Exam Prep / Study Help

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Jeff Greef

Member
study books

study books

Good study books I have used are the residential and commercial exam books put out by the iaei (iaei.org). These have loads of questions that make you look in the NEC, and they have explanations of how to research each question, which helps you learn to use the index and contents in a test situation.
 
S'mise

S'mise

Senior Member
Location
Michigan
Amanda, just poking fun at you about the phaze angle thing. As a EC you will seldom (if ever) need to know phaze angles. The amps used for VD is the actual load on your circuit. Not rating. I dont know where you got 150A Just because a 125A panel is used, that don't make it the load. It is mearly the rating of the equiptment. You could put in a 600A panel and it wouldnt make a difference. The rating is the weakest link(or the smallest rating) if your service drop is good for 150A, your meter is 100A, your service panel is 125A, and the main is 60A, then you likely have a 60A service. There is a diffence between connected load and demand load. That is why the wire can be smaller than the total connected load. We understand that we will not likely be running everything at once. Everything you need for voltage drop is in capt 9 under conductor properties. Absolute K is ohms/1000ft times CM divided by 1000. this is more acurate than using aprox. K which is 12.9 for Co. and 21.2 for AL. Its better to be thought a fool and learn something than to keep quiet and remain ignorant.
 
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starbright28

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Thanks John. I know you were only kidding.

just to let everyone know the books the I currently have for studing -

Mike Holt's Exam Prep Guide, the one with a simulated exam.

Journeyman's Exam Prep Guide - this one is like a school book with explanantion and then quizzes /questions at the end of each chapter. i don't think that is the correct name, but it has Journeyman in the title.

and a new one on the way - Journeyman's Exam Prep Guide based on the NEC 2005 that is loaded with questions.
 
S'mise

S'mise

Senior Member
Location
Michigan
Confidence means alot. If you are confident, you won't start to second guess yourself when your taking an exam. Dont study too long or you wont remember everything. Everyone is different but I suggest you study 1 hour a night. The next night review what you read the night before. The most important thing is to be able to look thing up in the book. Tabs are worth their weight in gold. Good luck.
 
Rockyd

Rockyd

Senior Member
Location
Nevada
Occupation
Retired after 40 years as an electrician.
Amanda,

Nice selection of books there! If you look in the very front, Mike writes some excellent tips on test strategy...I know because as I get older, my memory gets shorter, so I have most of those books too. Why just last month, they declared me over the hill!
 
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shannon adams

New member
calculation practice questions

calculation practice questions

Textbook
Calculations Practice Questions: 788



Can i have a little help here. can you scan the pages of unit 11 for calculations i will be very happy.
 
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starbright28

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Confidence - you are correct. The first time after a prep class i went in and I'm like -yeah i know how to slove this I remember doing this! I thought I did so well. I came out of the room confident with still 10 minutes to spare till the end of the test. (it's hard!)

i got my results - not so hot. I'm like okay what am I doing wrong??

I have a few books now, yes, and just sitting down and going through them all will help. Since it was rainy Saturday (and humid) I studied that morning for a while. but that was the last of my studying over the weekend.

Plan to hit the books at least for an hour tonight.

I may come across some mroe questions to ask later on.
 
Pierre C Belarge

Pierre C Belarge

Senior Member
Location
Westchester County, New York
Amanda
A couple of things to think about.
You have not passed the test the last few times you took it. Are you studying in the same manner as you did for those tests?

I had a student come into my class who had failed the test 6 times. I helped him change his study habits, and after almost 4 years, he passed his test.

I know the test is not far in the future, but you may want to use a different method to kickstart you for this new test.

Remember that the material is not much different from test to test, so maybe even a subtle change may help.
 
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starbright28

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
First - I don't know what I am doing wrong. Since they give you a different type of exam each time you take it, it always covers something different that you may or may not have studied.

Second, I tried studying with a buddy, but he got so busy and won't help me. So i'm stuck alone.

Third - I have gotten other help from other peopl that stepped up in the code forum to shwo me formulas or help me out.

What have I done different? I've increased the number of times I study. I study more of the NEC since that is what the test is all about - understanding the NEC. I've talked with different people who have taken the test in MN and from MN and go off of what they have told me.

What can I do different? I don't know. Any suggestions?

Is it the way I study? Is it how I study? Or is it that I just need to be confident in myself and not study all over the place? You tell me. Study patterns range from people to people, and if something works, great. If something doens't work, then okay we'll fix and learn from it.

It's not like my job is riding on this or anything.
 
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starbright28

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
Motor Start Stop Diagrams

Motor Start Stop Diagrams

Does anyone know where on the net I can look at soem start stop motor one line digrams to try and understand them?

Ugly's has a few but I can't see to find any others.

These were on the test and frankly I had a hard time figuring what the motor was going to do.

Please no rash comments - just looking for some help.
 
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FrancisDoody

Senior Member
Location
Durham, CT
Testing

Testing

I think that if you study the definitions and the first four chapters of the NEC you will do just fine. Don't waste your time on calculations. They never ask a question about loads. Learn Ohms law. Some states ask 5-8 questions dealing with Ohms law and series/parallel circuits. A transformer question will be part of the test. Is this an open or closed book test? The best money spent would be to buy a Mike Holt Exam Prep Course.
 
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starbright28

Senior Member
Location
Minnesota
check out MN's website in regards to our test.

http://www.electricity.state.mn.us/Elec_lic/Exams/LicensingExaminationGuide.pdfhttp://www.electricity.state.mn.us

The link I posted above is the State's guideline of what is on the test.

The test is open book. Test is 5.5 hours long. (8:15am - 1:45pm)

Stuff that I had a hard time iwth on the test that is on almost every test I have taken are the questions I have asked.

Frankily I don't have enough $$ or enough time to get any more books and go through all of them.

I'm just looking for some guidlines - free spots on the internet, that may have these items.

Thanks
 
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RichAugie

Member
Take Mike Holt's random 10 question quiz with your 2005 NEC book handy. Use the 3 minutes per question selection. Use a highlighter for anything new you learn. This will help you time your questions and learn where things are in the code book. This helped me more then anything we had in class. Remember most people do not pass because they just do not have the time
 
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