Product Description
The Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual is the most trusted study guide and reference for the mechanical PE exam. This edition has been updated to reflect the new breadth-and-depth format of the exam. All exam topics are reviewed clearly and completely, and more than 200 solved example problems and almost 530 practice problems (200 of them new) demonstrate key concepts and help you understand the most efficient way to solve problems. The text is enhanced by hund… More >>
Mechanical Engineering Reference Manual for the PE Exam: 10th Edition
Tags: 10th, breadth, Edition, Engineering, Exam, key concepts, Manual, Mechanical, mechanical engineering, pe exam, Reference, reference manual
To save some money, I decide to buy the 10th Edition (1997) of the MERM. For my surprise, this 10th edition has an “errata” as long as the “Highway to Hell”. I have to print over 15 pages, 8.5″ x 11″, of these errata and waist 3 days making the corrections on the entire book. So, don’t made this mistake. Buy the 12th edition for a few additional bucks.
**Talk to your congressman: Independence for Puerto Rico NOW!** (Right now, Puerto Rico is a US territory)
Rating: 3 / 5
While evaluating the merits of the other customer reviews I noted that they were all posted prior to this edition. While normally not an issue with this type of reference manual, it is important right now, seeing as how the Mechanical Engineering PE Exam Format is to be changed drastically with the next Exam. I would expect that this new edition has been developed to incorporate this change but have yet to see any comments as to how well it has been changed. I currently possess the previous edition and plan to take the exam in October 2001. While I agree with the other reviewers on the previous editions excellence, I would like to know whether there is any substantial reason to purchase the New Edition and replace my earlier edition.
Rating: 5 / 5
Even if you dont plan to take the PE, you should have this in your library. It is a great reference and an excelent book to use to refresh your memory on engineering principles as issues come up.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is one of two books I used to study for the PE exam. During the test I used this book for 99% of everything I needed to look up. If you spend some quality time doing the problems in this book and reading the material the PE test is a pass. I actually now use the book (mostly for the tables) in my every day job.
Rating: 5 / 5
Considering the cost of this book, I think I got my moneys worth, but I disagree with many of the previous reviews, as this book was far from perfect. For the price though, I did expect a bit more.
I purchased this with the ‘Practice Problems’ and was quite frustrated that some of the practice problems contained data or even topics that were not covered in this book, (sect. 19; fluid power).
I also felt that this book was not laid out as it could have been. It’s a reference book, meaning you go to the index, then flip to the appropriate page… In many cases, I had to read several pages back to find the right definitions. A few notes here and there, perhaps a reference back to the section dealing with something, would have been helpful.
Additionally, I purchased this book (12th edition) because it had recently been updated, however, there were still plenty of obvious errors in the book and ‘practice problems’, but no erratta published yet.
That being said, don’t buy this book thinking you can just take it into the test as pass it. You need to spend quite a bit of time using the book, to understand how it’s laid out, and where to look for information.
Also, it’s worth noting, this is the ONLY reference book I took with me to the exam, and it was more than adequate. Plenty of other folks carted around boxes upon boxes of reference material. I tabbed this book, and was familiar with it enough that I could find whatever I needed in a manner of seconds, much quicker than the folks that I saw fishing through several books. The only area that I found that it was lacking in a bit was combustion processes and incineration, but those are also areas that I’m not terrible familiar with.
Either way, this is the best book on the market, and although I hesistated at the cost, it is well worth it to by this and the companion problems. With the amount of effort that it takes to pass the PE, an investment in this book is well worth it.
Rating: 3 / 5