PE Civil: Construction: Practice Questions, Units, and Exam Format
Estimating, planning and scheduling, quality control, construction methods, temporary structures, and site safety. See exactly what is on the exam, unit by unit, and practise it with a tutor that adapts to you.
Exam format
| Section | Questions | Time | Share of score |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE Civil: Construction | 80 | 8 hr | 100% |
Units and exam weights
| Unit | Exam weight | Topics covered |
|---|---|---|
| Soil Mechanics | 7.5 to 11.25% | 1.A Lateral earth pressure, 1.B Soil consolidation and settlement, 1.C Effective and total stresses, 1.D Bearing capacity, 1.E Slope stability |
| Site Layout and Development | 6.25 to 10% | 2.A Layout and control (e.g., staking, benchmarks, elevations), 2.B Basic horizontal and vertical curve elements (e.g., middle ordinate, length, chord, radius), 2.C Site investigations (e.g., adjacent structures and properties, utilities) |
| Material Properties | 6.25 to 10% | 3.A Soil, rock and aggregates (e.g., boring log interpretation, classification, strength, permeability, compressibility), 3.B Concrete (e.g., mix design, admixtures, proportioning), 3.C Steel (e.g., structural, reinforcement, prestressed), 3.D Wood (e.g., sawn, engineered) |
| Estimating Quantities and Costs | 7.5 to 11.25% | 4.A Quantity take-off methods, 4.B Cost estimating, 4.C Engineering economic analysis (e.g., cost analysis for resource selection, break-even, net-present value, life-cycle costing), 4.D Work measurement and productivity (e.g., earned value) |
| Project Planning and Scheduling | 8.75 to 13.75% | 5.A Construction sequencing, 5.B Activity time analysis, 5.C Project schedule analysis (e.g., network analysis, critical path method, linear schedules), 5.D Resource scheduling and leveling, 5.E Time–cost trade-off |
| Material, Production, and Execution Quality Control | 8.75 to 13.75% | 6.A Material test methods and specification conformance, 6.B Weld and bolt installation, 6.C Quality control process (QA/QC), 6.D Concrete placement, 6.E Concrete maturity and early strength evaluation, 6.F Compaction (e.g., soils, asphalt, aggregates) |
| Structural Mechanics | 8.75 to 13.75% | 7.A Loads (e.g., dead, live, construction, wind, preloading), 7.B Statics and stresses (e.g., bending, shear, axial, combined, deflection), 7.C Structural members (e.g., beams, columns, one-way slabs), 7.D Structural systems (e.g., foundations, retaining walls, trusses, frames, two-way slabs, slab-on-grade) |
| Hydraulics and Hydrology | 5 to 7.5% | 8.A Stormwater collection and drainage (e.g., open-channel flow, culvert, storm sewer, watersheds), 8.B Storm characteristics and runoff analysis (e.g., rational and SCS/NRCS methods, types of flow, flow characteristics, hydrographic application, erosion control, runoff time of concentration, storm frequency, rainfall measurement and distribution), 8.C Detention/retention ponds |
| Construction Operations and Methods | 11.25 to 17.5% | 9.A Lifting and rigging, 9.B Cranes (e.g., stability, outrigger loads, lifting capacity, crane types), 9.C Dewatering and pumping, 9.D Equipment selection and operations, 9.E Deep foundation installation, 9.F Excavation and embankment (e.g., cut and fill analysis, borrow pit volume, haul distances) |
| Design for Support of Construction Loads | 12.5 to 18.75% | 10.A Formwork, 10.B Falsework and scaffolding, 10.C Shoring and reshoring, 10.D Bracing and anchorage, 10.E Support of excavation, 10.F Construction loads on permanent structures (e.g., erection analysis, equipment loading) |
| Health and Safety | 5 to 7.5% | 11.A OSHA construction and industry regulations and safety management, 11.B Work zone and public safety including maintenance of traffic NCEES Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination |
How Kalyta teaches PE Civil: Construction
Practice that adapts to you, an explanation for every answer, and a full rehearsal before the real thing. You spend your time on the units that move your score instead of the ones you have already got.
- Adaptive practice. Questions are picked around your current level, so you are always working just past what you can already do.
- Every answer explained. See why the right answer is right and why each other choice is wrong, with figures and step by step reasoning.
- An AI tutor you can steer. Ask why something works, ask for another example, or tell it to slow down and teach the idea from the start.
- Full exam rehearsals. Sit the real format under real timing and see exactly how many questions you got right, unit by unit, so test day feels like something you have already done.
- Progress you can see. Watch your readiness climb unit by unit, and know what is solid before you walk in.
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