P.E.C.E. - Polytechnic Entrance Competitive Examination
P.E.C.E. (Polytechnic Entrance Competitive Examination) is the JCECEB entrance for first-year diploma programmes in engineering and technology. It tests Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics at the Class 10 level.
Core rules
- Physics: motion, force, work-energy, heat, light, electricity and magnetism.
- Chemistry: matter, atomic structure, acids-bases-salts, metals and carbon compounds.
- Mathematics: number system, algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry and statistics.
- Questions are objective; diagrams are described in words, not shown as images.
- In trigonometry, check whether the angle is in degrees or radians before substituting.
Worked example
A 6 Ω resistor and a 3 Ω resistor are connected in parallel across a 12 V battery. What current flows from the battery? Reasoning: parallel equivalent R = (6 × 3)/(6 + 3) = 18/9 = 2 Ω. From Ohm’s law, I = V/R = 12/2 = 6 A. If you add the resistances as 9 Ω, you have used the series rule and will get 1.33 A.
Traps
- Using the series formula for parallel resistors.
- Confusing kWh with kW.
- Forgetting to convert cm² to m² in mensuration.
- Choosing a chemical formula by name similarity rather than valency.
- Treating a scalar as a vector in displacement problems.