This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- How to quickly calculate 2x2 and 3x3 determinants using cofactor expansion as found in the NCEES Handbook.

- The critical role of the determinant in finding a matrix inverse and why a determinant of zero means no inverse exists.

- The setup and solution of the characteristic equation, det(A − λI) = 0, to find a matrix's eigenvalues.

- Why matrix multiplication is not commutative (AB ≠ BA) and how this can be a trick on the exam.

- How to efficiently solve systems of linear equations (Ax = b) using your calculator and the concept of the matrix inverse.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- How to solve first-order linear differential equations using the integrating factor method from the NCEES Handbook.

- The procedure for solving second-order homogeneous differential equations by finding the roots of the characteristic equation.

- The specific solution forms for the three cases of characteristic equation roots: real and distinct, real and repeated, and complex conjugate.

- A common exam trap involving the missing 'x' multiplier in the solution for repeated roots.

- When to apply Laplace transforms on the FE exam, particularly for problems with discontinuous inputs found in dynamics or circuits.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- How to properly select 'u' for u-substitution by finding a function whose derivative is also in the integrand.

- To apply the LIATE mnemonic (Log, Inverse, Algebraic, Trig, Exponential) to correctly choose 'u' for integration by parts.

- The critical exam strategy of always checking the NCEES Reference Handbook for common integral forms before attempting other methods.

- Common exam traps like mishandling limits of integration in definite integrals and sign errors in the integration by parts formula.

- That a definite integral is fundamentally asking for the net area under a curve between two points.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- How to find critical points by setting the first derivative to zero or finding where it's undefined.

- The Second Derivative Test: a positive result means a local minimum (concave up), and a negative result means a local maximum (concave down).

- L'Hopital's Rule is only for indeterminate forms (0/0 or ∞/∞) and requires differentiating the numerator and denominator separately.

- The core technique for partial derivatives: treat all other variables as constants and differentiate normally.

- A common exam trap is misapplying the quotient rule to L'Hopital's Rule or forgetting to check for an indeterminate form first.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- How to find a circle's center and radius from its general form by completing the square.

- The primary application of the vector dot product on the FE exam: finding the angle between two vectors.

- The physical meaning of the cross product's magnitude (area) and its result (a perpendicular vector).

- How to apply the 3D distance formula, a common exam-style extension of the 2D formula.

- A mnemonic to distinguish between the scalar result of a dot product and the vector result of a cross product.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- Straight-line depreciation is a simple method calculated as (Initial Cost - Salvage Value) / Useful Life.

- MACRS is an accelerated, tax-based depreciation method that uses percentage factors from tables in the NCEES Reference Handbook.

- A critical exam trap is to remember that salvage value is always ignored in MACRS calculations, even if provided in the problem.

- Book value represents the remaining value of an asset and is calculated as the Initial Cost - Accumulated Depreciation.

- To calculate book value with MACRS, you must sum the annual depreciation amounts from each year up to the point in question.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- Why Net Present Value (NPV) is the definitive method for ranking mutually exclusive projects.

- How to avoid the common FE exam trap of incorrectly choosing a project based on the highest Internal Rate of Return (IRR) or Benefit-Cost (B/C) ratio.

- The specific accept/reject criteria for a single project using NPV (>0), IRR (>MARR), and B/C Ratio (>1).

- Why IRR and B/C ratios can be misleading when comparing projects of different investment scales.

- A memorable shortcut to recall the correct decision method: "N-P-V for the V-I-P (Very Important Project)."

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- How to interpret standard time value of money factor notation (X/Y, i, n) as 'Find X, Given Y'.

- The application of single payment factors (P/F, F/P) versus uniform series factors (P/A, A/P, F/A, A/F).

- How to solve loan payment and future goal savings problems using the Capital Recovery (A/P) and Sinking Fund (A/F) factors.

- To identify the most common exam trap: mismatched interest compounding periods and payment periods.

- A simple mnemonic, 'Want over Got,' to quickly select the correct TVM factor from the NCEES Handbook.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- The standard requirement for PE licensure is typically four years of progressive engineering experience under a PE after passing the FE exam.

- Many states offer experience credit for advanced degrees, such as one year for a master's or two for a doctorate, but rules vary significantly.

- Some states have "decoupled" the PE exam from the experience requirement, allowing you to take the test early, though licensure is still granted only after experience is complete.

- States like California have unique requirements, including fewer years of experience but additional state-specific exams on topics like seismic principles.

- The most common mistake is assuming rules are the same everywhere; you must always verify requirements directly with your specific state's licensing board.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams.

In this episode you will learn:

- Engineers must disclose any known or potential conflict of interest to their employer or client, including financial, familial, or prior business relationships.

- Accepting gifts of more than 'nominal value' is prohibited if there is a risk it could influence, or appear to influence, your professional judgment.

- Receiving payment from multiple parties for the same service requires full written disclosure and consent from all interested parties.

- The NCEES Reference Handbook's 'Ethics and Professional Practice' section is the definitive guide for these situational questions on the FE exam.

- A key exam strategy for ethics questions is to always choose the path of greatest transparency and disclosure.

For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations, visit https://open-exam-prep.com/ or YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Open-exam-prep