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 difference between the plastic modulus (Z) and elastic modulus (S), and how to calculate the plastic moment (Mp).

- How Lateral-Torsional Buckling (LTB) can reduce a steel beam's capacity based on its unbraced length (Lb).

- The three LTB zones defined by the limiting lengths Lp and Lr, and which equations to apply for each.

- To avoid the common exam trap of selecting the full plastic moment (Mp) as the answer when LTB controls the design.

- The importance of unit consistency, especially converting the final moment from kip-inches to kip-feet.

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 calculate the distributed dead load of a structural member using its dimensions and material density.

- That live loads are provided on the exam and depend on the specific building occupancy described in the problem.

- The difference between seismic weight (W) and wind load (W), a common source of confusion on the exam.

- How environmental loads (Snow, Wind, Seismic) are tested using simplified formulas found in the NCEES Handbook.

- The process of applying ASCE 7 factored load combinations to determine the controlling design load for a structural element.

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 core design philosophy of Allowable Stress Design (ASD) and its reliance on a single factor of safety.

- The fundamental equation for Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) and how it accounts for uncertainty on both the load and resistance sides.

- How to apply the correct load and resistance factors for a typical FE Civil exam problem involving dead and live loads.

- The most common exam traps, such as forgetting to divide by the resistance factor (phi) or mixing up ASD and LRFD principles.

- A simple mnemonic to distinguish between the two design methods and remember which factors apply to which side of the equation.

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 fundamental principle of detention basins: limiting post-development outflow to pre-development rates.

- How to apply the storage routing equation: Change in Storage = Inflow Volume - Outflow Volume.

- The key differences between inlet control and outlet control for culvert hydraulics.

- The critical rule for determining the controlling flow condition in a culvert: the condition requiring the higher headwater depth governs.

- How to navigate the NCEES FE Reference Handbook to find culvert design nomographs and storage equations.

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:

- A unit hydrograph represents the direct runoff from exactly one inch (or cm) of effective rainfall over a specific duration.

- To calculate a storm hydrograph, you multiply the unit hydrograph's flow rates by the actual depth of effective rainfall.

- The most frequent exam trap is using total rainfall instead of effective rainfall; always subtract infiltration and other losses first.

- The principle of linear superposition requires that the storm's rainfall duration matches the specified duration of the unit hydrograph.

- Total streamflow is the sum of direct runoff (from the storm hydrograph) and the baseflow present in the channel.

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 direct application of the Rational Method formula, Q = CiA, for peak runoff calculations.

- The critical importance of using the correct, non-intuitive units: cubic feet per second (cfs) for Q, inches/hour for rainfall intensity (i), and acres for area (A).

- How to calculate a weighted-average runoff coefficient (C) for watersheds with multiple surface types, a common exam scenario.

- The definition and function of the Time of Concentration (tc) and how it is used to determine rainfall intensity from IDF curves.

- How to spot common exam traps like unit conversions for the area and distinguishing between rainfall intensity and total rainfall depth.

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:

- That Manning's equation has two forms; the 1.49 constant must only be used for US Customary units, while SI units use a constant of 1.0.

- How to correctly calculate the hydraulic radius (R) as the flow area (A) divided by the wetted perimeter (P), ensuring not to include the top water surface in the perimeter.

- To anticipate exam questions that require rearranging Manning's equation, often combined with Q = VA, to solve for variables like slope (S) or normal depth (y).

- That the Manning's roughness coefficient (n) is an empirical value based on channel material that will be provided or found in a table in the NCEES handbook.

- The critical difference between normal depth (calculated with Manning's equation for uniform flow) and critical depth (related to minimum specific energy and Froude number = 1), a common source of confusion on the exam.

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 the system's operating point by intersecting the pump curve and system curve.

- The critical difference between fluid power and brake horsepower, including the role of pump efficiency.

- How the system curve is determined by static head and dynamic (friction) losses.

- The definition of cavitation and why Net Positive Suction Head (NPSH) Available must always be greater than NPSH Required.

- Common exam traps involving high altitudes or high fluid temperatures that can reduce NPSHA and cause cavitation.

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 fundamental difference between major losses (pipe friction) and minor losses (fittings, valves, bends).

- How to decide whether to use the universal Darcy-Weisbach equation or the water-only Hazen-Williams equation.

- The correct procedure for using the Reynolds number and Moody Diagram to find the Darcy friction factor 'f'.

- Common FE exam traps, including fluid type limitations for Hazen-Williams and unit consistency.

- The methodology for calculating total system head loss by summing the major loss with all individual minor losses.

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 calculate the Reynolds Number and ensure unit consistency, a common exam trap.

- The critical thresholds for laminar and turbulent flow as defined in the NCEES FE Reference Handbook.

- A step-by-step process for finding the friction factor using the Moody Diagram with relative roughness (ε/D).

- How to apply the Darcy-Weisbach equation to calculate frictional head loss in a pipe system.

- A mnemonic to remember the workflow: Reynolds number, flow regime, Moody diagram, and head loss calculation.

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