Customer Reviews

Chemical Discipline-Specific Review for the Fe/Eit Exam

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The product description fails to state that it only contains sample questions. I thought it was going to be like the general review book, which reviews and then some questions.
For the price it is, I feel slightly disappointed. However, I would not know how else to prepare for the test since there is such a wide range of materials to be tested. You have no other choice, if you intend to take the ChemE afternoon session.

This book has a lot of problems that cover almost all of the material; however, I was frustrated with it from time to time. Quite a few of the problems are not representative of the ones in the actual test.
For instance, most of the problems were grouped in a set of four or five questions about a situation, so an incorrect answer to one of the questions would affect your chances of getting the other ones right. In the real test, this is not the case; each question is a standalone.
Some of the solutions were unsuitable for testing conditions. They are more academic rather than practical. I came across a few solutions which resorted to the Newtonian numerical method for getting at the answer in four or five iterations! Who is going to do that during the exam? Nobody! The author should write the solutions in a way that gives the student tips on how to solve the problems quickly and accurately during the exam.
The authors should also familiarize themselves a bit more with the equations given in the NCEES handbook. I was very frustrated with a few problems where the author derived an equation from scratch. After spending quite a bit of time thinking about whether or not there'd be a more practical way to solve the problem, I realized that the equation I need is in the NCEES handbook already! This was wasted studying time.
Despite all that, I love that there are three practice afternoon exams in this book. Even though the roadblocks I mentioned above were frustrating, I had a good sense of what I needed to review for the exam.

It had been almost two years since I graduated with my chemical engineering degree. I bought this book along with the general review book by the same publisher. I ended up spending all my review time with the general book and I even went with the general afternoon session because the test turned out to be pretty easy. Seriously folks, the general book is all you need. I'm no genius but the test was laughably easier than I thought it was going to be. The actual test was way easier than the practice tests! Don't get me wrong, you still need to study hard. Just study from the general book, do all the practice problems and tests, then prepare to rock!

This book is everything that an exam preparation book shouldn't be.

The major problem is the way the practice problems are solved. The author uses the most obtuse methods imaginable to solve the problems. He uses integral calculus and summations for calculations that could be done with basic arithmetic. I think he is trying to show off his math abilities, not help people study.

I purchased this book having read other reviews stating that it contained only practice problems. However, these practice problems and "solutions" were terrible.

The book's first example problem is calculating the order of a reaction from reaction data. The example solution is to graph the data. I think drawing a sufficiently accurate graph by hand is a waste of time because slightly misplacing one data point would lead to a wrong answer. Then one must visually fit the data points to a curve. There are other ways to solve the problem, but he focuses on a method that is entirely unpractical for an exam environment.

The problems are solved in such a way as to calculate the exact answer, which is very rarely the way you should solve problems on a multiple choice exam. Time is essential on exams, yet the practice problems are solved with methods and calculations that not even the best engineers could perform in the allotted time.

The problems practice problems have had little resemblance to those I encountered on the exam. Any similarity is probably coincidental.

Unlike the problems in this book, many of those I encountered on the ChemE section of the exam were more theoretical. The answer choices contained wildly varying numbers, indicating that the intent of the question was to determine if you understood the concept (for example, how a CSTR works). This book gave no guidance whatsoever for these problems I encountered on the exam.

I took the EIT exam in April. I don't know if this book was designed for the PE exam, but it was useless for the EIT exam. Because I passes the exam (no thanks to this book), I was unable to send it back to the publisher for a refund.

I give it 2-stars because and only because the publisher had the decency not to publish a 3rd edition, so I will be able to resell mine* for a minimal loss. It is shameful that anyone would print such an entirely worthless book.

*Yes, I am ashamed to resell it.

Please do not be mislead into thinking it is as comprehensive as the FE Review Manual - this book contains ONLY problems and solutions - NO THEORY.
I would not purchase this book if given the same opportunity.
Thanks.

The only improvement I could suggest is the inclusion of more practice exams.