FE Electrical & Computer study guide
FE Electrical & Computer · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is generally the first step in the process of becoming a licensed professional engineer (P.E.). NCEES describes it as designed for recent graduates and students who are close to finishing an undergraduate engineering degree from an EAC/ABET-accredited program. It is a computer-based exam administered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson test centers, and the $225 exam fee is payable directly to NCEES. The FE exam includes 110 questions. Topics on this exam: Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering, Electrical and Computer: Electrical and Electronics, and Electrical and Computer: Power. The FE Electrical & Computer study guide has 3 sections and about 1,535 words.
01Electrical and Computer: Computer Engineering
The computer engineering domain of the FE Electrical and Computer exam tests digital design and computer organization as one timing-and-abstraction problem. Questions move from number systems and Boolean algebra to sequential machines, instruction execution, pipelining, and the memory hierarchy. The exam rewards candidates who can connect a truth table to a gate-level implementation and then to a clock-period or performance constraint. Convert signed values with two’s complement: an n-bit word spans −2^(n−1) to 2^(n−1)−1.
521 words, about 3 min02Electrical and Computer: Electrical and Electronics
The electrical and electronics domain of the FE Electrical and Computer exam tests linear circuit analysis and analog electronic design. Expect node and mesh equations, Thévenin equivalents, phasors and impedance, op-amp circuits, diode and transistor bias, small-signal models, and Bode plots. The central skill is choosing the right model and then checking that the device is still operating where that model applies. Use nodal analysis for circuits with many parallel branches; use mesh analysis for mostly series loops.
512 words, about 3 min03Electrical and Computer: Power
The power domain of the FE Electrical and Computer exam tests three-phase power, per-unit analysis, transformers, synchronous and induction machines, transmission-line parameters, faults, and protection. Most items reduce to consistent bases and careful accounting of real and reactive power. The exam expects fast conversion between actual quantities and per-unit values, plus recognition of when a machine or transformer is outside its assumed operating condition. Choose Sbase and Vbase, then compute Zbase = Vbase²/Sbase and Ibase = Sbase/(√3 Vbase) for three-phase systems using line-to-line voltage.
502 words, about 3 min