deflection of a simple beam via the tabulated beam deflection equations
• Know how to use the unit load (virtual work) method to calculate deflection in frame
• Know how to calculate buckling vs. material yield failure in a column
• Know how to calculate the critical axial load in a column
• Know how to classify a beam as statically determinate or statically indeterminate
• Know how to classify a truss as stable and statically indeterminate, stable and statically determinate, or unstable
• Know how to classify a frame as stable and statically indeterminate, stable and statically determinate, or unstable
• Know how to calculate reactions and forces when a basic truss, frame, or beam is statically indeterminate
• Know tributary areas for a given loading positioning and support
• Know how to calculate influence lines
• Know what to do when there are multiple dead or weather loads in LRFD design
• Know design criteria failure modes for steel members in tension
• Know the difference between design moment and nominal moment in steel design
• Know which steel design moment equation to use given different lateral bracings
• Know how to get the moment strength for different W-sections using the tables
• Know how to select the lightest W-section for a given load
• Know design criteria failure modes for steel members in compression
• Know how to use the KL/r table for steel W-section columns
• Know how to calculate nominal and design compressive strength of a steel column without the KL/r table
• Know how to calculate the nominal and design moment strength of concrete beam
• Know the different phi values for different tensional strain in concrete design
• Know how to calculate factored shear in a concrete beam
• Know how to calculate the design strength of a concrete column
• Know how to pick rebar to meet a desired reinforcement ratio or area of steel

Geotechnical Engineering

• Know how to classify soil using USCS and AASHTO
• Know how to use the plasticity index - liquid limit chart to classify soil
• Know phase relation equations and diagram
• Know that sand has zero cohesion
• Know how to interpret a Mohr's circle to calculate soil's shear strength
• Know that coarse-grained soils use the constant head test while fine-grained soils use the falling head test to determine hydraulic conductivity
• Know what are the basic geotechnical tests done in the field
• Know the difference between effective stress and total stress and which parameters go with each
• Know how to calculate effective stress at the mid point of a soil layer
• Know how to calculate effective stress from a partially saturated soil profile
• Know how to calculate active pressure from a partially saturated soil profile
• Know the difference between drained and undrained soil conditions and which parameters to use for shear strength calculations when drained or undrained
• Know the important assumption about a footing when using Terzaghi bearing capacity equation
• Know how to use Terzaghi bearing capacity equation after being given the bearing capacity factors
• Know how to use Terzaghi bearing capacity equation when the ground water level is above the footing or below the footing
• Know the different types of shallow and deep foundations
• Know the difference between normally consolidated and overconsolidated soil
• Know what calculations need to be done to determine the appropriate consolidation equation to use
• Know the relationship between seepage and slope failure
• Know how to calculate mobilized shear along a slope slip surface
• Know the purpose of geotextile geogrids in geotechnical engineering

Transportation Engineering

• Know how to calculate the different components of horizontal and vertical curves
• Know the average AASHTO reaction time value of 2.5 seconds
• Know how to solve curve length equations
• Know the typical value for object height in stopping sight distance
• Know how to calculate algebraic difference in grades (A) in length of curve equations
• Understand traffic flow relationships in the Greenshield Model
• Know how to use traffic safety equations
• Know how to calculate the structural number for pavement when given layer thicknesses and their coefficients

Construction Engineering

• Know who the different parties involved in a construction project e.g. owner, GC, etc
• Know the differences between design-build, construction manager agency, and design-bid-build project delivery methods
• Know what project procurement is
• Know what OSHA is
• Know the different types of temporary erosion control devices
• Know how to fill out early start, late start, duration, early finish, and late finish for all the nodes in a construction activity schedule
• Know how to determine the critical path in a construction activity schedule
• Know how to interpret typical features in engineering drawings
• Know what it means when the cost performance index (CPI) is below 1 or above 1
• Know what it means when the schedule performance index (SPI) is below 1 or above 1