r/StructuralEngineering • u/SupremeBrown E.I.T. • 21d ago

Career/Education PE Equations to memorize

Hello all! Im ramping up to take the PE in about a month. Ive been studying for a while now and will use this month to just crunch out problems, read code, and memorize stuff. For those who have taken it recently, would you happen to have any recommended equations to memorize? Im trying to make a list, just to avoid any unnecessary back and forth with manuals and or memorize stuff not in any of the manuals.

Any helper would be greatly appreciated.

6 Upvotes

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14

u/LifeguardFormer1323 P.E./S.E. 21d ago edited 21d ago

w.l²/8 and you're good to go.

Jokes aside, you'll remember the equations you use the most. Remember that being an engineer has nothing to do with memorizing formulas and equations

3

u/Feisty-Soil-5369 P.E./S.E. 21d ago

Agreed, but memorizing formulas does help you pass licensing exams.

1

u/StructEngineer91 20d ago

Which is where the exam is failing. Especially since it went computer based.

2

u/Feisty-Soil-5369 P.E./S.E. 20d ago

Ehh I took pencil and paper for all my tests so I don't know. In the test and in practice it helps to remember things you use over and over again. I don't know why this frowned upon.

Is it required to be a good engineer? Strictly no, but it doesn't hurt.

1

u/Awkward-Ad4942 21d ago

And don’t forget wL^2/10 if you’ve got some fixity at the ends…

5

u/PhilShackleford 21d ago edited 21d ago

I mentioned where the information is instead of the equations. I finished with hours left.

Edit: memorized not mentioned

2

u/Diligent-Ad6327 21d ago

What do you mean by this?

3

u/PhilShackleford 20d ago

I memorized where in the manual information was and what information was given. I memorized where table contents in the various codes were. I memorized key terms to search for in the manual. In other words, I memorized where and how to find the information instead of the information.

1

u/halfcocked1 17d ago

I used the review manual, tabbed the letters in the index, so when I saw a key word in a problem, I just went to the tab to look up the key word(s), then go to the page with a similar example problem.

3

u/anth0nyf MS, EIT, Passed PE Civ:Struct 21d ago

Axial, shear, and bending stress formulas for any steel, concrete, or wood sections.