Ran Chen, EA, CFP®

Engineering Exam Prep

Education EN ↓ 182 episodes

Engineering Exam Prep is a free, daily podcast by OpenExamPrep covering the most in-demand engineering licensure exams — including FE Fundamentals of Engineering, FE Surveying, and the full PE catalog (Civil, Civil Geotechnical, Civil Construction, Civil Transportation, Civil Water Resources & Environmental, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, Architectural, Agricultural & Biological, Control Systems, and more). Each 5-minute episode breaks down one exam topic with worked-style examples, NCEES Reference Handbook callouts, common exam traps, unit-conversion gotchas, and memory tricks to help you...

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: open-exam-prep.com

Author

Ran Chen, EA, CFP®

Episodes

FE Civil Exam Prep 57, Steel Beam Design — Plastic Modulus and LTB 23.06.2026 5:28

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The difference between the plastic modulus (Z) and elastic mod...

FE Civil Exam Prep 56, Loads — Dead, Live, Wind, Snow, Seismic per ASCE 7 22.06.2026 4:12

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to calculate the distributed dead load of a structural mem...

FE Civil Exam Prep 55, ASD vs LRFD — Load Combinations and Factors 21.06.2026 3:58

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The core design philosophy of Allowable Stress Design (ASD) an...

FE Civil Exam Prep 54, Stormwater Detention Sizing and Culvert Hydraulics 20.06.2026 3:28

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The fundamental principle of detention basins: limiting post-d...

FE Civil Exam Prep 53, Unit Hydrograph and Storm Hydrograph 19.06.2026 3:18

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - A unit hydrograph represents the direct runoff from exactly on...

FE Civil Exam Prep 52, Hydrologic Cycle and the Rational Method Q = CiA 18.06.2026 3:59

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The direct application of the Rational Method formula, Q = CiA...

FE Civil Exam Prep 51, Open Channel Flow — Manning's Equation 17.06.2026 3:32

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - That Manning's equation has two forms; the 1.49 constant must...

FE Civil Exam Prep 50, Pump Curves, System Curves, NPSH and Cavitation 16.06.2026 2:59

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to find the system's operating point by intersecting the p...

FE Civil Exam Prep 49, Pipe Flow — Major Losses (Darcy, Hazen-Williams) vs Minor Losses 15.06.2026 3:54

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The fundamental difference between major losses (pipe friction...

FE Civil Exam Prep 48, Reynolds Number and the Moody Diagram 14.06.2026 4:13

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to calculate the Reynolds Number and ensure unit consisten...

FE Civil Exam Prep 47, Continuity, Bernoulli, and Momentum 13.06.2026 3:29

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The Continuity Equation (A1V1 = A2V2) applies to incompressibl...

FE Civil Exam Prep 46, Buoyancy and Stability — Metacentric Height 12.06.2026 3:12

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to apply Archimedes' principle to find the submerged depth...

FE Civil Exam Prep 45, Hydrostatic Pressure on Submerged Surfaces 11.06.2026 3:27

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The resultant hydrostatic force on a submerged plane is calcul...

FE Civil Exam Prep 44, Fluid Properties — Density, Viscosity, Surface Tension 10.06.2026 4:00

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The critical difference between mass density (ρ) and specific...

FE Civil Exam Prep 43, Steel — ASTM Grades, Modulus, Heat Treatment 09.06.2026 4:02

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The key ASTM steel grades and their yield strengths: A36 (36 k...

FE Civil Exam Prep 42, Concrete — Compressive Strength f'c and Mix Design 08.06.2026 3:08

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The specified compressive strength, f'c, is the 28-day strengt...

FE Civil Exam Prep 41, Stress-Strain Curves — Yield, Ultimate, Ductile vs Brittle 07.06.2026 2:57

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to identify the five key regions of a stress-strain curve:...

FE Civil Exam Prep 40, Mohr's Circle and Combined Loading 06.06.2026 3:22

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to correctly plot the initial stress state on Mohr's Circl...

FE Civil Exam Prep 39, Shear and Moment Diagrams — Sign Convention Trap 05.06.2026 3:02

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The NCEES sign convention: Positive shear is down on the right...

FE Civil Exam Prep 38, Beam Bending — Flexure Formula and Section Modulus 04.06.2026 3:09

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The flexure formula, σ = Mc/I, is used to find the maximum ben...

FE Civil Exam Prep 37, Torsion of Circular Shafts — Stress, Twist, Power 03.06.2026 3:16

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to calculate maximum shear stress in a shaft and avoid the...

FE Civil Exam Prep 36, Thermal Stress and Strain 02.06.2026 4:06

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Understand that thermal strain (ε = αΔT) occurs with any tempe...

FE Civil Exam Prep 35, Axial Stress and Strain, Hooke's Law, Poisson's Ratio 01.06.2026 3:57

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to apply the fundamental axial stress formula, σ = P/A, an...

FE Civil Exam Prep 34, Mass Moment of Inertia and Rotational Kinetic Energy 31.05.2026 3:33

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - The critical difference between mass moment of inertia (resist...

FE Civil Exam Prep 33, Vibration — Natural Frequency, SDOF, Damping 30.05.2026 3:50

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - How to calculate the natural circular frequency (ω_n), period...