One of the most important skills you need to be successful on the PE Exam is “problem recognition.” When you see a problem on the exam, you want to identify it immediately as belonging to a certain class of problems, maybe even a specific problem you’ve seen before: “This is a Statics equilibrium problem.” or “This is a Fluids Bernoulli with friction problem.” or “This is just like that Rankine Cycle problem that was on the practice exam.”
That familiarity needs to be linked with a knowledge of where and how to find the right equation to solve that problem type – either in the RHC or from memory.
As you encounter problems during your preparation for the exam, start grouping similar problems together so that you will start to see the patterns that make problems easier to recognize. Our DTC PE PE Exam Reviews are designed with this idea in mind. That is why we have grouped the equations by lesson – to help you associate certain equations with certain problem types.
If the equations are organized that way in your mind, then during the exam, you will be able to quickly bring to bear all the information associated with that class of problems. – Dr. Tom
