Soil Mechanics for the Civil PE Exam

Geotechnical problems sink more candidates than any other civil topic—usually through units, sign conventions, and pore pressure. This review fixes that.

Soil Mechanics for the Civil PE Exam is a focused, exam-aligned review that turns soil mechanics theory into the exact problem-solving moves the computer-based PE exam demands. Every chapter opens with the handbook equations you are allowed to use, then walks through worked examples that carry units through the arithmetic, name the equation, and flag the answer choice designed to catch you. You will not just read about soil mechanics—you will practice it in the format the exam actually uses.

Coverage spans the full geotechnical breadth of the NCEES PE Civil exam: phase diagrams and classification, compaction and borrow volumes, flow nets and exit gradients, effective stress profiles, consolidation settlement with time factors, Mohr circles from triaxial data, lateral earth pressures and wall stability, bearing capacity with eccentric loads, pile capacity and group effects, and slope stability. Timed mixed problem sets at the end of the book simulate exam-day pacing and help you identify weak areas before they cost you points.

What you will learn:

• Build and interpret phase diagrams, gradation curves, and plasticity indices for classification and index properties.
• Solve compaction and earthwork problems, including borrow volumes, shrinkage, and relative compaction.
• Apply Darcy's law, construct flow nets, and evaluate seepage, exit gradients, and quick conditions.
• Compute effective stress profiles with pore pressure and identify sign-convention traps.
• Calculate consolidation settlement, time factors, and degree of consolidation for staged loading.
• Determine shear strength parameters from triaxial and direct shear data using Mohr circles.
• Analyze lateral earth pressures, retaining wall stability, and overturning/sliding factors of safety.
• Evaluate shallow foundation bearing capacity with eccentric and inclined loads.
• Estimate deep foundation capacity, group effects, and slope stability under drained and undrained conditions.

This book is for civil engineering candidates preparing for the professional licensing exam and for practicing engineers who need a rapid, structured review of soil mechanics under time pressure. If you are sitting for the PE Civil exam with a geotechnical depth or breadth component, or you simply want to stop losing points to units and sign errors, this review is built for you.