Practice Test GeeksNCEES National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying Practice Practice Test

NCEES Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield NCEES facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here โ€” free, no sign-up.

NCEES exam key facts

  • The NCEES PE Civil exam itself lasts 8 hours, inside a 9-hour appointment that includes a 50-minute scheduled break. Source
  • NCEES reports exam results only as pass or fail, and examinees who fail get a diagnostic report showing how they did on each major topic. Source
  • Under NCEES policy, examinees get one attempt per testing window and no more than three attempts in any 12-month period. Source
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110 questions
340 min time limit
70% to pass
  1. Which of the following errors/mistakes may add up to + or -? โ†’ Erroneous length of chain
  2. In the NCEES PE Electrical exam, what does 'short-circuit MVA' (fault MVA) represent? โ†’ The magnitude of power available during a three-phase fault at a bus
  3. The same thing as 18,000 watts is โ†’ 18 ยตW
  4. On the NCEES PE Electrical exam, what is the 'synchronous reactance' of a synchronous generator? โ†’ The effective internal reactance that determines voltage regulation and fault current
  5. A Lambert projection uses which of the following? โ†’ Cone
  6. On the NCEES PE Environmental exam, the activated sludge process in wastewater treatment achieves BOD removal primarily through: โ†’ Aerobic biological oxidation by suspended microorganisms
  7. On the NCEES PE Electrical exam, the three-phase apparent power for a balanced system is: โ†’ S = โˆš3 ร— VL ร— IL
  8. On the NCEES PE Structural exam, which failure mode governs the design of a short, stocky concrete column? โ†’ Material crushing/yielding
  9. A prismatic compass's graded circle's zero is situated at โ†’ South end
  10. In the NCEES PE Environmental exam, which US regulation sets National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWRs)? โ†’ Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
  11. Which failure mode is associated with a steel beam that has an inadequate lateral bracing interval, as assessed in NCEES structural exams? โ†’ Lateral-torsional buckling
  12. In traffic engineering, the Peak Hour Factor (PHF) is calculated as: โ†’ Peak hour volume divided by four times the peak 15-minute volume
  13. In NCEES PE Geotechnical engineering, the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) classifies soils based primarily on: โ†’ Grain size distribution and Atterberg limits
  14. Which of the following types of engineers work to create roads, bridges, and tunnels? โ†’ Civil Engineers
  15. In NCEES PE Mechanical problems, the Carnot efficiency of a heat engine operating between TH = 600 K and TL = 300 K is: โ†’ 50%
  16. A plane table's "fix" from three known locations is good if โ†’ Middle station is nearest
  17. A two-terminal variable resistor is what a potentiometer is. โ†’ False
  18. For the NCEES PE Geotechnical exam, the factor of safety against slope failure using the ordinary method of slices is: โ†’ FS = Sum of resisting moments / Sum of driving moments
  19. In NCEES PE Electrical engineering, the turns ratio of a transformer relates primary and secondary voltages by: โ†’ V1/V2 = N1/N2
  20. For the NCEES PE Electrical exam, which protection device operates based on time-current characteristics to interrupt overcurrents? โ†’ Overcurrent relay (inverse time)
  21. In NCEES PE Environmental practice, the fate of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in soil is primarily modeled using: โ†’ Henry's Law constant to describe air-water partitioning
  22. In NCEES PE Mechanical practice, a shaft transmitting power P at angular velocity ฯ‰ experiences a torque T equal to: โ†’ T = P/ฯ‰
  23. Graphite is a main component in many: โ†’ Composites
  24. In NCEES Mechanical Engineering, which type of stress occurs in a thin-walled pressure vessel in the circumferential (hoop) direction? โ†’ Hoop (circumferential) tensile stress = pr/t
  25. For the NCEES PE Mechanical exam, the Rankine cycle efficiency is improved most effectively by: โ†’ Lowering condenser pressure or increasing boiler temperature/pressure
  26. According to ASCE 7 seismic provisions tested on the NCEES exam, the Seismic Design Category (SDC) is determined by: โ†’ Site-adjusted spectral accelerations and risk category
  27. In the NCEES PE Structural exam, what does the 'slenderness ratio' KL/r determine for a steel column? โ†’ Whether the column is likely to fail by buckling vs. yielding
  28. In the NCEES PE Structural exam, what is the purpose of a moment frame in a building's lateral force-resisting system? โ†’ To resist lateral forces through bending in beams and columns
  29. Correction for a chain of 100 links with a rise of 1 unit every n horizontal units is โ†’ 100/n2
  30. Which of the following are examples of ferrous metals? โ†’ Cold-rolled steel, iron, and stainless steel
Turn these facts into recall:
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Sources & references

Exam facts on this page (fees, format, dates, passing scores) are checked against these official sources; the date is our last check. Editorial policy

  1. ncees.org โ€” Test delivery, eligibility, fees ยท verified Oct 2026
  2. ncees.org โ€” Test delivery, fees, exam format ยท verified Oct 2026
  3. ncees.org โ€” Test delivery, eligibility, fees ยท verified Oct 2026
  4. ncees.org โ€” Test delivery, eligibility, fees ยท verified Oct 2026