FE Environmental study guide
FE Environmental · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is the first step in the process of becoming a licensed professional engineer (P.E.), and 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. The Environmental exam is one of the disciplines offered within the FE exam. It is a computer-based exam administered year-round at NCEES-approved Pearson test centers, and a $225 exam fee is payable directly to NCEES. The exam includes 110 questions. The exam appointment time is 6 hours long and includes a nondisclosure agreement (2 minutes), a tutorial (8 minutes), the exam itself (5 hours and 20 minutes), and a scheduled break (25 minutes). Examinees register and schedule appointments through their MyNCEES accounts, selecting an exam location and then an available exam date; if the choices offered are not satisfactory, they can browse available dates at other NCEES-approved test centers. Topics on this exam: Environmental. The FE Environmental study guide has 1 section and about 484 words.
01Environmental Engineering: Mass Balances, Treatment Trains, Air Quality, and Waste Regulation
The Environmental domain is one of the largest knowledge areas on the FE Environmental exam. It tests applied calculation, not statute recitation: mass balances and unit conversions, drinking-water and wastewater treatment sizing and performance, air-pollutant concentrations and control efficiency, solid and hazardous waste classification, and the federal programs (CWA, SDWA, CAA, RCRA, CERCLA) that set the numbers you design to. Almost every item reduces to mass flow. In water, lb/day = concentration (mg/L) × flow (MGD) × 8.34 , because 8.34 lb is the mass of one gallon of water, so mg/L across one million gallons gives pounds.
484 words, about 2 minMore study resources for FE Environmental
- Practice questionsA wastewater treatment plant operator measures a dissolved oxygen concentration of 4.5 mg/L in an aeration basin.
- FlashcardsMass balance equation. Accumulation = inputs − outputs + generation − consumption.
- Cheat sheetMass balance: accumulation = inputs − outputs ± reactions; at steady state, inputs + generation = outputs + consumption.
- Key termsBOD5 (five-day biochemical oxygen demand). The mass of dissolved oxygen consumed by microorganisms while decomposing organic matter in a water sample incubated at 20 °C in the dark for five days.
- Study planMap the FE Environmental exam specification against your current knowledge by rating every listed topic as strong, shaky, or unknown.
- Common mistakesCandidates assume the provided handbook removes the need to memorize, but search time under a 6-minute-per-question average burns minutes that are never recovered, and page-fumbling causes misread equations (e.g., using a hydraulic loading formula where organic loading is required).
- Exam-day guideBring the exact ID your admission ticket names.