FE Chemical

Material and energy balances, thermodynamics, transport, reaction engineering, and separations.

Practice questions: 2,200+
Study topics: 17
Study topics: …
Study concepts: 64
Difficulty levels: 3
Mock exams: Unlimited

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What's inside

17 study topics, weighted to the NCEES blueprint — tap any topic to drill it.

Mathematics

Analytic geometry, logarithms, and trigonometry, single-variable and integral calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations and Laplace transforms, matrix algebra and systems of equations, and numerical methods including error propagation, Taylor series, curve fitting, and Newton-Raphson.Probability and Statistics

Discrete, continuous, normal, and binomial distributions, expected value in decision making, hypothesis testing and design of experiments (t-test, ANOVA, outlier testing), measures of central tendency and dispersion with confidence intervals, regression and curve fitting, and statistical process-control limits.Engineering Sciences

Basic dynamics (friction, force, mass, acceleration, momentum), work, energy, and power for particles and rigid bodies, and electricity fundamentals (charge, current, voltage, power, Ohm's law, and Kirchhoff's laws).Materials Science

Chemical, electrical, mechanical, and physical properties and the effects of temperature, pressure, stress, and strain, material types and compatibilities for ferrous, nonferrous, and engineered materials, corrosion mechanisms and control, and polymers, ceramics, and composites.Chemistry and Biology

Inorganic chemistry (molarity, normality, acids and bases, redox, solubility product, pH and pK, electrochemistry), organic chemistry (nomenclature, structure, reactions, synthesis), analytical chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology (cell function, glycolysis and the Krebs cycle, enzymes, genetics), and bioprocessing (fermentation and aerobic/anaerobic treatment).Fluid Mechanics and Dynamics

Fluid properties and dimensionless numbers (Reynolds), the mechanical energy balance with pipe, valve, fitting, and packed-bed losses, the Bernoulli equation and hydrostatics, laminar and turbulent flow, flow measurement (orifices and Venturi meters), pumps, compressors, and vacuum systems, and compressible and non-Newtonian flow.Thermodynamics

Thermodynamic properties of pure components and mixtures, property data and phase diagrams (steam tables, P-h, T-s, x-y), the first and second laws, isothermal, adiabatic, and isentropic processes, power and refrigeration cycles, phase equilibrium (Raoult's law, fugacity, activity coefficients), chemical equilibrium, and heats of reaction and mixing.Material and Energy Balances

10%

Steady-state and unsteady-state mass balances, steady-state and unsteady-state energy balances, recycle and bypass processes, and reactive systems including combustion, with conversion, yield, and extent of reaction.Heat Transfer

Conductive, convective (natural and forced), and radiation heat transfer, overall, local, and fouling heat-transfer coefficients, and heat-transfer equipment design (double-pipe and shell-and-tube exchangers, log-mean temperature difference, the effectiveness-NTU method, and flow configuration).Mass Transfer and Separation

Molecular and convective mass transfer with diffusion and mass-transfer coefficients, separation systems (distillation, absorption, extraction, membranes, adsorption), equilibrium-stage methods (McCabe-Thiele, stage efficiency), continuous-contact methods (NTU, HTU, HETP), and humidification, drying, and evaporation.Solids Handling

Particle properties and size distributions, surface and bulk forces, solids processing (crushing, grinding, and crystallization), and transportation and storage (belt and pneumatic conveying, slurries, tanks, and hoppers).Chemical Reaction Engineering

Reaction rates and order, the Arrhenius rate constant, conversion, yield, and selectivity, series, parallel, homogeneous, heterogeneous, and biological reactions, reactor types (batch, semibatch, CSTR, plug flow, gas and liquid phase), and catalysis.Engineering Economics

Time value of money (present, annual, and future worth, rate of return), economic analyses (break-even, benefit-cost, optimal economic life), uncertainty with expected value and risk, and project selection with unequal lives, depreciation, and discounted cash flow.Process Design

Process flow diagrams and piping and instrumentation diagrams, equipment selection, sizing, and scale-up, equipment and facilities cost estimation with cost indices, process design and optimization (sustainability, efficiency, green engineering, inherently safer design), and design standards (regulatory, ASTM, ISO, OSHA).Process Control

Process dynamics (first- and second-order processes, gains and time constants, stability, damping, transfer functions), control strategies (feedback, feedforward, cascade, ratio, PID tuning), and control-loop design and hardware (sensors, control valves, interlocks, and conceptual DCS and PLC programming).Safety, Health, and Environment

Hazardous material properties and safety data sheets, industrial hygiene (toxicity, noise, PPE, ergonomics), process safety and hazard analysis (LOPA, HAZOP, fault and event trees, dispersion modeling), overpressure and underpressure protection (relief and inherently safer design), waste minimization, treatment, and regulation (RCRA, CWA, EPA, OSHA), and reactivity hazards (inerting, runaway reactions, compatibility).Ethics and Professional Practice

Codes of ethics of professional and technical societies, agreements, contracts, and contract law (noncompete, nondisclosure, memoranda of understanding), public health, safety, and welfare with licensing and professional liability, and intellectual property (copyrights, trade secrets, patents, and trademarks).

See a real question

Straight from the FE Chemical bank — 2,200+ questions, every one with a full worked solution.

medium

A. Steady-state material balances

A single-effect evaporator concentrates 1000 kg/h of an aqueous sugar solution containing 12 wt% sugar to a product of 30 wt% sugar. The vapor leaving the evaporator is pure water. At steady state, the rate at which water is evaporated is most nearly:

180 kg/h
600 kg/h (correct answer)
760 kg/h
880 kg/h

Worked solution

Steady state with no reaction: mass in = mass out, for the total and for the solute (sugar), which leaves only in the concentrate

L

(the same balances the FE Handbook prints for a flash drum, p. 250). Solute:

F w_F = L w_L

, so

L = 1000(0.12)/0.3 = 400

kg/h. Total:

V = F - L = 1000 - 400 = 600

kg/h. Check on the water:

880 = 600 + 400(0.7)

. Distractors: the water in the concentrate figured on the FEED rate,

F(1-w_L)

, instead of on

L

, giving

F(w_L - w_F) = 180

kg/h; the water leaving in the concentrate written as

L w_L

(its sugar fraction) instead of

L(1-w_L)

880 - 120 = 760

kg/h; and ALL the water in the feed taken as evaporated,

F(1-w_F) = 880

kg/h (the water that leaves with the concentrate forgotten).

Difficulty mix

How this bank splits by our own difficulty rating, from quick wins to multi-step problems.

Easy27%
Medium49%
Hard24%

Study handbook

64 concepts — worked theory, key equations, and common pitfalls for every topic.

Sample concept

Numerical Methods, Error and Significant Figures

Newton-Raphson roots, trapezoidal and Simpson integration, Taylor truncation, relative-error propagation, and significant-figure discipline for FE-Chem.

Most chemical-engineering equations worth solving are not solvable by hand: a cubic equation of state for a molar volume, a Colebrook friction factor, a reactor design integral with no closed form, an enthalpy that lives inside a heat-capacity polynomial. Numerical methods are how you get a number o…

x_{j+1} = x_j - \dfrac{f(x_j)}{f'(x_j)}

Open the study handbook

The FE Chemical exam at a glance

Sourced from NCEES — the numbers, not the folklore.

Questions: 110; scored and pretest, one sitting
Exam time: 5h 20m; in a 6h appointment · about 2.9 min per question
First-time pass rate: 68%; 35% for repeat takers · NCEES Squared 2025 (FY2024-25)
NCEES fee: $225; per attempt, paid to NCEES; your state board's fees are separate
Retakes: 3 per 12 months; at most one attempt per testing window
Reference on screen: FE Reference Handbook 10.6; closed book: no notes or references of your own

What NCEES says is on it

Every knowledge area in the official FE Chemical specification, with the number of questions NCEES says each one gets. The five heaviest are about 42% of the exam. Share is our arithmetic, not an NCEES figure: each range's midpoint as a percentage of all the midpoints.

Knowledge area	Questions	Share
Material/Energy Balances	10–15	10%
Fluid Mechanics/Dynamics	8–12	8%
Heat Transfer	8–12	8%
Mass Transfer and Separation	8–12	8%
Thermodynamics	8–12	8%
Chemical Reaction Engineering	7–11	7%
Chemistry and Biology	7–11	7%
Process Design	7–11	7%
Mathematics	6–9	6%
Safety, Health, and Environment	5–8	5%
Economics	4–6	4%
Engineering Sciences	4–6	4%
Materials Science	4–6	4%
Probability and Statistics	4–6	4%
Process Control	4–6	4%
Ethics and Professional Practice	3–5	3%
Solids Handling	3–5	3%

Sources: NCEES FE Chemical exam specification (July 2020) · pass rate: NCEES Squared 2025 (FY2024-25) · fee and retake policy: ncees.org, read 2026-09-15. Your state board sets its own fees and deadlines.

How to prepare for FE Chemical

Four steps, in the order that pays off — each one built from this exam's own blueprint.

1
Study to the blueprint, not the textbook
Material/Energy Balances, Fluid Mechanics/Dynamics, Heat Transfer, Mass Transfer and Separation, and Thermodynamics are about 42% of the exam. Give them that share of your hours — Solids Handling is only 3–5 questions.
See every area's question range
2
Practice one area at a time, then mix
Work a knowledge area until its worked solutions stop surprising you, then switch to mixed sets so recognizing the problem type becomes the skill.
Practice FE Chemical questions
3
Sit timed mock exams at the real pace
The real exam gives you about 2.9 minutes per question. Full-length timed mocks are the only way to find out whether you can hold that pace for 5h 20m.
Take a mock exam (with a pass)
4
Try ten real questions first
Ten FE Chemical questions from the bank, each with a full worked solution and the figure where the problem has one. No account needed.
Free FE Chemical practice problems

Questions, answered

How hard is the FE Chemical exam?

NCEES reports a 68% pass rate for first-time takers of FE Chemical and 35% for repeat takers in NCEES Squared 2025 (FY2024-25). It is 110 questions in 5h 20m, about 2.9 minutes per question, so pacing matters as much as knowledge. The heaviest areas are Material/Energy Balances, Fluid Mechanics/Dynamics, Heat Transfer, Mass Transfer and Separation, and Thermodynamics.

What topics are on the FE Chemical exam?

NCEES's FE Chemical specification lists 17 knowledge areas with a question range for each. The heaviest are Material/Energy Balances (10–15 questions), Fluid Mechanics/Dynamics (8–12 questions), Heat Transfer (8–12 questions), Mass Transfer and Separation (8–12 questions), and Thermodynamics (8–12 questions) — together about 42% of the exam. The full list is in the exam-at-a-glance table on this page.

How long is the FE Chemical exam?

The FE Chemical exam is 110 questions in 5h 20m of exam time, inside a 6h appointment that also covers the nondisclosure agreement, the tutorial and a scheduled break. It is a closed-book, computer-based test offered year-round at Pearson VUE test centers.

What reference material do you get on FE Chemical exam day?

The FE Chemical exam is closed book. NCEES provides an electronic reference on screen (FE Reference Handbook 10.6). No notes, books or references of your own come into the room; you may bring one NCEES-approved calculator, and an on-screen TI-30XS calculator is also available during the exam. Practicing with that same reference in front of you, so you already know where each method lives, is half the preparation.

How much does the FE Chemical exam cost, and can you retake it?

The NCEES fee for the FE Chemical exam is $225, paid per attempt when you register through your MyNCEES account; some state licensing boards also charge their own application fee. NCEES allows one attempt per testing window and no more than three attempts in a 12-month period.

What do I get with FE Chemical on FE → PE Prep?

2,200+ FE Chemical practice questions, every one with a step-by-step worked solution; unlimited full-length timed mock exams weighted to the NCEES blueprint; a 64-concept study handbook, 580+ flashcards, and an AI tutor. Access is a one-time pass for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months — no subscription, no auto-renew — and the free sample questions need no account. Within 7 days, with little or no paid content used, you can ask for a refund, which we consider under the Refund Policy.

Free reading for FE Chemical

No account needed — pass rates, worked problems, and what the exam actually asks.

Free FE Chemical practice problemsReal questions from the bank, with the figures and full worked solutions.Free FE Chemical formula sheet185 key equations by exam topic, each with what it is for and its handbook reference.Which FE exam should you take? Other Disciplines vs your majorFE Other Disciplines ties for the lowest first-time pass rate of the seven FE exams, not the highest, and half of it is mechanics. All seven compared on the published specifications.FE Chemical practice problems: the specialist FE examThree FE Chemical practice problems worked in full (an evaporator balance, Fick's law, percent overshoot), and the four knowledge areas no other FE exam lists.Do you need a prep course to pass the FE or PE?Nothing in NCEES's rules asks for one, and the handbook is free. What a course adds, who gains from one, and a ten-problem test to run before paying anyone.

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