About the Practice Exam
The PE Geotechnical Practice Exam 3 is designed to closely simulate the actual PE Civil Geotechnical exam. It covers all major Geotechnical exam topics and includes multiple question types you will encounter on the real exam.
Questions
80
NCEES-style question formats
Duration
8 Hours
Timed exam
TI-36X Pro Calculator
13 Reference PDFs
Timed Sessions
Break System
Question Flagging
Detailed Solutions
Welcome to Your PE Geotechnical Practice Exam 3!
This practice exam covers major PE Geotechnical exam topic areas and features the NCEES-style question formats you will encounter on the real exam.
Reference Materials
These 13 Geotechnical reference documents are built into the exam interface and open beside every question:
- FHWA-NHI-06-088 — Soils and Foundations, Volume I
- FHWA-NHI-06-089 — Soils and Foundations, Volume II
- FHWA-NHI-16-009 — Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations, Volume I
- FHWA-NHI-16-009 — Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations, Volume II
- FHWA-NHI-16-072 — Geotechnical Site Characterization
- FHWA-NHI-18-024 — Drilled Shafts
- FHWA-NHI-11-032 — LRFD Seismic Analysis and Design of Transportation Geotechnical Features
- FHWA-NHI-05-037 — Geotechnical Aspects of Pavements
- NAVFAC DM-7.02 — Foundations and Earth Structures
- USACE EM 1110-2-1902 — Slope Stability
- UFC 3-220-05 — Dewatering and Groundwater Control
- UFC 3-220-10 — Soil Mechanics
- 29 CFR Title 29 — OSHA construction safety regulations
Licensing restrictions prevent us from distributing either directly, so you upload your own PDFs:
- NCEES PE Civil Reference Handbook — upload your own PDF; free from MyNCEES.
- ASCE/SEI 7-16 — 2016. Upload your own PDF, or available from ASCE.
Uploaded files open in the same reference panel as the built-in documents, so you sit the exam with everything in one place. Your files stay in your browser and are never sent to PEwise.
Calculator Policy
For calculations, you have two options:
- Use your own approved calculator — The NCEES-approved calculators for 2026 include:
- Casio: All fx-115 and fx-991 models
- Hewlett Packard: HP 33s and HP 35s models only
- Texas Instruments: All TI-30X and TI-36X models
- Use the built-in calculator available in the exam interface
Exam Format
This is a timed 8-hour practice exam with 80 questions. It closely mirrors the PE Civil Geotechnical exam format.
PE Geotechnical Practice Exam 3 FAQ
Three, totaling 219 questions. Practice Exam 1 is a 59-question focused review with a 6-hour timer; Practice Exams 2 and 3 are full-length 80-question simulations with 8-hour timers, and Exam 3 is an entirely new question set rather than a re-mix of Exam 2. Most engineers take the 59-question exam first to get comfortable with the computer-based-test interface, then save a full-length simulation for closer to test day.
The 59-question focused review runs on a 6-hour timer and each 80-question simulation on an 8-hour timer, matching the length and pacing of the real PE Civil Geotechnical computer-based test. They are timed on purpose, so you build the stamina an eight-hour exam day demands.
Yes. Before you start an exam you can choose standard time or add 25%, 50% or 100% more, and there is a separate untimed Study mode where you check each answer as you go and read the full solution before moving on. These are practice settings available to every student — they are not testing accommodations, and PEwise cannot grant or verify one. Official accommodation requests go through NCEES registration and Pearson VUE.
Your score, and a breakdown of how many questions you answered correctly in each NCEES Geotechnical topic area, so you can see which areas to review before the next attempt. Every question then opens for review with the correct answer and a full worked solution.
Yes — every question has a step-by-step worked solution with the reference citation it comes from, available in the post-exam review. Solutions unlock when you finish a timed exam; in Study mode you see each one as you go.
Thirteen Geotechnical reference documents are built into the exam interface and open beside the questions — the FHWA, NAVFAC, USACE, UFC and OSHA publications supplied for this exam. Two are not included: the NCEES PE Civil Reference Handbook and ASCE/SEI 7-16, which licensing prevents us from distributing. You upload your own copies; the handbook is free once you register or log in at MyNCEES (account.ncees.org). Practicing with the references open trains you to look values up quickly under time pressure, which is half the skill on the real exam.
The current NCEES PE Civil: Geotechnical exam specification. Questions are written across all ten of its knowledge areas, and the simulator mirrors how questions are presented, timed and navigated at Pearson VUE testing centers. NCEES updates the list of supplied design standards from time to time without changing those knowledge areas, so check the specification for your own exam date.
Yes. Your answers and progress are saved automatically in your browser as you work, so you can close the tab and pick the exam back up later on the same device. The simulator also includes the same scheduled break system as the real CBT exam, which locks the questions you've already viewed once you step away — exactly as it works at the testing center.
Yes — you can retake any of the three as many times as you like while your enrollment is active. Every attempt is saved to your exam history, so you can watch how your scores trend as you study.
Single-answer multiple-choice questions are scored the standard way: select the one correct option. 'Select all that apply' questions are scored all-or-nothing — you must select every correct option and no incorrect ones to earn credit, with no partial credit, the same approach the real exam uses. After you submit, every question shows the correct answer alongside a detailed step-by-step solution, so you can see exactly where points were won or lost.
Five formats are supported in the PEwise simulator: multiple choice, select all that apply, fill in the blank, drag and drop, and point and click on a figure. The 59-question focused review uses multiple choice and select-all; both 80-question simulations use all five. NCEES describes its alternative item types with examples rather than a fixed list, so we tell you which formats PEwise supports rather than claiming to cover every format NCEES might use.
The simulator has a built-in TI-36X Pro practice calculator you can open inside the exam interface, so you do not need a physical calculator to practice. You can also use your own NCEES-approved model — the approved list covers the Casio fx-115 and fx-991 series, the HP 33s and 35s, and the TI-30X and TI-36X series. Note that NCEES identifies the TI-30XS MultiView as the official on-screen calculator in its own testing software; the PEwise practice calculator is a different model and is not a replica of it.
They are included with the PE Civil Geotechnical course — there is no separate practice-exam purchase. Enrolling gives you all three exams together with the video lessons, module quizzes and weekly live Q&A for the length of your access period.
Yes. Create a free PEwise account and take a 10-question Geotechnical sample in the same simulator, drawn from these practice exams and covering all five supported question formats. No credit card required — you can start it from the Civil PE practice exams page.
No. They run only in the online simulator, because the point is to rehearse the computer-based-test experience — the on-screen reference panel, the calculator, flagging, the scheduled break and the timer. There is no printable or downloadable version of the exams.
No. Every PEwise question is written independently by our own engineers to match the format and topic coverage of the NCEES specification. PEwise is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by NCEES, and none of our questions are taken from an official NCEES exam or practice publication.