Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam (Hardcover)

by Michael R. Lindeburg PE (Author) "The purpose of this chapter is to eliminate some of the confusion regarding the many units available for each engineering variable..." (more)
Key Phrases: extreme tension steel, engineering economic analysis problems, specific feed characteristic, Solution Using, Green Book, American Concrete Institute (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Now with coverage of the new Construction Engineering Topics. Updated to cover the new Transportation and Structural codes.

As the most comprehensive reference and study guide available for engineers preparing for the morning and afternoon topics on the civil PE examination, the eleventh edition of the Civil Engineering Reference Manual provides a concentrated review of the exam topics. No other exam-focused publication is more complete.

The most trusted reference for the civil PE exam...is also the most up-to-date

A complete introduction to the exam format and content A suggested study schedule, plus tips for successful exam preparation Nearly 500 solved example problems Hundreds of key tables, charts, and figures at your fingertips An easy-to-use index and full glossary for quick reference Perfect for post-exam reference

 

What's new in the 11th edition

4 new construction engineering chapters Over 35 updated chapters—including extensively revised structural and transportation chapters 100 new equations Over 300 new, easy-to-use index entries

 

Exam Topics Covered

Construction—New Geotechnical—Updated Structural—Updated Transportation—Updated Water Resources & Environmental—Updated

 

From the Publisher
This book has accompanied more than 150,000 engineers into the civil PE exam and has earned the respect of virtually all of them. The new eighth edition is an all-encompassing exam resource you won't want to be without. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1456 pages
• Publisher: Professional Publications, Inc.; Eleventh Edition, New Edition edition (February 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591261295
• ISBN-13: 978-1591261292
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,065 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book is vital though it could be better..., October 24, 2003

By	Amy K. Yu "Pak K. So" (WHITESTONE, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam, Ninth Edition (Hardcover)

I just took the PE exam today (Oct. 24, 2003) and I really field tested this book thoroughly. I found it to be a great reference and it helped me answer a lot of the problems on the exam. There tend to be a bunch of questions on the exam that are definition questions...you look up the topic in the index and instantly, you have an answer. Or lots of questions where you have no idea how to solve it...look up the topic in the index, and instantly, you have the equation you need to solve the problem.

It does cover all the topics that the exam deals with...and even has nice supplemental material which deals with some theory/background. You must get the sample questions book that accompanies this book...I even looked through those problems occasionally to assist my in answering the exam problems.

There are some weaknesses though but ones that you can work around. For transportation, the book simply refers you to the codes. Same for the sample questions. It would be nice if the book contained more of the code directly so you wouldn't need to be jumping to those books. Same for the more special topics in structures...it would be nice if the book contained more AASHTO bridge type stuff and it doesn't help much with seismic.

The geotechnical section is very decent...and the water resources section is also good for the morning session (I took structures so do not know how it handles for other topics in the afternoon session). The environmental section was not very good to me (although I don't know much about that topic which is why I probably found it to be confusing) but there are some definitions that come in handy.

The only other slight nag is that the sample problems that accompany the book are in general too involved. You want to understand the topic but you don't want to overstudy a topic.

All in all, this is a must have...could use slight improvement but without much real competition from the other PE book writers, you gotta get it.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect companion for the morning session, February 20, 2004

By	C. LaBarbera "redhedstranger" (san francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam, Ninth Edition (Hardcover)

This book is more or less standard-issue for PE-takers (come exam day, you'll see zillions of the CERM scattered throughout the exam hall). If you find yourself on the fence about shelling out the $$ for it, I've found it to be a good investment.

Having recently taken and passed the PE exam, I can attest to this book's usefulness. The index, in particular, I found to be pretty expansive - I used it to find answers to more than one problem where I was fairly clueless.

Please note, the CERM's utility is certainly highest on the morning (breadth) section. Although it won't be entirely useless on the afternoon (depth) portion of the exam, you'll definitely utilize other references more heavily. I, for one, was impressed by how lopsided the difference in difficulty between sections turned out to be.

Regardless of exam section, each question is equally weighted; thus, it's best to "clean house" where it's easiest - in the morning. You'll find this manual quite useful for that.

My $0.02...

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good starting point, but don't let it be your only reference, October 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Civil Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam (Hardcover)

This is a good general reference book for use on the exam, as it contains a wide variety of subjects within the Civil discipline. The strong points of this reference manual are the number of topics discussed and the layout of the book (each module has its own tabbed section). The index and glossary are lengthy, which is an asset on the exam when you need to look up specific topics (college textbooks often skimp on the index and make you search the book for the topic because it isn't in the index). However, don't let it be your only reference on the exam, as this manual often refers to other references, particularly the AISC Manual of Steel Construction, TRB's Highway Capacity Manual, and AASTHO Green Book. Three glaring drawbacks: numerous errata (see www.ppi2pass.com), practice problems at the end of each chapter are few in number and do not resemble actual exam conditions (practice problems are one problem statement with 10 related problems; exam questions will stand independent of each other) and some depth modules may not be covered as extensively as others (a wide range of topics, but not many are discussed to great depth [particularly environmental and transportation]). I recommend using NCEES' Practice Exam if you want example questions similar to exam questions in style and difficulty. Don't rely on CERM as your only reference for afternoon depth modules (although it will function well for the simpler (shallower) problems in the depth modules); bring additional references to cover the specialty topics in your module (ACI/AISC, HCM, AASHTO Green Book, etc. depending on your module of choice). Overall, a very good reference book for general topics (AM session) but you'll need additional backup for the depth modules (PM session). 3 stars due to the drawbacks above weighing down the good breadth and layout (particularly the large number of errata - 8th edition had 13 pages of listed errata as of October 2001). Be sure to download and print the latest errata from the publisher website before you head to the exam!