Basic Engineering Practice
What the exam tests
This domain is the catch-all: units and dimensional consistency, engineering economics, project delivery, codes and standards, safety, and professional ethics. Questions are usually short and hinge on one conversion or definition, so precision matters more than depth.
Units and dimensional analysis
Carry units through every step and cancel them. Watch absolute versus gauge pressure (add about 14.7 psi at sea level), Fahrenheit temperature differences versus absolute temperatures (a ΔT of 20°F equals 20 R, but 20°C does not equal 20 K), and mass versus weight. Anchor constants worth memorizing: 1 ton of refrigeration = 12,000 Btu/h = 200 Btu/min = 3.517 kW; 1 gpm of water at 1°F ΔT carries 500 Btu/h; hydraulic horsepower = gpm × ft of head × specific gravity / 3960.
Economics
Know present worth, future worth, annual worth, and capital recovery factors, and the difference between simple and compound interest. A recurring trap is applying a present-worth factor to a series that starts in year 2 rather than year 1, or to a gradient.
Codes and practice
Standards are cited by number and scope rather than memorized in detail: ASHRAE 90.1 for energy, 62.1 for ventilation, ASME for boilers and pressure vessels, NFPA for fire. Ethics items reward the conservative answer: protect public safety, disclose conflicts of interest, and seal only work you are competent to perform.
Worked example
A 40 gpm pump lifts water 60 ft. Hydraulic power = 40 × 60 × 1.0 / 3960 = 0.61 hp. At 65% wire-to-water efficiency, shaft input is about 0.93 hp.