SNAME WEB PAGE P.E. EXAM. STUDY GUIDE MATERIALS

for

SHIP DESIGN ENGINEERING (SDE)

INTRODUCTION

In the October, 1998 and April, 1999 issues of Marine Technology, articles were presented by our President, Jose Femenia, discussing various aspects of the forthcoming examination for Professional Engineer Licensure in Ship Design Engineering (SDE). The first Principles and Practice Examination is presently scheduled for 29 October, 1999 so it is timely for those wishing to take this examination to start their preparation and to make contact with their state boards of professional registration for application requirements, costs and deadlines. In an effort to assist the Society’s membership in that preparation, study materials will be developed and presented on the SNAME Web Page from time to time that are concerned with the subject areas of the examination specification (the examination specification was published in the Marine Technology issue Volume 35, Number 4, of October, 1998).

While there are 25 subject areas in the examination specification, the study materials that will be presented may cover more than one area at a time; some presentations may be of a more general nature while problems concerned with a specific subject area will also be included from time to time. Problem solutions and reference suggestions will also be given, but not necessarily with the initial presentation of subject area materials. Thus, for those wishing to use the SNAME Web Page materials as a study guide, it is suggested that they frequently return to the Web Page for the latest additions to subject area study materials and suggested references. For those working in the area of Marine Electrical Engineering, it should be noted that the SDE exam has only about a 10 percent focus on electrical loads, distribution, energy conversion and emergency systems. Therefore, marine electrical engineers might find licensure in electrical engineering more appropriate for their needs. They should refer to the NCEES web page at www.ncees.org.

For those wishing to have specific questions answered concerning the examination subject areas and study materials, an e-mail to btrentham@sname.org or FAX message to (201) 798-4975 at SNAME Headquarters will be responded to as soon as and to the extent possible. It should be noted that examination questions have been authored by a wide variety of the Society’s currently licensed and widely scattered membership so that it may not be possible to respond rapidly or to all questions. In order to be most helpful to all, submitted questions and responses will be added to the Web Page materials, but without attribution.

To start with, the prospective examinee should collect the professional references already suggested in Marine Technology and elsewhere, as summarized below:

In addition to the above specific references, the examinee should have available for study and reference such textbooks as those pertaining to:

Also recommended are study guides such as for the Engineer-in-Training and the Mechanical Engineering examinations. These should be supplemented by handbooks such as Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, edited by E.A. Avallone and T. Baumeister, published by McGraw-Hill, 1987, or Eshbach’s Handbook of Engineering Fundamentals, edited by B.D. Tapley, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1990.

Experience has shown that, to adequately prepare for a professional examination such as that for Ship Design Engineering, a systematic approach to study is most effective. A minimum of two to three months of conscientious study, 2-3 hours per day, in systematic review and general study is recommended and can be expected to greatly improve the examinee’s level of expertise and self-confidence, both of which are essential to success in such endeavors.

As Ship Design Engineering is broadly practiced, nationally as well as internationally, it is important that the Ship Design Engineer be fluent in national and international systems of units. Accordingly, the examination uses U.S. Customary, Metric and International System (SI) units as well. Thus, study materials will be presented using each system of units. It is suggested that the examinee become appropriately familiar with their proper usage.

 

SHIP DESIGN ENGINEERING EXAMINATION SUBJECT AREAS:

 

At the Annual Meeting, a group of our current P.E.s developed a consensus statement of standards of minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities a minimally competent ship design engineer should demonstrate.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTES ON EXAMPLE PROBLEMS (8/3/99 update)

The problems posted to this web page are intended to convey a sampling of the content of the questions on the PE exam, and are not necessarily in the format of the actual exam. For example, the web page has a number of "Self Study Problems", which present a problem with a series of questions drawn from a single problem statement. This particular format is not indicative of the format or the average problem time requirement to be found on the PE exam.

The exam consists of eighty (80) multiple choice questions, equally divided between morning and afternoon sessions. For the exam, an average of six minutes per question is planned for. The exam will contain a number of questions pertaining to Regulatory Body requirements, including those of the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping. Questions relying on specific regulatory requirements will generally have the necessary regulation citations included with the problem text.

As mentioned previously, all of the PE exam questions are multiple choice. Credit will be given ONLY for the one correct answer of the four possibilities presented.

The PE exam is very broad based, with twenty-five subject areas from the ship design field. Most of the subject areas are represented in both the AM and PM exam sessions.

This web page will offer only a sampling of the subject matter to be presented on the test. Problems will be added as they become available. The reader is encouraged to review the subject areas listed above as well as the recommended list of reference materials provided in this web page.

 

EXAMPLE PROBLEMS FOR SELF-STUDY

The following sample problems and solutions are available in the Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). To view and print the documents you will need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer.

If you do not have the Acrobat Reader it can be downloaded free of charge at the Adobe web site.

Matrix of Self-Study Problems Download all Example Problems in zip archive (167 Kb - 11/1/99)