FE Other Disciplines Basic Electrical Engineering

Knowledge area 13 of the FE Other Disciplines exam: 6–9 of the 110 questions. The subtopics NCEES lists, how they are tested and worked practice problems with solutions.

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110 questions on the real 5 hours 20 minutes clock, weighted to the NCEES specifications, with a score by knowledge area and a worked solution for every answer.

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What the specification lists

  • Electrical fundamentals (e.g., charge, current, voltage, resistance, power, energy)
  • Current and voltage laws (e.g., Kirchhoff, Ohm)
  • AC and DC circuits (e.g., real and imaginary components, complex numbers, power factor, reactance and impedance, series, parallel, capacitance and inductance, RLC circuits)
  • Measuring devices (e.g., voltmeter, ammeter, wattmeter)
  • Three-phase power (e.g., motor efficiency, balanced loads, power equation)

From the NCEES FE Other Disciplines CBT exam specifications, knowledge area 13.

Line drawing of an electric motor, a multimeter and a breadboard with resistors and capacitors

How Basic Electrical Engineering is tested

Electrical questions on the Mechanical and Other Disciplines exams are circuit basics: Ohm’s and Kirchhoff’s laws, series and parallel resistance, capacitor and inductor energy, AC impedance and power factor, three-phase power and motor speed. Practice phasor arithmetic on your calculator until it is automatic.

On exam day the relationships you need are in the Reference Handbook section on Electrical and Computer Engineering. The handbook is the only reference allowed, so practice finding each formula in it rather than memorizing a separate sheet.

Start the free Basic Electrical Engineering drill

FE Other Disciplines Basic Electrical Engineering practice problems

Work each problem with your calculator and the handbook, then open the solution.

Problem 1 · AC and DC circuits

A single-phase load draws 8.0 kW of real power at a power factor of 0.75 lagging. The reactive power drawn by the load is most nearly:

  1. A.2.67 kvar
  2. B.5.29 kvar
  3. C.6.00 kvar
  4. D.7.06 kvar
Show the answer and solution

Answer: D: 7.06 kvar

S = P/pf = 8.0/0.75 = 10.67 kVA and θ = arccos 0.75 = 41.4°. Q = P tan θ = 8.0(0.882) = 7.06 kvar (check: √(10.67² − 8.0²) = 7.06). S, P and Q form a right triangle, so Q is not S − P.

AC and DC circuits · Reference Handbook: Electrical and Computer Engineering

Problem 2 · Electrical fundamentals

A single copper conductor is 150 m long with a diameter of 1.6 mm. Take the resistivity of copper as 1.72 × 10⁻⁸ Ω·m. The resistance of the conductor is most nearly:

  1. A.0.321 Ω
  2. B.1.28 Ω
  3. C.2.57 Ω
  4. D.4.03 Ω
Show the answer and solution

Answer: B: 1.28 Ω

A = πd²/4 = π(0.0016)²/4 = 2.011 × 10⁻⁶ m². R = ρL/A = (1.72 × 10⁻⁸)(150)/(2.011 × 10⁻⁶) = 1.28 Ω. Using 1.6 mm as the radius makes the area four times too large and the resistance four times too small (0.321 Ω).

Electrical fundamentals · Reference Handbook: Electrical and Computer Engineering

Problem 3 · Three-phase power

A balanced wye-connected load with impedance 10∠36.87° Ω per phase is supplied from a 480 V (line-to-line) three-phase system. The total real power drawn by the load is most nearly:

  1. A.18.4 kW
  2. B.23.0 kW
  3. C.31.9 kW
  4. D.55.3 kW
Show the answer and solution

Answer: A: 18.4 kW

V_phase = 480/√3 = 277 V and I = 277/10 = 27.7 A (line current equals phase current in wye). R = 10 cos 36.87° = 8.0 Ω, so P = 3I²R = 3(27.7)²(8.0) = 18.4 kW; equivalently √3(480)(27.7)(0.80) = 18.4 kW. Applying 480 V to each wye phase overstates the current by √3 and the power by 3.

Three-phase power · Reference Handbook: Electrical and Computer Engineering

Problem 4 · Measuring devices

The two-wattmeter method is used on a balanced three-phase, three-wire load. The wattmeters read W₁ = 8.0 kW and W₂ = 3.0 kW. The power factor of the load is most nearly:

  1. A.0.375
  2. B.0.455
  3. C.0.786
  4. D.0.910
Show the answer and solution

Answer: C: 0.786

Total power is W₁ + W₂ = 11.0 kW. tan θ = √3(W₁ − W₂)/(W₁ + W₂) = √3(5.0)/11.0 = 0.787, so θ = 38.2° and pf = cos θ = 0.786. Without the √3 factor the angle is 24.4° and the power factor looks too high (0.910).

Measuring devices · Reference Handbook: Electrical and Computer Engineering

More FE Other Disciplines practice problems from every knowledge area

Sit the full exam under the real clock

Take a full timed FE Other Disciplines practice exam

110 questions on the real 5 hours 20 minutes clock, weighted to the NCEES specifications, with a score by knowledge area and a worked solution for every answer.

Or start the free Basic Electrical Engineering drill

Common questions

How many Basic Electrical Engineering questions are on the FE Other Disciplines exam?

The NCEES FE Other Disciplines specification lists 6–9 questions on Basic Electrical Engineering, out of 110. Every examinee gets the same number per knowledge area.

What does Basic Electrical Engineering cover on the FE Other Disciplines exam?

Electrical fundamentals (e.g., charge, current, voltage, resistance, power, energy); Current and voltage laws (e.g., Kirchhoff, Ohm); AC and DC circuits (e.g., real and imaginary components, complex numbers, power factor, reactance and impedance, series, parallel, capacitance and inductance, RLC circuits); Measuring devices (e.g., voltmeter, ammeter, wattmeter); Three-phase power (e.g., motor efficiency, balanced loads, power equation).

Where are the Basic Electrical Engineering formulas on exam day?

In the NCEES FE Reference Handbook, which appears on screen during the exam: the Electrical and Computer Engineering section. Practice with your free copy from MyNCEES so you know where each relationship sits.

Original independent practice questions written to the published NCEES exam specifications. Not affiliated with or endorsed by NCEES (National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying).