Start with any of the 14 FE Mechanical topic sets below. Every problem is original, written against the current NCEES FE Mechanical exam specification, and comes with a step-by-step solution that cites where the equation lives in the FE Reference Handbook. There are 70 free problems in total — no account, no card, no email required.
The table is ordered by exam weight rather than alphabetically, because on a 110-question paper those weights decide where your study hours belong. The four heaviest areas — Dynamics, Kinematics, and Vibrations, Fluid Mechanics, Mechanical Design and Analysis and Thermodynamics — are worth 10 to 15 questions each. Together they can account for close to half the exam.
Free FE Mechanical practice problems by topic
| FE Mechanical topic | Free problems | Difficulty | Approx. time | Questions on the real exam |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamics, Kinematics, and Vibrations | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 10-15 |
| Fluid Mechanics | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 10-15 |
| Mechanical Design and Analysis | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 10-15 |
| Thermodynamics | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 10-15 |
| Mechanics of Materials | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 9-14 |
| Statics | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 9-14 |
| Heat Transfer | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 7-11 |
| Material Properties and Processing | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 7-11 |
| Mathematics | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 6-9 |
| Electricity and Magnetism | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 5-8 |
| Measurements, Instrumentation, and Controls | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 5-8 |
| Engineering Economics | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 4-6 |
| Ethics and Professional Practice | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 4-6 |
| Probability and Statistics | 5 | 2 easy · 2 med · 1 hard | ~15 min | 4-6 |
| Total free problems | 70 | — | ~3.5 hr | 110 on exam day |
How FE Mechanical differs from FE Civil
Both exams run 110 questions in 5 hours and 20 minutes of testing time, inside a six-hour appointment that also covers the nondisclosure agreement, the tutorial and a 25-minute scheduled break. The topic lists are where they diverge.
Four FE Mechanical knowledge areas have no counterpart at all on FE Civil: Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, Measurements, Instrumentation and Controls, and Mechanical Design and Analysis. Together they are worth roughly a third of the paper. Dynamics is also weighted far more heavily here, at 10-15 questions against 4-6 on the civil exam.
This is why a question bank shared between disciplines serves neither well. Our FE Mechanical exam prep and FE Civil exam prep banks are built and maintained separately.
How to use these problem sets
Work each problem on paper before revealing the solution. Reading a worked solution you have not attempted builds recognition, not recall, and recognition is precisely what fails under exam pressure. Keep the FE Reference Handbook open while you practise, because finding an equation quickly is a skill the exam tests just as directly as applying it.
Time yourself at about three minutes per question. That is the pace 110 questions in 5 hours 20 minutes demands, and it is the reason candidates who only ever practise untimed are surprised on exam day.
Where to start
If your exam is months away, work down the table from the top so your hours land on the heaviest areas first. If it is weeks away, start instead with Ethics and Engineering Economics: together they are 8-12 questions, they need no derivation, and they are the fastest points on the paper to secure.
For a full schedule, see how long to study for the FE exam and the week-by-week FE study plan. To rehearse under real conditions, the FE Mechanical platform includes full-length CBT simulations timed to the same 5 hr 20 min window.