Electrical PE Exam – Electronics Emphasis

The Electrical PE Exam – Electronics, is the Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam in the area of Electrical and Computer Engineering – With an emphasis on Electronics.  The Electrical PE Exam – Electronics  is one of the three sub disciplines of Electrical Engineering (The three being Power, Electronics, and Computer).  You may pick any one of the three areas, which is usually your area of focus in your career or education.

What will be on The Electrical – Electronics PE Exam?
The exam specifications are provided by the NCEES committee creating the exam, and this specification provides an outline of the exam topics.  The following outline is provided by the NCEES committee.  A few general notes are summarized, followed but the exam specifications for the breadth exams and then the depth exams.

NCEES Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination
Electrical and Computer – Electrical and Electronics Exam Specifications
As of April 2012

A few general points noted about the exam, which are followed by the detailed specifications.

The exam is an 8-hour open-book exam. It contains 40 multiple-choice questions in the 4-hour morning session, and 40 multiple-choice questions in the 4-hour afternoon session. Examinee works all questions.
The exam uses both the International System of units (SI) and the US Customary System (USCS).
The exam is developed with questions that will require a variety of approaches and methodologies, including design, analysis, and application. Some questions may require knowledge of engineering economics.
The knowledge areas specified as examples of kinds of knowledge are not exclusive or exhaustive categories.

I. General Electrical Engineering Knowledge 50% of Exam
A. Circuit Analysis 25%
1. Passive components
2. DC circuits
3. Sinusoidal analysis
4. Transient analysis
5. Power and energy calculations
6. Battery characteristics and ratings
7. Power supply
B. Measurement and Instrumentation 10%
1. Transducer and system characteristics
2. Data evaluation
3. Operational amplifiers
C. Safety and Design Limits 4%
1. Interface applications
2. Failure limits and circuit protection
3. Safety grounding
4. Electromagnetic interference and exposure
5. Reliability
6. Electric shock and burns
D. Signal Processing 11%
1. Sampling theory (aliasing, Nyquist sampling rate)
2. Transforms and applications
3. Analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) conversions
II. Digital Systems 11%
A. Digital Logic 5%
1. Boolean algebra
2. Combinational and sequential logic
B. Digital Components 6%
1. Digital devices
2. Memory devices
3. Programmable logic devices
4. Microcontrollers/embedded systems
III. Electric and Magnetic Field Theory and Applications 9%
A. Electromagnetic Fields 4%
1. Theory
2. EMI/EMC
B. Transmission Lines and Guided Waves 2.5%
1. Transmission lines, balanced and unbalanced
2. Waveguides
C. Antennas 2.5%
1. Gain, patterns, and polarization
2. Impedance
IV. Electronics  12.5%
A. Electronic Circuit Theory 6.5%
1. Small-signal and large-signal models
2. Active networks and filters
3. Nonlinear circuits (e.g., comparators)
4. Sinusoidal steady-state analysis
5. Transient analysis
6. Power and energy calculations
B. Electronic Components and Circuits 6%
1. Solid-state power devices and power electronics applications
2. Battery characteristics and ratings
3. Power supplies
4. Oscillators and phase-locked loop characteristics
5. Amplifiers
6. Modulators and demodulators
7. Diodes
8. Circuit protection and safety
9. Transistors and applications
V. Control System Fundamentals 7.5%
A. Block diagrams
B. Characteristic equations
C. Frequency response
D. Time response
E. Control system design and implementation (e.g., compensators, steady-state error)
F. Stability (e.g., tests, Bode plots, root locus, transport delay)
VI. Communications 10%
A. Modulation 4%
1. Analog modulation
2. Digital modulation
3. Spread spectrum modulation characteristics
B. Noise and Interference 2%
1. Signal-to-noise ratio
2. Quantization noise
3. Noise figure and temperature
4. Interference
5. Coding, error detection and correction
C. Telecommunications 4%
1. Wireline communications
2. Wireless communications
3. Optical communications
4. Multiplexing
5. Traffic and switching