PE EXAM GUIDELINES

Electrical PE Exam - Study Guidelines & Publication Review

BREADTH MODULE

Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering (by Bobrow) is one of the most easily understood textbook for Circuit theory, electronics and digital logic, because it introduces all applicable mathematics subjects in the appropriate places, and the concepts are introduced in good chronological order. This book is especially useful if you have been out of school for a long time, or did not study electrical engineering as a major.

The first five chapters of this book cover circuit theory from the very beginning with ohm’s law, all the way to complex frequency analysis and Laplace transforms. All of the mathematics theory that is needed for each type of analysis is fully covered within these chapters, so you can work through from the beginning, without additional references, and this would be a great way to begin preparation for the exam. All of these subjects relating to circuit theory are likely to be on the exam. There are some difficult concepts in chapters 4 and 5.

If using Bobrow’s book to study electronics for the breadth exam (which is recommended), then work from the first chapter on electronics, which covers semiconductor materials, up to, and including the chapter on bipolar junction transistors. It is possible that something may come up on field effect transistors (which is the next chapter), but it is recommended that this should only be studied in detail if taking the electronics depth module.

Another subject for which Bobrow’s text is recommended is digital logic. This is not a difficult subject, and should be studied from logic gates, up to and including Boolean algebra. Do not progress to the chapter on digital design, as this is not relevant to the breadth exam. Digital logic is also well explained in the PPI reference manual.

Most of the remaining subjects covered in the breadth exam can be reasonably well understood from the PPI reference manual.

Electro-statics, magneto-statics, fields, electro-dynamics and magneto-dynamics are subjects which are within the scope of the exam, but might be under-represented, so it is suggested that only a small amount of time be spent on them. However, the concepts that are most likely to apply to real-world engineering should be given full attention (for example magnetic field due to conductor).

POWER DEPTH MODULE

While all of the information presented in the power section of the PPI reference manual is applicable to the exam, and should be understood, it is not sufficient. There are a good number of subjects covered by the PE exam that are not presented in the PPI reference manual, including variable frequency drives, ferroresonance, relay circuits and lighting design. There are also some subjects that are not presented in adequate detail in the PPI reference manual, including the National Electrical Code and transmission systems.

The most important subject, and the one that should be studied first and must be fully understood, is three phase power. This forms the basis of many other subjects including motors, transmission systems and transformers. It is very easy to get confused and make mistakes such as having the wrong sign on a phase angle or getting a sqrt(3) factor in the wrong place in an equation. Understand Wye and Delta systems, transformer relations, lagging/leading power factors, and be sure that you completely understand the voltage, current and power relationships on any configuration of a three-phase system. Three-phase power is covered adequately in the PPI Reference manual, and covered exceptionally well in Power System Analysis by Grainger.

Probably the most relevant and comprehensive text for the depth module is Electrical Machines, Power Systems and Drives, by Wildi. Use this text to understand relay/control circuits and variable frequency drives in particular. The power module of the exam is more broad than many examinees realize. I have heard one person say that there are questions in the power module that can be answered by experience only. This is not correct - most subjects are covered in publications that are available – they are just not all in the PPI Reference Manual.

Power exam is Power System Analysis by Grainger is a popular text for the power depth module. While this book gives an excellent and detailed analysis of three-phase power, transformers, fault analysis and transmission lines, these subjects are also covered adequately in the PPI reference manual. I would not recommend this book because it really doesn't contain very much material that is covered by the exam but not presented adequately in the PPI Reference Manual.

There are a couple of subjects that are not presented in any of the texts listed above. Ferroresonance is one example, and there is an excellent article on this subject at www.cadickcorp.com. Another example is shock and burns, and for this you may be interested in visiting http://ecmweb.com/mag/electric_fundamental_laws_electricity/index.html and http://www.cpwr.com/ktiplivework.pdf.

NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE

This is the only code that is relevant to the power module of the PE exam. It is important too know the following chapters well: grounding, ground fault circuit interruption, conductor sizing, motor properties and classifications, motor circuit protection. It is also important to know the basic code requirements relating to the following: services, clearance requirements for equipment, branch circuit sizing, load calculations, over-current protection, metal boxes, conduit sizing, transformers.

The PPI Chapter on the code, is no where near adequate for what is expected for the PE exam. You will need to purchase a copy of the code, and if you work in the building engineering field, you will already have a good understanding of the layout and basic requirements of some of the sections tested in the exam. The code is very difficult to study from, and a common problem is knowing which sections apply to a particular problem. Without good preparation you could easily apply the wrong requirements, or not be aware of additional requirements that relate to the problem. Unfortunately the code was written in a certain way, and updated over the years, so that the chronological format is rather poor. Also, there is a lot of overlap between different sections, so you may need to look at two or more different parts of the code to arrive at the correct answer, and/or determine the most stringent requirements for the problem.

IMPORTANT SECTIONS OF THE HP 33S CALCULATOR MANUAL

The HP 33s is the most advanced and versatile RPN calculator which is permitted in the FE and PE exams. If you own this calculator, or purchase one for the exam, it is recommended that the following sections be studied in advance, in order to achieve the maximum benefit from this calculator's features:

1. Switching between RPN and ALG mode (page 1-10). RPN is the recommended format for ease of manipulating numbers, however, if you prefer the more common ALG mode, this can be set in one step.

2. Controlling display format (page 1-18). Review this section and select your preference for how numbers are displayed on the screen. This step is not necessary if you are satisfied with the default settings.

3. Fractions (page 1-21). Note that fractions can be easily entered on the calculator, and manipulated in combination with decimal numbers.

4. RPN automatic memory stack (page 2-1). If you are new to RPN mode and would like to try it, this section is recommended reading.

5. Physics constants (page 4-8). Note how to access the 40 constants that are stored in the calculator memory. Some of these constants are likely to be needed during the exam.

6. Conversion functions (page 4-9). This section explains how to convert between rectangular/polar coordinates and how to convert some common units of measurement.

7. Integrating equations (page 8-1). Numerical integration is another useful feature of the HP 33s. Read this section as it may be useful for one or two questions that you encounter.

8. Complex numbers (page 9-1). This is a very important section to understand for both the morning and afternoon sections of this exam. Many questions involve phasor representation of circuit quantities, and complex numbers are the means by which the phasors are represented and manipulated numerically.

9. Solutions of simultaneous equations (page 15-12). The basic instructions on how to execute this program is provided in this guide. The User’s Manual gives the actual program text entered and explains some additional features of the program.

10. Polynomial root finder (page 15-20). The basic instructions on how to execute this program is provided in this guide. The User’s Manual gives the actual program text entered and explains some additional features of the program.

NOTE: All references to “covered in the exam” should be taken to mean “within the NCEES list of subjects that may be tested during the exam”. It does not imply any definite information regarding material presented in any actual past or future exam.