Lateral SE Exam References
Lateral SE Exam References
(OP)
Just gearing up to study for the lateral component (bridge focus) of the SE exam this fall. I failed the morning component of test by two questions last year and I therefore intend to overprepare myself so I can put this godforsaken test behind me. My experience is in bridges and I'm therefore quite unfamiliar with the AISC Seismic Design Manual (among other building-related references). Are there any suggestions from the group on appropriate textbooks covering seismic design in steel? Most references I've found do not cover this adequately, if at all.
Thanks!
Thanks!






RE: Lateral SE Exam References
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
http://www.kaplanaecengineering.com/kaplanAECengin...
PE, SE
Eastern United States
"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
PE, SE
Eastern United States
"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
KB4894 - If you fail, NCEES gives you a "diagnostic" which breaks down the topics and how many you got right in each. As expected, I passed with flying colors on the bridge portions but failed miserably on building topics like steel, wood and cold formed. Lesson learned... study more!
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
Did you have/like the kaplan learning system?
Do you want to sell your books?
Do you want to sell them to me for a discount? I could see this last question getting flagged and understandably so, but I'm taking my chances.
EIT
www.HowToEngineer.com
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
No. I actually reference all three in practice because I found some of their explanations / examples so well written that it's still a good reference when I need to brush up on something.
PE, SE
Eastern United States
"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
While were on the subject, whats your advice on AASHTO...
Probably better get that reference?
EIT
www.HowToEngineer.com
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
I had to buy all my own books...so I understand the pain...but at $500 a piece, retaking the exam can be just as expensive. I have never designed a bridge in my life and didn't find the morning questions at all difficult once I had spent a little time invested in learning it.
My opinion is that it can only help you pass.
PE, SE
Eastern United States
"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
Buy (or borrow) the books. While you may classify a question as a bridge question, the writers of the exam may classify it as a concrete, steel, foundation, etc. question. The published percentage of bridge questions is based on the test writers definition of what a bridge question is.
A bonus I found studying the AASHTO code is that it made me think critically on other areas of my work even though I don't design bridges.
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
Thanks again
EIT
www.HowToEngineer.com
RE: Lateral SE Exam References
Point being -- definitely bring the AASHTO. NCEES says that 25% of the AM questions are bridge related. It seemed that the majority of any bridge questions I saw in the practice exams (I won't discuss actual exam) were just flip to the right page in the AASHTO and read out the answer. They all seemed fairly simplistic, but without the AASHTO you would have been lost on most of them.
I'd suggest also leaving the bridge questions to the end. It's a pain to pull out the AASHTO back and forth so its nice to just plow through them all at once.
RE: Lateral SE Exam References