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	FAQs about the Electrical and Computer Engineering PE Exam Exam Format Question Format Exam Topics NEC and Other Codes and Standards Required for the Exam Exam Dates Exam Scoring Passing Rates Advice from Previous Examinees What's the format of the electrical and computer PE exam? Beginning with the spring 2009 administration, the Electrical and Computer PE exam will no longer be a breadth and depth exam. Instead, the exam will consist of three separate exams divided by subdiscipline. Each subdiscipline of the electrical and computer exam will be independent of the other, and there will be no common morning questions as in previous administrations of the electrical and computer examination. All three subdisciplines of the electrical and computer PE exam are 8 hours long, divided into 2 equal sessions, morning and afternoon. All questions are multiple choice The three subdisciplines within the Electrical and Computer PE exam will be as follows. Electrical and Computer – Computer Examination Electrical and Computer – Electrical and Electronics Examination Electrical and Computer – Power Examination Consequently, as of the April 2009 administration, candidates for the Electrical and Computer PE exam will be required to specify during registration which one of these exams they wish to take. On exam day, examinees will receive only the specific discipline they have preregistered for. What format are the questions in? For all three subdisciplines, the questions are multiple-choice, with four answer choices each. Nearly all questions are unique–that is, one problem statement followed by one question. There may be a few multi-part questions, where one problem statement is followed by 2 or 3 questions, but in these cases the answers to the questions will be independent from each other (i.e., the answers do not "cascade"). What topics will be covered on the electrical and computer PE exam? COMPUTER Exam Specifications ELECTRICAL and ELECTRONICS Exam Specifications POWER Exam Specifications COMPUTER Exam Specifications are as follows: EFFECTIVE Beginning with the April 2009 Examinations Computer Systems: approx. 40% of problems Numeric and Nonnumeric Formats: 5% Number representation Character representation Encoding schemes Error detection and correction Computer Architecture: 35% Computer organization Processor-controlled systems Processor structures Memory systems Hardware fault tolerance System performance Hardware: approx 25% of problems Digital Devices: 5% Memory devices Standard modular devices (e.g., multiplexers) Digital Electronics: 7.5% Basic solid-state devices Operating parameters Tristate logic Data conversion and instrumentation VLSI circuits Timing design and analysis Digital Circuits: 7.5% Arithmetic hardware Synchronous Asynchronous Testability Programmable hardware Hardware Description Languages: 5% Testbench software Analysis and design Synthesis issues Assertions and verification Software: approx. 25% of problems System Software: 7.5% Operating systems Real-time operating systems Computer security Device drivers Interrupts Development/Applications: 12.5% Software design and documentation methods Quality assurance Fundamental constructs Programming language characteristics Development tools Software Maintenance: 5% Configuration management Software update Change control Networks: approx. 10% of problems Computer Networks: 5% Protocols OSI (layer) model Topology Hardware Security Physical Layer Implementation: 2.5% Synchronization techniques Transmission media Asynchronous Wireless Optical Information Theory 2.5% Data compression Channel capacity Sampling theory Notes The exam is developed with questions that will require a variety of approaches and methodologies including design, analysis, and application. Some questions may require knowledge of engineering economics. The knowledge areas specified as examples of kinds of knowledge are not exclusive or exhaustive categories. The exam contains 80 multiple-choice questions. Examinee works all questions. ELECTRICAL and ELECTRONICS Exam Specifications are as follows: EFFECTIVE Beginning with the April 2009 Examinations General Electrical Engineering Knowledge: approx. 50% of problems Circuit Analysis: 25% Passive components DC circuits Sinusoidal analysis Transient analysis Power and energy calculations Battery characteristics and ratings Power supply Measurement and Instrumentation: 10% Transducer and system characteristics Data evaluation Operational amplifiers Safety and Design Limits: 4% Interface applications Failure limits and circuit protection Safety grounding Electromagnetic interference and exposure Reliability Electric shock and burns Signal Processing: 11% Sampling theory (aliasing, Nyquist sampling rate) Transforms and applications Analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) conversions Digital Systems: approx. 11% of problems Digital Logic: 5% Boolean algebra Combinational and sequential logic Digital Components: 6% Digital devices Memory devices Programmable logic devices Microcontrollers/embedded systems Electric and Magnetic Field Theory and Applications: approx. 9% of problems Electromagnetic Fields: 4% Theory EMI/EMC Transmission Lines and Guided Waves: 2.5% Transmission lines, balanced and unbalanced Waveguides Antennas: 2.5% Gain, patterns, and polarization Impedance Electronics: approx. 12.5% of problems Electronic Circuit Theory: 6.5% Small-signal and large-signal models Active networks and filters Nonlinear circuits (e.g., comparators) Sinusoidal steady-state analysis Transient analysis Power and energy calculations Electronic Components and Circuits: 6% Solid-state power devices and power electronics applications Battery characteristics and ratings Power supplies Oscillators and phase-locked loop characteristics Amplifiers Modulators and demodulators Diodes Circuit protection and safety Transistors and applications Control System Fundamentals: approx. 7.5% of problems Block diagrams Characteristic equations Frequency response Time response Control system design and implementation (e.g., compensators, steady-state error) Stability (e.g., tests, Bode plots, root locus, transport delay) Communications: approx. 10% of problems Modulation: 4% Analog modulation Digital modulation Spread spectrum modulation characteristics Noise and Interference: 2% Signal-to-noise ratio Quantization noise Noise figure and temperature Interference Coding, error detection and correction Telecommunications: 4% Wireline communications Wireless communications Optical communications Multiplexing Traffic and switching Notes The exam is developed with questions that will require a variety of approaches and methodologies including design, analysis, and application. Some questions may require knowledge of engineering economics. The knowledge areas specified as examples of kinds of knowledge are not exclusive or exhaustive categories. The exam contains 80 multiple-choice questions. Examinee works all questions. POWER Exam Specifications are as follows: EFFECTIVE Beginning with the April 2009 Examinations General Power Engineering: approx. 30% of problems Measurement and Instrumentation: 7.5% Instrument transformers Wattmeters VOM metering Insulation testing Ground resistance testing Special Applications: 10% Lightning and surge protection Reliability Illumination engineering Demand and energy management/calculations Engineering economics Codes and Standards: 12.5% National Electrical Code (NEC) National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) Electric shock and burns Circuit Analysis: approx. 20% of problems Analysis: 11% Three-phase circuit analysis Symmetrical components Per unit analysis Phasor diagrams Devices and Power Electronic Circuits: 9% Battery characteristics and ratings Power supplies Relays, switches, and PLCs Variable-speed drives Rotating Machines and Electromagnetic Devices: approx. 20% of problems Rotating machines: 12.5% Synchronous machines Induction machines Generator/motor applications Equivalent circuits Speed-torque characteristics Motor starting Electromagnetic Devices: 7.5% Transformers Reactors Testing Transmissions and Distribution (High, Medium, and Low Voltage): Approx. 30% of problems System Analysis: 12.5% Voltage drop Voltage regulation Power factor correction and voltage support Power quality Fault current analysis Grounding Transformer connections Transmission line models Power System Performance: 7.5% Power flow Load sharing: parallel generators or transformers Power system stability Protection: 10% Overcurrent protection Protective relaying Protective devices (e.g., fuses, breakers, reclosers) Coordination Notes The exam is developed with questions that will require a variety of approaches and methodologies including design, analysis, and application. Some questions may require knowledge of engineering economics. The knowledge areas specified as examples of kinds of knowledge are not exclusive or exhaustive categories. The exam contains 80 multiple-choice questions. Examinee works all questions. Which editions of the NEC and other codes and standards am I required to use on the exam? Exam questions related to codes and standards will be either: An interpretation of a code or standard that is presented in the exam booklet, or A code or standard that a committee of licensed engineers feels that minimally competent engineers should know. Code information required to solve questions will be consistent with the last edition of the code issued before the year of the exam. Exams given in 2009 will reference the 2008 National Electric Code® (NEC®). How is the passing score determined? A passing score on an NCEES exam is the number of correct answers or points required to indicate a knowledge level necessary to meet a minimum performance standard for a discipline. For the first offering of an examination in a new subject area, or when a significant change in the content of the examination occurs, the passing score of that exam is determined by a specially appointed committee of licensed subject-matter experts. The committee members are selected based on their expertise, their knowledge of the ability level of candidates at the stage of their career covered by the examination, and the diversity they bring to the committee with respect to such factors as their area of specialization within the profession. Using a process that is widely accepted in the testing profession, the committee assesses the examination performance that may be expected of a minimally competent examinee. After the NCEES examination committee reviews the committee's work for reasonableness, the passing score is established. Beginning with the October 2005 administration, candidates will receive results of "Pass" or "Fail" only. Failing candidates will no longer receive a numerical score. Electrical and Computer Engineering PE Exam FAQs

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FAQs about the Electrical and Computer Engineering PE Exam