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Academic Standards & L3 Exam

Academic Standards

  • To ensure technical capabilities, students may only apply up to 4 credit hours of major required courses with grades below C- toward the graduation requirements. These courses include preprofessional, professional, supporting, and technical electives and only up to 3 credits can be from chemical engineering courses.

    If a student accumulates more than 6 hours of below C- grades in any courses satisfying major requirements, they may not take further chemical engineering courses until the unacceptable credits have been reduced to 6 hours or less.

  • ChEn 273 must be passed at a C- or above grade to be admitted to the professional program and to take 300 and 400 level ChEn classes.

  • In accordance with university policy, students may not graduate with any E grades in required major or university core courses as E grades mean the corresponding course requirement has not been fulfilled.

    While students can technically continue to take chemical engineering courses with 6 credits of D or E, an E grade can prevent advancement in the program because E grades do not satisfy prerequisite requirements.

L3 Exam

Qualifications

A student who intends to take the L3 Exam must meet the following requirements:

  1. Have taken CH EN 273, 373, 374, 376, 386 and received passing letter grades (i.e. A through D-; P). The following are not passing letter grades: E, W, WE, UW, I, IE, T, NS.
  2. Have fewer than 6 total hours of below C- grades in any course(s) satisfying major requirements.

Student information will be entered into the L3 Exam system after the academic advisor (Lavdie Huff) checks that these qualifications have been met.

Notes:

  • Qualification to take the exam may be revoked if any grade for the classes listed above is(are) changed from passing letter grade(s) (A through D-; P) to something else (e.g. W, E, I, etc.).
  • Any L3 Exam tries will be voided if any grade for the classes listed above is(are) changed from passing letter grade(s) (A through D-; P) to something else (e.g. W, E, I, etc.).
  • Passing the FE Exam can replace the L3 exam. Contact the department academic advisor or Dr. Nickerson for more information.

Graduating Winter 2024

Schedule

Planning to graduate in 2004 (April, June, August or December):

First attempt:9/11/2023 – 9/30/2023
Second attempt:10/2/2023 – 10/21/2023
Third attempt:10/23/2023 – 11/11/2023

Outcomes Tested

Outcome NumberExpectationMost-Pertinent Course
3.1.1.1Students will be able to perform unit conversions.273
3.1.1.2Students will be able to ensure dimensional consistency when evaluating equations.273
3.1.2.1Students will be able to solve steady‑state material balances for non-reacting, single-unit systems.273
3.1.2.2Students will be able to solve steady‑state energy balances for single-unit, isothermal, reacting systems.273
3.1.2.3Students will be able to solve steady‑state material balances for single-unit, reacting systems.273
3.2.1Students will be able to identify equilibrium phases on either PT or PV projections of the PVT surface and be able to obtain vapor pressures for pure components for a given temperature.373
3.3.1Students will be able to solve the mechanical energy balance for frictionless flow with and without shaft work.374
3.3.2Students will be able to (1) describe qualitatively the physical significance of viscosity in terms of fluid behavior; (2) define and describe the physical significance of Re; (3) describe flow regimes that correspond to different values of Re.374
3.4.1Students will (1) be able to assign appropriate modes of heat transfer to a given physical scenario, (2) know Newton’s law of cooling; 3) understand, and be able to use Fourier’s law (1D) and Newton’s law of cooling.376
3.4.2Students will understand conduction and convection resistances and be able to quantitatively use q = ΔT / ΣR and q = UA ΔTlm.376
3.4.3.1Students will understand q = hAΔT, and how h is related to Nu, Re, and Pr, and how to obtain a value for h. (qualitative problem)376
3.4.3.2Students will understand q = hAΔT, and how h is related to Nu, Re, and Pr, and how to obtain a value for h. (quantitative problem)376
3.5.1Students will understand Fick’s law and the contributions to the flux arising from a driving force and from convection.376
3.5.2Students will be able to use the heat/mass transfer analogy to estimate mass transfer coefficients.376
3.6.1.1Students will understand and be able to use definitions of rate and nth-order rate expressions.  They will know how to determine n from basic rate data.386
3.6.1.2Students will understand and be able to use definitions of rate, nth-order rate expressions and the Arrhenius temperature dependence k = Aexp(-E/RT).  They will know how to determine E from basic rate data.386
3.7.1.1Students will be able to solve steady-state, first law problems with open, non-reacting, single-process units (e.g., compressors, valves, heat exchangers).373
3.7.1.2Students will be able to solve steady-state, first law problems with single process units for closed systems.373
3.7.2Students will be able to solve bubble and dew point problems assuming Raoult’s Law behavior.373
3.7.3Students will know how ΔG is related to equilibrium constants and will be able to calculate an equilibrium constant (from ΔGo) at 298 K and relate equilibrium constants to the extent of reaction for ideal gas phase reactions.373
10.1.1Students will be able to use the design equations for ideal CSTR reactors to determine reactor volume, feed flow rate, or conversion.386
10.2.1.1*Students will be able to do preliminary size and performance calculations on shell and tube heat exchangers using the log-mean temperature difference method.376
10.3.1Students will be able to determine the power required for a pump to deliver a specified flow rate of an incompressible fluid through a single pipeline (excludes flow in parallel lengths) consisting of pipe (multiple diameters acceptable), valves, and fittings.374
10.4.2Students will be able to use Raoult’s law and vapor pressure correlations to solve the VLE and mass balances associated with a single-stage, isothermal flash.373

* Labeled 10.2.1 on the L3 Exam computer system. (The L3 Exam computer system lists any missed Outcome Numbers after you take and submit the exam. If you miss the question on this topic of shell and tube heat exchangers, the system will list "10.2.1" rather than "10.2.1.1". The Expectation for this outcome is the same regardless of the label.)

L3 Exam Booklet

L3 Exam Failure Policy