NCEES Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the NCEES exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 NCEES Exam Format at a Glance
📚 NCEES Topics to Study (78)
✍️ Sample NCEES Questions & Answers
1. A PE is asked to sign off on a structural analysis report that used assumptions she considers overly optimistic but technically within code limits. She should:
A PE may sign reports containing debatable but defensible engineering judgments, provided she documents her evaluation and is satisfied the assumptions meet applicable standards.
2. Two masses, 3 kg and 7 kg, are connected by a string over a frictionless pulley (Atwood machine). What is the acceleration of the system?
a = (m2−m1)g/(m1+m2) = (7−3)×9.81/10 = 3.92 m/s².
3. A state engineering board typically has the authority to do which of the following?
State engineering boards are regulatory agencies empowered to discipline licensees, including revoking or suspending PE licenses for violations of the practice act.
4. A project requires $200,000 now and yields $50,000/year for 6 years. At MARR = 10%, (P/A,10%,6)=4.3553, the net present value is:
NPV = −200,000 + 50,000(4.3553) = −200,000 + 217,765 = +$17,765.
5. On the NCEES PE Environmental exam, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) test measures:
BOD measures the dissolved oxygen consumed by aerobic biological organisms decomposing organic material in water at 20°C over 5 days.
6. A Carnot refrigerator operates between −20°C and 30°C. What is its coefficient of performance (COP)?
COP_refrigerator = T_L/(T_H − T_L) = 253/(303−253) = 253/50 = 5.06.