CastorPrep

PE Mechanical · Machine Design & Materials

Basic Engineering Practice

11–17 of 80

Area title, subtopics, and question range per the NCEES specification (eff. October 2025).

What's in this area

  • Engineering Terms, Symbols, and Drawings
  • Project Management and Economic Analysis
  • Design Methodology
  • Physical Properties of Materials

The cross-cutting fundamentals: engineering drawings and GD&T, project management and economics, design methodology, and material properties.

What the problems look like

A mix of conceptual reads and short calculations — interpret a GD&T / drawing callout; run an engineering-economics problem (present/future worth, rate of return, depreciation); apply design methodology (factor of safety, the design process); and use material properties (modulus, yield vs. ultimate strength, ductility, hardness, thermal expansion). Economics is the main calculation; the rest lean conceptual and single-step.

By exam day you should be able to —

  • read GD&T / drawing callouts (datums, feature control, tolerances);
  • run engineering economics — present/future worth, annual cost, rate of return, straight-line depreciation;
  • apply a factor of safety and basic design methodology;
  • use material properties (E, Sy, Su, ductility, hardness, coefficient of thermal expansion) and read a stress-strain curve.

Where people lose points

  • Economics: ignoring the time value of money or using the wrong factor (P/F vs. P/A vs. A/P).
  • Confusing yield vs. ultimate strength; using E (stiffness) where strength governs (or vice versa).
  • Reading the stress-strain curve — mixing up proportional limit / 0.2%-offset yield / ultimate, or modulus of resilience (area to yield) vs. toughness (area to fracture).
  • Applying the factor of safety to the wrong quantity (stress vs. load).
  • Misreading a GD&T datum / tolerance.
  • Unit slips on thermal expansion or modulus.

Have these at your fingertips

The economics factor relations, the stress-strain landmarks (proportional limit, yield, ultimate), and where the material-property tables sit in the Handbook.

Going deeper

Part of the Machine Design & Materials depth. Practice this area with exam-real problems — the tutor walks any one you miss. → Start your 7-day free trial — no card. Or take the free practice exam first.