Cheat sheet
PE Civil Construction Cheat Sheet
Soil Mechanics
- 8-11% of exam
- Lateral Pressure Effective Stress Bearing Capacity Slope Stability
Site Layout & Development
- 6-10% of exam
- Staking & Benchmarks Horizontal Curves Vertical Curves Utility Verification
Material Properties
- 6-10% of exam
- Concrete Mix Soil Classification Steel Types Wood Types
Estimating Quantities & Costs
- 8-11% of exam
- Quantity Takeoff Cost Estimating Engineering Economics Earned Value
Project Planning & Scheduling
- 9-14% of exam
- CPM Network Float Resource Leveling Time-Cost Tradeoff
Production & Quality Control
- 9-14% of exam
- Material Testing Concrete Placement Weld & Bolt QC Compaction
Structural Mechanics
- 9-14% of exam
- Loads Statics Stress & Deflection Structural Systems
Hydraulics & Hydrology
- 5-8% of exam
- Runoff Methods Open-Channel Flow Detention Ponds Culverts
Construction Operations & Methods
- 11-18% of exam
- Cranes & Rigging Dewatering Equipment Selection Cut & Fill
Support of Construction Loads
- 12-19% of exam
- Formwork Falsework Shoring Bracing
Health & Safety
- 5-8% of exam
- OSHA Thresholds Fall Protection Excavation Safety Work Zone Safety
Quick Facts
- Exam PE Civil Construction
- Questions 80
- Time 8 hrs (9-hr appt)
- Pass Score Not published
- Format CBT, Pearson VUE
- Fee $400
- Level PE licensure depth exam
- Blueprint April 2024
Rankine Earth Pressure SO
- Ka smallest, Kp largest, K0 in between
- Ka: active minimum Kp: passive maximum K0: at-rest value
Total Stress vs Effective Stress SO
Total stress
- Includes pore water pressure
- Full overburden weight
Effective stress
- Total minus pore pressure
- Controls soil shear strength
- Total minus pore equals effective
Soil Mechanics Formulas SO
- Ka (1-sinφ)/(1+sinφ) Active
- Kp (1+sinφ)/(1-sinφ) Passive
- Effective stress Total stress minus pore pressure
- FS (slope) Resisting force over driving force
- Bearing capacity Ultimate soil support pressure
- Consolidation settlement Time-dependent clay compression
Layout & Curve Basics SI
- HI Elevation plus backsight reading
- New elevation HI minus foresight reading
- R 5729.58 divided by degree Arc def
- PC/PT Curve start and end
- Potholing Field-verify utility depth
- Benchmark Known reference elevation point
Material Properties MA
- Slump test Concrete workability measure
- W/C ratio Lower ratio, higher strength
- Air entrainment Freeze-thaw durability protection
- Atterberg limits Soil plasticity classification test
- USCS Unified soil classification system
- Prestressed steel Pre- or post-tensioned strand
Earned Value Formulas ES
- CV=EV-AC, SV=EV-PV, CPI=EV/AC, SPI=EV/PV
- CV: cost variance SV: schedule variance CPI: cost efficiency SPI: schedule efficiency
CPI vs SPI ES
CPI
- Cost performance measure
- EV divided by AC
SPI
- Schedule performance measure
- EV divided by PV
- Cost efficiency vs schedule efficiency
Estimating & Economics ES
- Swell Loose volume exceeds bank
- Shrinkage Compacted volume below bank
- Load factor Bank volume over loose volume
- Mass haul diagram Cumulative cut minus fill
- NPV Discounted future cash flows
- Break-even point Cost equals revenue point
Earned Value Management ES
- PV Planned value, BCWS
- EV Earned value, BCWP
- AC Actual cost, ACWP
- CV EV minus AC
- SV EV minus PV
- CPI EV divided by AC
- SPI EV divided by PV
- EAC BAC divided by CPI
Total Float vs Free Float PL
Total float
- Delay without project delay
- Equals LS minus ES
Free float
- Delay without successor delay
- Local activity slack only
- Project delay vs next activity
Schedule Analysis Selection PL
- Repetitive units like paving or piping → Line of balance
- Complex activity logic ties → CPM network analysis
- Need shorter overall duration → Crash the critical path
- Resource demand is overallocated → Level the resources
- Simple small straightforward project → Bar or Gantt chart
CPM Scheduling PL
- ES/EF Forward-pass activity times
- LS/LF Backward-pass activity times
- Total float LS minus ES
- Free float Delay without delaying successor
- Critical path Longest path, zero float
- Crashing Shorten duration, add cost
- FS/SS/FF/SF Precedence relationship types
Resource & Linear Scheduling PL
- Resource leveling Smooths peak resource demand
- Line of balance Repetitive-unit production scheduling
- Time-cost tradeoff Balances duration against cost
- Bar chart Simple activity-timeline display
- Precedence diagram Activity-on-node network method
QA/QC Field Control QU
- Proctor test Maximum density reference standard
- Nuclear density gauge Field compaction verification tool
- Concrete maturity Strength from temperature-time
- Cylinder break 28-day strength verification
- Bolt torque check Verifies clamping force
- Weld inspection NDT acceptance criteria check
Provided Design Standards QU
- ACI 347R Formwork design guide
- ACI SP-4 Formwork for concrete
- AISC Manual Steel construction manual
- ASCE 37-14 Construction loads standard
- PCA EB001 Concrete mixtures guide
- CFR 1926 OSHA construction safety rules
Structural Mechanics Basics ST
- Dead load Permanent structure weight
- Construction load Temporary erection-phase load
- Bending stress Mc divided by I
- Shear stress VQ divided by Ib
- Deflection check Serviceability limit state
- Combined stress Axial plus bending superposition
Hydraulics & Hydrology HY
- Rational method Q equals C, i, A
- Manning's equation Open-channel flow velocity
- Time of concentration Longest travel-time path
- Detention pond Temporarily stores peak runoff
- SCS/NRCS method Curve-number runoff estimate
- Culvert Cross-drainage conveyance structure
Swell vs Shrinkage OP
Swell
- Loose volume expands
- Excavated soil increases
Shrinkage
- Compacted volume decreases
- Falls below bank volume
- Loose state vs compacted state
Earthwork Method Selection OP
- Cut volume exceeds fill need → Waste to spoil area
- Site needs additional fill material → Import from borrow pit
- Optimizing haul cost and distance → Build mass haul diagram
- Groundwater enters open excavation → Install dewatering system
- Deep small-diameter foundation needed → Drilled shaft or pile
Equipment & Earthwork Operations OP
- Cut/fill analysis Balances earthwork volumes
- Borrow pit Imported off-site fill source
- Crane capacity Read from load chart
- Outrigger load Ground-bearing pressure check
- Dewatering Wellpoint or sump control
- Deep foundation install Pile or drilled shaft
Temporary Works Sequence SU
- Form, then Falsework, then Shore, then Reshore
- Form: shapes concrete Falsework: supports structure Shore: supports excavation Reshore: after stripping
Formwork vs Falsework SU
Formwork
- Shapes fresh concrete
- Resists lateral pressure
Falsework
- Supports structure temporarily
- Used before strength gain
- Concrete shape vs structure support
Temporary Structure Selection SU
- Support wet concrete → Formwork ( Shapes fresh concrete )
- Support structure before strength gain → Falsework
- Support excavated soil face → Shoring
- Remove forms before full cure → Reshoring
- Resist lateral wind or seismic → Bracing
- Deep unstable-soil excavation wall → Trench box or sheeting
Temporary Structures SU
- Formwork Shapes and contains concrete
- Falsework Temporary structural support system
- Shoring Supports excavation or structure
- Reshoring Support after early stripping
- Bracing Provides lateral stability
- Support of excavation Retains adjacent soil face
- Form pressure Rises with pour rate
Shoring vs Bracing SU
Shoring
- Supports excavation walls
- Vertical or lateral loads
Bracing
- Provides lateral stability
- Resists wind or seismic
- Soil support vs overall stability
OSHA Trigger Depths HE
- 5 ft dig, 6 ft fall, 20 ft engineer
- 5ft: excavation protection 6ft: fall protection 20ft: PE-designed system
OSHA Trigger Depth/Height HE
- Excavation reaches 5 feet deep → Protective system required
- Excavation exceeds 20 feet deep → PE-designed system required
- Working at 6 feet high → Fall protection required
- Scaffold platform 10 feet high → Fall protection required
- Ground movement risk exists → Protect regardless of depth
OSHA Construction Thresholds HE
- Fall protection Required at 6 feet
- Excavation protection Required at 5 feet
- PE-designed system Required beyond 20 feet
- Competent person Daily excavation inspections required
- Soil Type A/B/C Most to least stable
- Scaffold fall protection Required at 10 feet
- MUTCD Part 6 Temporary traffic control rules
Common Traps
Swell ≠ Shrinkage
- Swell: loose volume grows ≠ Shrinkage: compacted volume shrinks
Total Float ≠ Free Float
- Total: whole-project delay slack ≠ Free: next-activity delay slack
Formwork ≠ Falsework
- Formwork: shapes wet concrete ≠ Falsework: supports temporary structure
CPI ≠ SPI
- CPI: measures cost efficiency ≠ SPI: measures schedule efficiency
Total Stress ≠ Effective Stress
- Total: includes pore pressure ≠ Effective: controls soil strength
Active Pressure ≠ Passive Pressure
- Active: soil moves away ≠ Passive: soil pushed inward
Equated Score ≠ Fixed Percentage
- NCEES uses equated scoring ≠ No published cutoff percentage
Last Minute
- 1. 80 questions, 8 exam hours
- 2. 9-hour appointment includes tutorial and break
- 3. No fixed passing score published
- 4. Support of Loads weighs most
- 5. Operations and Methods rank second
- 6. Fall protection required at 6ft
- 7. Excavation protection required at 5ft
- 8. PE-designed system required beyond 20ft
- 9. Critical path equals zero float
- 10. CV equals EV minus AC
- 11. SPI equals EV over PV
- 12. Swell expands; shrinkage compacts volume
PE Civil: Construction
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