PE Chemical is compact by topic count — just 7 — but each one carries real weight, and Plant Design and Operation alone can account for up to a third of the exam. Thermodynamics is rated the most difficult of the seven, so even though it isn't the single largest topic, it deserves study time out of proportion to its question count.
70–109, across 7 topics
Effective January 2020
8 or 8.5 hours testing; 9 or 9.5 hours for the appointment
Ranked by question count weighted against the spec's own difficulty rating — not question count alone, since a smaller topic rated harder can be worth more study time than a bigger, easier one.
Safety, health, and environment · Design · Operation and maintenance
Basic thermodynamics · Chemical equilibria · Phase equilibria
Mass balances (no reaction) · Mass balances (with reaction) · Energy balances (no reaction) · Energy balances (with reaction)
Every topic in the official NCEES spec, with its question range and share of the exam. Study Scheduler allocates your study hours in this same proportion automatically.
Plant Design and Operation, worth 15–23 of the exam's 70–109 questions — more than a fifth of the entire exam in a single topic.
Plant Design and Operation for question count, and Thermodynamics for difficulty — it's rated the hardest of the seven topics despite carrying fewer questions.
For how many hours to budget, week-by-week study plans, and how Study Scheduler weights your plan — see the full PE study guide.
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