FE
SCE FE Electrical Part Syllabus: 9 Topics and 50 Questions
The 9 topics of the SCE FE electrical part with questions per topic, what each tests and how to prepare, led by circuits, power and electronics.
- Questions and time
- 50 questions · 180 minutes
- Pass mark
- You must pass both the general part and your discipline part
- Exam fee
- SAR 400 for the general part and SAR 400 for the discipline part
Start with 10 free questions to find what needs more work. No sign-up, with answer explanations.
Try 10 free questions and see your levelPut what you just read into practice
Start with 10 free questions to find what needs more work. No sign-up, with answer explanations.
Try 10 free questions and see your levelLast checked: 1 November 2026. Check the Electrical Engineering Standards, the Electrical Engineering Exam Study Guide and the SCE frequently asked questions before you start.
The electrical part is the second session of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam: 50 questions in 9 topics, all in English. Circuits, power and electronics alone are 22 questions, 44% of the part, and most are calculation problems. The topics and question counts come from the table of specifications in the study guide; the indicators come from the standards document. Both are the 2014 edition.
Exam format at a glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Questions | 50 in the electrical part; the general part is a separate session with 90 |
| Time | 3 hours (180 minutes), about 3.6 minutes per question |
| Question type | Multiple choice with four options, and no penalty for wrong answers according to the study guide |
| Language | English |
| Calculator | Approved models are allowed. Formula sheets and data tables are handed out in the hall; books and notes are not allowed |
| Result | You must pass both the general part and the electrical part |
You register for both parts together, at SAR 400 per part. The full steps are on the general part page of this exam.
The 9 topics, what is asked and how to prepare
| Topic | Questions | Weight | What is tested | How to prepare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circuits | 8 | 16% | KCL and KVL, series/parallel reduction, impedance of R, L and C, node and loop analysis, Thevenin and Norton, two-port parameters, RC/RL/RLC transient response, Laplace transforms, resonance and Q, and passive filters. | Thirteen indicators for 8 questions, and the largest topic. Practise Thevenin, node analysis and the step response of RLC circuits until each takes a few minutes, since Laplace and transfer functions come back in control and signal processing. |
| Power | 7 | 14% | Three-phase voltage, current and power, delta-wye transformation, phasors, power factor correction, transmission line parameters, induction and DC motors, transformer equivalent circuits and efficiency, voltage regulation, and power electronics (rectifiers, choppers, inverters). | Most questions are calculations on balanced three-phase loads, power factor, motor slip and torque, and transformer tests. Work every problem per phase first, then convert to line values, and learn the maximum-efficiency condition of a transformer. |
| Electromagnetics | 3 | 6% | Capacitance and inductance of simple geometries, Gauss's and Ampere's laws, plane waves and skin depth, reflection coefficient and standing wave ratio, impedance matching with the Smith chart, and antennas and waveguides. | Only 3 questions, so aim for the calculation types that repeat: reflection coefficient, VSWR and quarter-wave matching. Do not spend your first weeks on vector calculus. |
| Control Systems | 5 | 10% | Block diagram reduction and closed-loop transfer functions, stability and pole locations, steady-state error and system type, root locus and Bode plots with gain and phase margins, Routh and Nyquist criteria, and P, PI, PD and PID controllers. | Learn the Routh table and the steady-state error constants by heart, then practise reading margins from a Bode plot. Knowing what each PID term does to the response answers many concept questions. |
| Communications | 5 | 10% | AM, FM and PCM (bandwidth, modulation index), FDM and TDM channel counts, PPM, PSK and QAM constellations and bit rates, and the seven OSI layers. | Memorise the bandwidth formulas (Carson's rule for FM, 2fm for AM) and the bits-per-symbol of each digital scheme. For OSI, learn what each layer does and one protocol for it. |
| Signal Processing | 4 | 8% | ADC resolution and quantization, Z-transforms and discrete-system stability, Fourier series and transform properties, the Nyquist rate and aliasing, and small DFTs and FFT operation counts. | Practise the short ones first: minimum sampling rate, ADC step size and SNR. Then learn the common Z-transform pairs and the DFT of a 4-point sequence by hand. |
| Electronics | 7 | 14% | p-n junction theory, diode, BJT and MOSFET operating regions and equations, bias points, single-stage amplifier gain and impedances, differential amplifiers and CMRR, op-amp circuits, active filters, and instrumentation and transducers. | Calculation-heavy. For each transistor problem decide the operating region first, then find the Q point, then the small-signal gain. Op-amp circuits are the fastest marks: master inverting and non-inverting gains. |
| Digital Systems | 6 | 12% | Number systems and two's complement, Boolean algebra and K-maps, counters, state tables and diagrams, timing diagrams, flip-flop characteristic equations, and PLA, PAL, CPLD and FPGA. | These are the quickest topics to gain marks in. Practise K-map reduction, flip-flop excitation tables and tracing a counter sequence until they are automatic. |
| Computer Systems | 5 | 10% | Pipelining, hazards and cache hit rates, CPI and MIPS, memory capacity and address lines, interrupts, DMA and polling, software design methods, and algorithm complexity and pseudocode. | Formula questions repeat: effective access time, CPI and speedup. Add the interrupt, DMA and polling comparison, and practise reading short pseudocode. |
Where to start
Circuits (8), power (7) and electronics (7) carry 22 of the 50 questions, so start there and give them most of your time. Digital systems (6), computer systems (5) and communications (5) win marks faster because most of their questions are short, so do not leave them to the last days. Electromagnetics (3) and signal processing (4) weigh least; cover the repeating problem types in them and move on.
How the free questions help
Solve the 10 free questions before you plan, so you see your score in each topic. A weak score in a large topic deserves extra days before any small topic. Because the exam is in English, learn the terms in English from the start, and use your approved calculator on every calculation problem.
Finished reading? Try a set of questions
Start with 10 free questions to find your weakest units. Keep practising with the full question bank and mock exams from SAR 26.