Engineer Exam Lab · Practice packsengineerexamlab.com

FE guides

FE exam sample questions with answers

The FE exam has 110 questions in 5 hours 20 minutes, mostly four-option multiple choice plus alternative types like select-all-that-apply and fill in the blank. Below are four sample questions of those types, with full worked answers and the handbook page for each.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026 by Engineer Exam Lab. Exam facts link to NCEES. Problems are from our practice packs, written by a PhD environmental engineer, and every numeric answer was checked by a second, independent calculation.

The FE exam at a glance

  • 110 questions, computer-based, at Pearson VUE test centers year-round (NCEES).
  • 6-hour appointment: 2-minute nondisclosure agreement, 8-minute tutorial, 5 hours 20 minutes of exam time, and a 25-minute scheduled break (NCEES).
  • That is about 2.9 minutes per question (320 minutes ÷ 110).
  • You get a searchable electronic FE Reference Handbook on screen; you can't bring your own (our handbook guide).
  • $225 exam fee paid to NCEES; one attempt per quarterly testing window and no more than three in 12 months (NCEES).

Question types you will see

Most FE questions are multiple choice with four options. NCEES also uses alternative item types, such as select-all-that-apply, fill in the blank, point and click, and drag and drop (question types guide). The four samples below show the three types our packs use.

Four sample questions with solutions

Problem 1 · FE Environmental · Ethics and Professional Practice · Select all that apply

While designing a parking lot expansion next to a neighboring property, Tyler, a licensed engineer, reviews the public plans for a storm culvert designed by another firm and finds a calculation error that could affect public safety.

A) Tyler should make a reasonable effort to inform the engineer who prepared the plans.
B) Tyler must not try to damage the other engineer's reputation falsely or maliciously.
C) Because the error is in another firm's work, Tyler has no responsibility to say anything.
D) Tyler should post the error online and criticize the other firm to warn the public.
Show the worked solution

Answer: A, B

Equation: none (conceptual item); each statement is tested against one rule of Section 240.15

  1. A: correct. A licensee informs another licensee whose work is believed to hold a material error affecting public safety, unless the law prohibits it. (Model Rules 240.15 C.4, handbook page 5)
  2. B: correct. No malicious or false injury to another licensee's reputation or practice. (Model Rules 240.15 C.3, handbook page 5)

Handbook: FE Reference Handbook 10.6, Ethics and Professional Practice, Model Rules Section 240.15, Rules of Professional Conduct, p. 4 and 5.

Problem 2 · FE Environmental · Solid and Hazardous Waste · Multiple choice

A city of 324,000 people generates 1.1 kg of solid waste per person per day. The waste is compacted in the landfill to 625 kg/m³, and daily cover uses 1 m³ of soil for every 6 m³ of compacted refuse. The landfill has 6,900,000 m³ of capacity. With no growth, the landfill life is most nearly:

A) 4.74 years
B) 33.2 years
C) 29.0 years
D) 28.4 years
Show the worked solution

Answer: D) 28.4 years

Equation: Life = capacity/[(people × generation × 365/compacted density) × (1 + cover/refuse)]

  1. Refuse per year = 324,000 × 1.1 kg/day × 365 days ÷ 625 kg/m³ = 208,100 m³
  2. With cover: 208,100 × (1 + 1/6) = 242,800 m³ per year
  3. Life = 6,900,000/242,800 = 28.4 years

Why the wrong choices are wrong:

  • A used 6 volumes of cover per volume of refuse (inverted ratio).
  • B left out the daily cover soil.
  • C took cover as 1/7 of the refuse instead of 1/6.

Handbook: FE Reference Handbook 10.6, Environmental Engineering, Landfill (densities of compacted waste), p. 332.

Problem 3 · FE Civil · Water Resources and Environmental Engineering · Fill in the blank

A circular primary clarifier has a diameter of 15.0 m and a side water depth of 3.9 m. It treats an average flow of 4,600 m³/d. Find the hydraulic residence time (detention time) in hours.

Show the worked solution

Answer: 3.60 h

Equation: θ = V/Q, with V = A·H and A = πD²/4

  1. A = πD²/4 = π(15.0 m)²/4 = 176.7 m²
  2. V = A·H = (176.7 m²)(3.9 m) = 689.2 m³
  3. θ = V/Q = (689.2 m³)/(4,600 m³/d) = 0.1498 d × 24 h/d = 3.60 h

Handbook: FE Reference Handbook 10.6, Environmental Engineering, Clarifier (hydraulic residence time and overflow rate), p. 345.

Problem 4 · FE Civil · Construction Engineering · Multiple choice

A treatment-plant upgrade has a budget at completion (BAC) of $4,680,000. At the status date, the budgeted cost of work performed (BCWP) is $3,204,000, the actual cost of work performed (ACWP) is $3,925,000, and the budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS) is $3,559,000. Using the cost performance index, the estimate at completion (EAC) is most nearly:

A) $5,730,000
B) $5,560,000
C) $5,300,000
D) $3,820,000
Show the worked solution

Answer: A) $5,730,000

Equation: CPI = BCWP/ACWP; ETC = (BAC - BCWP)/CPI; EAC = ACWP + ETC

  1. CPI = BCWP/ACWP = 3,204,000/3,925,000 = 0.8163
  2. ETC = (BAC - BCWP)/CPI = (4,680,000 - 3,204,000)/0.8163 = $1,808,000
  3. EAC = ACWP + ETC = 3,925,000 + $1,808,000 = $5,730,000

Why the wrong choices are wrong:

  • B used the schedule index instead of the cost index.
  • C used the planned value (BCWS) in place of the earned value.
  • D multiplied the budget by the CPI instead of dividing.

Handbook: FE Reference Handbook 10.6, Civil Engineering, Construction, Earned-Value Analysis (indices and forecasting), p. 316 and 317.

What makes an FE question hard

FE questions often get hard not because of the math but because the givens are in a paragraph, the units are mixed, and the wrong choices are the answers you get from common slips. Practice should look like that, or it gives you false confidence.

Want 100 more like these, plus a timed 110-question mock? Each pack is $39, one time, with every solution tied to the handbook page.

FE Environmental pack · $39FE Civil pack · $39

What this page doesn't cover

Discipline topics and question counts are on our which FE exam guide and the discipline pages. Point-and-click and drag-and-drop items are shown on screen during the exam; we don't reproduce them here.

Questions

How many questions are on the FE exam?

110 questions. The appointment is 6 hours, with 5 hours 20 minutes of exam time and a 25-minute scheduled break (NCEES).

What types of questions are on the FE exam?

Mostly multiple choice, plus alternative item types such as select-all-that-apply, fill in the blank, point and click, and drag and drop.

Can I use my own reference book?

No. You use the searchable electronic FE Reference Handbook provided on screen.

Where do real FE practice questions come from?

NCEES sells interactive practice exams written from retired exam items, 50 questions per volume. Everything else, including ours, is original practice material.

Related guides

Engineer Exam Lab is not affiliated with or endorsed by NCEES. The problems here are original practice problems, not questions from a real exam.