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FE Electrical and Computer

The latest NCEES specifications with category and topics.

Effective July 1st, 2020, these are the categories and subcategories specified by the NCEES that this discipline covers. It includes an estimate of the number of questions you will see on the official exam for each category. We've covered the specification changes in this blog post. PrepFE provides hundreds of questions in proportional amounts to the official exam.

For the prior categories and topics that were discontinued at the end of June, 2020, please see the categories here.

Electrical and Computer FE exam categories

Questions on the FE Exam

Algebra and trigonometry

Complex numbers

Discrete mathematics

Analytic geometry

Calculus (e.g., differential, integral, single-variable, multivariable)

Ordinary differential equations

Linear algebra

Vector analysis

Measures of central tendencies and dispersions (e.g., mean, mode, standard deviation)

Probability distributions (e.g., discrete, continuous, normal, binomial, conditional probability)

Expected value (weighted average)

Codes of ethics (e.g., professional and technical societies, NCEES Model Law and Model Rules)

Intellectual property (e.g., copyright, trade secrets, patents, trademarks)

Safety (e.g., grounding, material safety data, PPE, radiation protection)

Time value of money (e.g., present value, future value, annuities)

Cost estimation

Risk identification

Analysis (e.g., cost-benefit, trade-off, break-even)

Semiconductor materials (e.g., tunneling, diffusion/drift current, energy bands, doping bands, p-n theory)

Electrical (e.g., conductivity, resistivity, permittivity, magnetic permeability, noise)

Thermal (e.g., conductivity, expansion)

KCL, KVL

Series/parallel equivalent circuits

Thevenin and Norton theorems

Node and loop analysis

Waveform analysis (e.g., RMS, average, frequency, phase, wavelength)

Phasors

Impedance

Frequency/transient response

Resonance

Laplace transforms

Transfer functions

Sampling (e.g., aliasing, Nyquist theorem)

Analog filters

Digital filters (e.g., difference equations, Z-transforms)

Models, biasing, and performance of discrete devices (e.g., diodes, transistors, thyristors)

Amplifiers (e.g., single-stage/common emitter, differential, biasing)

Operational amplifiers (e.g., ideal, nonideal)

Instrumentation (e.g., measurements, data acquisition, transducers)

Power electronics (e.g., rectifiers, inverters, converters)

Power theory (e.g., power factor, single and three phase, voltage regulation)

Transmission and distribution (e.g., real and reactive losses, efficiency, voltage drop, delta and wye connections)

Transformers (e.g., single-phase and three-phase connections, reflected impedance)

Motors and generators (e.g., synchronous, induction, dc)

Electrostatics/magnetostatics (e.g., spatial relationships, vector analysis)

Electrodynamics (e.g., Maxwell equations, wave propagation)

Transmission lines (high frequency)

Block diagrams (e.g. feedforward, feedback)

Bode plots

Closed-loop response, open-loop response, and stability

Controller performance (e.g., steady-state errors, settling time, overshoot)

Basic modulation/demodulation concepts (e.g., AM, FM, PCM)

Fourier transforms/Fourier series

Multiplexing (e.g., time division, frequency division, code division)

Digital communications

Routing and switching

Network topologies (e.g., mesh, ring, star)

Network types (e.g., LAN, WAN, internet)

Network models (e.g., OSI, TCP/IP)

Network intrusion detection and prevention (e.g., firewalls, endpoint detection, network detection)

Security (e.g., port scanning, network vulnerability testing, web vulnerability testing, penetration testing, security triad)

Number systems

Boolean logic

Logic gates and circuits

Logic minimization (e.g., SOP, POS, Karnaugh maps)

Flip-flops and counters

Programmable logic devices and gate arrays

State machine design

Timing (e.g., diagrams, asynchronous inputs, race conditions and other hazards)

Microprocessors

Memory technology and systems

Interfacing

Algorithms (e.g., sorting, searching, complexity, big-O)

Data structures (e.g., lists, trees, vectors, structures, arrays)

Software implementation (e.g., iteration, conditionals, recursion, control flow, scripting, testing)