FE discipline
FE Mechanical
Mechanical candidates need the thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer trio at the centre of the book plus the mechanical engineering section at the back, and the split between them is not always obvious.
The trap
Vibrations are in the mechanical engineering section, not dynamics. HVAC appears twice: as refrigeration and HVAC cycles inside thermodynamics, and as its own block at the end of the mechanical section.
Sections you will be working in
Ordered by how central they are to this exam. Page ranges come from the handbook version this build is calibrated to.
- Mechanical Engineering
Machine design, manufacturability, GD and T, failure theories, and HVAC
- Thermodynamics
Properties, laws, cycles, mixtures, and the steam tables
- Fluid Mechanics
Statics of fluids, flow principles, losses, machinery, and measurement
- Heat Transfer
Conduction, convection, and radiation
- Mechanics of Materials
Stress, strain, torsion, beams, and columns
- Dynamics
Kinematics, kinetics, work-energy, and rigid body motion
- Statics
Forces, moments, centroids, moments of inertia, and friction
Knowledge areas on this exam
The knowledge-area names and question counts published by NCEES in the FE exam specifications for this discipline. 14 areas in total.
| # | Knowledge area | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mathematics | 6-9 |
| 2 | Probability and Statistics | 4-6 |
| 3 | Ethics and Professional Practice | 4-6 |
| 4 | Engineering Economics | 4-6 |
| 5 | Electricity and Magnetism | 5-8 |
| 6 | Statics | 9-14 |
| 7 | Dynamics, Kinematics, and Vibrations | 10-15 |
| 8 | Mechanics of Materials | 9-14 |
| 9 | Material Properties and Processing | 7-11 |
| 10 | Fluid Mechanics | 10-15 |
| 11 | Thermodynamics | 10-15 |
| 12 | Heat Transfer | 7-11 |
| 13 | Measurements, Instrumentation, and Controls | 5-8 |
| 14 | Mechanical Design and Analysis | 10-15 |
Page numbers here are read from handbook version 10.5 (seventh printing, April 2025), which runs to 502 pages. NCEES revises the handbook and page numbers move with it, which is why the drill asks which section a topic lives in rather than which page. Check the version of your own copy, downloaded free from NCEES.