Civil PE Practice Exam: Breadth Exam Version A

Overall I thought the questions were very good and were similar to the questions I had the first time I took the PE. There are a few mistakes and required clarifications though. Q.115: If the two far left members are zero, then the middle bottom member must be zero to satisfy the sum of the forces in the horizontal direction at that nearby joint. So the answer should be (D) 3. Q.117: The answer could easily be argued for (D) since half the load combinations in ASCE 7 have the Dead Load factor greater than the Live Load factors. Q.123: The answer assumed the circular channel is half full when in fact the questions shows 1 foot depth with a 3 foot diameter. The hydraulic radius that I came up with for the circular channel is 0.54 ft which means the answer is (C) instead of (B). Q.133 This question does not give any information for the area of the permeameter. I assumed it to be square based on the 90 degree angles but the answer assumes it to be circular. Q.137 The wording in this question needs to be more specific. Is the excavation to be filled 150 cubic yards? Is the fill material currently compacted? Q.140 requires the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices which is not included on the list of reference materials for the morning session of the exam.

I purchased this as part of my preparation for the Civil: Geotechnical PE Exam, which I took in October, 2019. The problems in this book are almost certainly easier than what you'll encounter on the actual exam, but are still good practice. The types and distribution of questions match the NCEES spec and were fairly similar to what I encountered on the actual exam, just generally easier and less time-consuming.PE Prepared is also fairly responsive to customer input. When I contacted them about potential errors, they assured me that all issues are addressed and resolved as soon as possible.

The difficult and print quality of this book are very close to NCEES practice exam's, but it is not without errors. Two mistakes I found in addition to other reviewers:Q.118 The sign convention from the question contradicts with the answer. The question specifics upward to be positive and the shear is also pointing upward between point load and right reaction. The right answer according to this convention should have been D: +5.625. Whereas shear diagram on CERM and most engineering reference would give you answer B: -5.625Q.135 Choice C was worded with confusion where in reality A992 does have "higher tensile YIELD strength" than A36, choice C says "higher tensile strength", which according to CERM Chapter 58 both steel have similar range of tensile yield strength (60-80 ksi). Choice D would be the best answer since A992 is HSLA steel which has higher atmospheric corrosion resistance than A36 which is carbon steel, making former a "weathering steel" and latter not.

I just took the PE, WRE depth exam (Oct 22, 2020). I thought this practice exam (and all the other PE prepared practice exams) were decent study materials. These practice problems were a lot easier than the actual exam, but they helped me get in the mindset of studying and thinking through problems. I would suggest anyone who buys these to start your studying with these exams to help you learn where to find things in the CERM/other reference material, then move on to the more difficult/better representative practice exams (like NCEES practice exam and Gruttadauria).

I bought all versions of this book and they were great. Realistic questions that you will see on the test. There were at least three questions on the exam that were identical. Buy other books that go a little more in depth and then use these books as a timed practice test.I passed on the first time and am by no means the smartest guy in a room. Do your research, take practice tests, and walk in confident. These books are a must have

I bought all versions of this book and they were great. Realistic questions that you will see on the test. There were at least three questions on the exam that were identical. Buy other books that go a little more in depth and then use these books as a timed practice test.I passed on the first time and am by no means the smartest guy in a room. Do your research, take practice tests, and walk in confident. These books are a must have

Thought it was a good book. Problems are similar in difficulty as far as calculations go. However, be aware the breadth exam is more conceptually tricky. It’s worth doing more difficult problems then this book in order to learn all the steps in a process. On the exam they could have you start on step 6 and have you end on step 10. I would recommend studying out of a variety of books from different authors to see different problems and set ups. What did you think you were going to buy one book and pass?-Passed first try, transpo PE exam, April 2019

The PE Prepared Exams were definitely easier than actual PE exam, but I felt they are very good 'secondary' practice exams to complete if you are looking for additional practice in advance of the test. I would not use these as your primary study material, do not overlook CERM, Prep Course, other practice exams available.