HANDLING A

3-DAY BOARD EXAM

 5+ years of 3-day
CHEMICAL BOARD
ENGINEERING EXAM
BEFORE THE BOARDS
Time management
Study effectively
Recommended references
• MRII reviewer
• Basic ChE:
Himmelblau, Felder
• Thermodynamics:
SVA
• Unit Operations:
McCabe, Geankoplis,
Coulson & Richardson
• Engg Math reviewers
• ChE laws and ethics
reviewer
Avoid distractions
Get to know the Handbook
• Be familiar with the
contents of each chapter
• Know what’s NOT in the
handbook
• Bookmark important
equations, tables, and
charts
Reducing mental anxiety
Reducing mental anxiety
Boost your self-esteem!
Night before the exam

• Relax and unwind

• Hide all your study materials
• Make sure you have everything ready (pencils,
handbook, water, food, etc.)
• Have enough rest and set your alarm
• Don’t bring any of your handouts or notes on
the examination day
DURING THE EXAM
Have a healthy breakfast
Stay confident!
General tips

• More than enough time will be given

• Conceptual first or problem solving first?
• Answer the easiest questions first
• Don’t spend too much time on one question
• Review your answers before shading
• NEVER leave items blank.
• Shotgun only one letter (B or C)
Surprise! 

• Out-of-this-world questions
• Unintelligible or poorly formulated questions
• Questions that have no answer in the choices
• Missing data not found in the handbook
• Typographical errors
• No figures given
Test-taking techniques
• Elimination or
Question #1
“Intelligent-
a. b. c. d.
guessing” Question #2
• Orders of magnitude a. b. c. d.

• Back-solving one of Question #3

a. b. c. d.
the given data
• Connecting
sequential problems
• Dimensional analysis
Practice Questions
• Calculate the ratio of phenolphthalein’s anionic form to
acid form at pH=6.5.
a.) 0.002 b.) 0.02 c.) 2.0 d.) 20.0
Practice Questions
• Balance the following chemical equation:
___(NH4)3PO4 + ___Pb(NO3)4  ____Pb3(PO4)4 + ____NH4NO3

a.) 3, 4, 1, 6
b.) 2, 3, 2, 6
c.) 2, 4, 1, 6
d.) 4, 3, 1, 6
Practice Questions
• For the van der waals EOS, find the partial derivative of
P with respect to V at constant T and n.

a.) c.)

b.) d.)
Practice Questions
• A 40-kg steel casting (Cp = 0.5 kJ/kg-K) at 450oC is
quenched in 150 kg of oil at 25oC.
1. What is the final temperature of the system?
a.) 28oC b.) 47oC c.) 74oC d.) 82oC

2. What is the total change in entropy of the system (in

a.) -4.90
kJ/K)? b.) +4.90 c.) -9.80 d.) 9.80
After each examination day..
• Avoid talking about
the exam questions
with your peers
• Don’t get too
discouraged. Stay
positive and reset
your confidence for
the next day!
• Go home immediately
• STOP. BROWSING.
YOUR. NOTES. Go to
sleep early!
AFTER THE BOARDS
What’s next?
• Waiting game…
• Pass or Fail?
• Reward yourself regardless. You deserve it!
Q&A
Q: How to gauge
someone’s preparedness
for the board exam?
Q: Was Day 1 really
that hard?
Q: How to solve Unit
Operations problems in
the fastest way possible?
Q: What guarantees
the passing in ChE
Board Exam?
Q: Did you aim to be
a topnotcher or did
it just happen?
Q: How long should
one be preparing to
top the board exam?