Construction
20%of exam
Geotechnical
20%of exam
Soil ClassificationBearing CapacityRetaining WallsDeep Foundations
Structural
20%of exam
Load CombinationsBeam MechanicsConcrete DesignSteel Design
Transportation
20%of exam
Water Resources & Environmental
20%of exam
Quick Facts
- Exam
- NCEES PE Civil
- Format
- CBT, 80 questions
- Time
- 9-hour appointment
- Pass score
- Not published (scaled)
- Disciplines
- 5, pick one
- Level
- Professional licensure
- Reference
- Open-book handbook
- Blueprint
- April 2024 specs
CPM Forward and Backward Pass
Forward finds ES/EF, backward finds LS/LF
Forward: early timesBackward: late timesFloat: LS minus ES
Loose vs Compacted Volume
Loose (swell)
- After excavation from bank
- Volume increases
- Factor greater than 1
Compacted (shrink)
- After compaction in place
- Volume decreases
- Factor less than 1
Both measured versus bank
Earthwork & Volumes
- Bank volume
- In-place undisturbed soil volume
- Swell factor
- Loose volume over bank volume
- Shrinkage factor
- Compacted volume over bank volume
- Load factor
- Bank volume over loose volume
- Cut/fill balance
- Match earthwork volumes on-site
Total Float vs Free Float
Total float
- Delays entire project finish
- Equals LS minus ES
Free float
- Delays only next activity
- Uses successor's early start
Project-wide vs local delay
CPM Scheduling
- ES/EF
- Early start and early finish
- LS/LF
- Late start and late finish
- Total float
- Late start minus early start
- Free float
- Delay without affecting successor
- Critical path
- Zero-float longest activity path
Estimating & Economics
- Quantity takeoff
- Measure plan quantities method
- Net present value
- Discounted future cash flow
- Break-even analysis
- Cost equals revenue point
- Earned value
- Budgeted cost of work done
- Productivity rate
- Output per labor hour
Temporary Structures & Safety
- Formwork
- Temporary concrete casting mold
- Falsework
- Supports wet concrete or erection
- Shoring
- Vertical excavation support system
- OSHA Type A/B/C
- Soil stability classifications
- 5-ft excavation rule
- OSHA protective system trigger depth
USCS Soil Symbol Logic
Gravel/sand coarse; silt/clay fine soils
G: gravelS: sandM: siltC: clay
Total Stress vs Effective Stress
Total stress
- Includes soil and water weight
- Symbol sigma total
Effective stress
- Grain-to-grain contact stress
- Total stress minus pore pressure
Subtract pore water pressure
Foundation Type Selection
- Shallow, good soil, low load→Spread footing(Bearing capacity governs design)
- Poor soil, high load→Deep foundation(Piles or drilled shafts)
- Very deep bedrock only→Drilled shaft(Cast-in-place, large capacity)
- Vibration-sensitive adjacent site→Drilled shaft(Avoid pile driving vibration)
- Lateral load dominant case→Check lateral capacity(p-y curve analysis)
- Uplift or tension load→Anchor or helical pile(Tension resistance needed)
Soil Classification (USCS)
- GW/GP
- Well-graded or poorly graded gravel
- SW/SP
- Well-graded or poorly graded sand
- ML/CL
- Low-plasticity silt or clay
- MH/CH
- High-plasticity silt or clay
- Plasticity index PI
- Liquid limit minus plastic limit
Bearing Capacity Equation Terms
qult = cNc + qNq + 0.5γBNγ
Nc: cohesion termNq: surcharge termNγ: unit weight term
Shallow vs Deep Foundation
Shallow foundation
- Spread or mat footings
- Governed by bearing capacity
Deep foundation
- Piles or drilled shafts
- Skin friction plus end bearing
Load depth to bearing soil
Bearing Capacity & Settlement
- Terzaghi equation
- qult = cNc+qNq+0.5γBNγ
- Nc, Nq, Nγ
- Bearing capacity factors
- FS bearing
- qult divided by qallow value
- Consolidation settlement
- Time-dependent clay compression process
- Void ratio e
- Void volume over solid volume
Earth Pressure & Retaining Walls
- Ka
- Active earth pressure coefficient
- Kp
- Passive earth pressure coefficient
- K0
- At-rest earth pressure coefficient
- MSE wall
- Mechanically stabilized earth wall
Deep Foundations & Slope Stability
- Skin friction
- Pile shaft side resistance
- End bearing
- Pile tip resistance
- Drilled shaft
- Cast-in-place deep foundation
- Liquefaction
- Saturated sand loses strength
LRFD Load Combination Memory Aid
1.2D + 1.6L usually governs gravity
1.2D: dead load factor1.6L: live load factorCheck wind and seismic too
ASD vs LRFD
ASD
- Service-level loads used
- One combined safety factor
- Required for wood design
LRFD
- Factored loads and resistance
- Separate load and resistance factors
- Common for steel and concrete
Service loads vs factored loads
ASD vs LRFD Method Picker
- Wood design (PE Civil)→ASD(NCEES mandates wood ASD)
- Steel or concrete design→LRFD or ASD(AISC and ACI both allow)
- Retaining wall design→ASD or LRFD(Per NCEES geotechnical spec)
- Deep foundation capacity calc→ASD or LRFD(Candidate's choice, be consistent)
- Bridge design per AASHTO→LRFD(AASHTO LRFD 8th edition)
- Unsure which factor applies→Check question's given units(Nominal vs factored values)
Loads & Load Combinations
- ASCE 7
- Minimum design loads standard
- LRFD combo
- 1.2D + 1.6L governs
- ASD combo
- D + L governs
- Tributary area
- Load-collection floor area
- Seismic load
- Mass times acceleration response
Beam Mechanics & Sections
- Shear diagram
- Slope of moment diagram
- Moment diagram
- Integral of shear diagram
- Section modulus S
- Moment of inertia over c
- Flexure stress
- f = Mc/I formula
- Max deflection
- PL cubed over 48EI
Concrete & Steel Design
- ACI 318
- Concrete design code
- Flexure phi factor
- 0.9 for tension-controlled sections
- AISC Manual
- Steel design reference book
- Development length
- Rebar embedment for bond
Horizontal Curve Point Labels
PC, PI, PT mark curve points
PC: curve beginsPI: tangents intersectPT: curve ends
Sag vs Crest Vertical Curve
Crest curve
- High point of curve
- Daytime stopping sight distance
Sag curve
- Low point of curve
- Headlight sight distance governs
Grade change direction differs
Geometric Design
- Curve radius R
- Center to curve distance
- Tangent length T
- PC to PI distance
- Middle ordinate M
- Curve to chord offset
- SSD
- Stopping sight distance
- Superelevation e
- Curve cross-slope rate
Traffic Capacity & Signals
- LOS
- Level of service A-F
- v/c ratio
- Volume over capacity ratio
- PHF
- Peak hour factor
- HCM
- Highway Capacity Manual reference
- Clearance interval
- Yellow plus all-red time
Pavement & Drainage Design
- ESAL
- Equivalent single axle load
- CBR
- California bearing ratio
- Structural number SN
- Flexible pavement thickness index
- Rigid pavement
- PCC slab, AASHTO design
Water Treatment Train Order
Coagulate, flocculate, settle, filter, disinfect
Coag/floc: clump particlesSediment: settle outFilter: strain remainingDisinfect: kill pathogens
Rational vs SCS/NRCS Method
Rational method
- Small watersheds under 200 acres
- Peak flow rate only
- Simple, fast hand calculation
SCS/NRCS method
- Larger, complex watersheds
- Full runoff hydrograph shape
- Curve number based on soil
Watershed size drives method
Runoff / Hydrology Method Picker
- Small urban watershed (<200 ac)→Rational method(Q=CiA formula)
- Larger or complex watershed→SCS/NRCS method(Curve number based)
- Need full hydrograph shape→Unit hydrograph(Time-distributed flow)
- Storm sewer sizing→Rational plus Manning's(Peak flow, pipe size)
- Detention pond sizing→Hydrograph routing(Inflow vs outflow)
- Stream water quality issue→TMDL analysis(Load allocation study)
Hydrology
- Rational method
- Q = CiA formula
- Runoff coefficient C
- Fraction of rainfall runoff
- Time of concentration Tc
- Longest flow path time
- SCS/NRCS method
- Curve number runoff model
- Design storm
- Return period rainfall event
Manning's vs Hazen-Williams
Manning's equation
- Open-channel gravity flow
- Uses roughness coefficient n
Hazen-Williams
- Pressurized closed-pipe flow
- Uses C coefficient value
Open channel vs pressure pipe
Hydraulics: Open and Closed Conduit
- Manning's equation
- Open-channel velocity flow formula
- Hazen-Williams
- Pressure pipe flow formula
- Darcy-Weisbach
- Head loss friction formula
- Bernoulli equation
- Energy conservation in flow
- Froude number
- Sub vs supercritical flow indicator
Water & Wastewater Treatment
- Coagulation/flocculation
- Particle clumping treatment step
- Sedimentation
- Gravity settling treatment step
- Disinfection
- Pathogen inactivation treatment step
- BOD
- Biochemical oxygen demand
Common Traps
Bank Volume vs Loose Volume
Bank means in-place soil ≠ Loose means after excavation swell
ASD vs LRFD Load Factors
ASD uses service-level loads ≠ LRFD uses factored loads
Total Stress vs Effective Stress
Total includes water weight ≠ Effective subtracts pore pressure
Total Float vs Free Float
Total delays whole project ≠ Free delays only next activity
Rational Method vs SCS Method
Rational suits small watersheds ≠ SCS suits larger watersheds
Wood Design vs Steel or Concrete
Wood must use ASD only ≠ Steel and concrete allow either
Swell Factor vs Shrinkage Factor
Swell is loose over bank ≠ Shrinkage is compacted over bank
Last Minute
- 1.80 questions, 9-hour appointment
- 2.No separate breadth section now
- 3.Choose one discipline exam only
- 4.Wood design always uses ASD
- 5.Steel and concrete allow either
- 6.Rational method: small watershed peak flow
- 7.SCS method: larger watershed hydrograph
- 8.Manning's for open channel flow
- 9.Hazen-Williams for pressure pipe flow
- 10.Effective stress equals total minus pore
- 11.Know handbook table locations cold
- 12.Practice using only electronic reference
Buy on Amazon
Flashcards on MometrixSame family resources
Explore More PE Exams
Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.
More From This Family
Videos and articles for deeper review.
VideoBest Calculators for the PE Exam 2026: All NCEES-Approved Models ComparedThis examVideoFE Exam Study Guide 2026: Pass Rates by DisciplineThis examVideoBest Calculators for the PE Exam 2026: All NCEES-Approved Models ComparedVideoBest Calculators for the PE Exam 2026: All NCEES-Approved Models ComparedArticleFE Exam Study Guide 2026: Pass Rates by Discipline18 min readArticleFREE PE Control Systems Exam Guide 2026: Pass NCEES CSE First Try16 min readArticlePE Civil Geotechnical Exam Guide 202617 min readArticleBest Calculators for the PE Exam 2026: All NCEES-Approved Models Compared13 min read