Specific Energy
Hydraulics · FE Reference Handbook section
Handbook notes for this section
Definitions and conditions exactly as the handbook states them.
- where Q and A are as defined above,
Core formulas for this FE topic
Definitions, applicability, units, assumptions and worked examples for each relation.
Worked exam-style examples
The four ways this section is written on the real exam — thoughts first, then equations, then substitution.
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given velocity (V) = 5.6000 ft/s; flow depth (y) = 4.2000 ft, determine the Froude number (Fr).
Given
Find
Froude number (Fr)
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except Fr is given, so isolate Fr symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that Fr stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning Fr = 0.4815 to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 0.9631 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 0.2408 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 0.5297 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given flow depth (y) = 1.1000 ft; Froude number (Fr) = 2.7200, determine the velocity (V) in ft/s.
Given
Find
velocity (V), in ft/s
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except V is given, so isolate V symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that V stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning V = 16.1880 ft/s to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 32.3760 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 8.0940 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 17.8068 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given velocity (V) = 11.4000 ft/s; Froude number (Fr) = 0.5500, determine the flow depth (y) in ft.
Given
Find
flow depth (y), in ft
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except y is given, so isolate y symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that y stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning y = 13.3422 ft to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 26.6845 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 6.6711 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 14.6765 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given velocity (V) = 13.9000 ft/s; flow depth (y) = 7.0000 ft, determine the Froude number (Fr).
Given
Find
Froude number (Fr)
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except Fr is given, so isolate Fr symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that Fr stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning Fr = 0.9258 to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 1.8517 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 0.4629 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 1.0184 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given flow depth (y) = 2.0000 ft; Froude number (Fr) = 2.3500, determine the velocity (V) in ft/s.
Given
Find
velocity (V), in ft/s
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except V is given, so isolate V symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that V stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning V = 18.8587 ft/s to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 37.7173 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 9.4293 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 20.7445 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given velocity (V) = 8.7000 ft/s; Froude number (Fr) = 0.6900, determine the flow depth (y) in ft.
Given
Find
flow depth (y), in ft
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except y is given, so isolate y symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that y stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning y = 4.9372 ft to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 9.8745 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 2.4686 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 5.4310 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given velocity (V) = 2.7000 ft/s; flow depth (y) = 7.1000 ft, determine the Froude number (Fr).
Given
Find
Froude number (Fr)
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except Fr is given, so isolate Fr symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that Fr stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning Fr = 0.1786 to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 0.3571 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 0.0893 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 0.1964 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given flow depth (y) = 5.6000 ft; Froude number (Fr) = 0.4600, determine the velocity (V) in ft/s.
Given
Find
velocity (V), in ft/s
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except V is given, so isolate V symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that V stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning V = 6.1770 ft/s to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 12.3541 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 3.0885 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 6.7947 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given velocity (V) = 3.3000 ft/s; Froude number (Fr) = 0.8900, determine the flow depth (y) in ft.
Given
Find
flow depth (y), in ft
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except y is given, so isolate y symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that y stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning y = 0.4270 ft to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 0.8539 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 0.2135 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 0.4697 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy
A hydraulics problem uses Froude number. Given velocity (V) = 6.3000 ft/s; flow depth (y) = 3.2000 ft, determine the Froude number (Fr).
Given
Find
Froude number (Fr)
Start with the thinking
- The governing relation printed in this handbook section is Froude number.
- Everything except Fr is given, so isolate Fr symbolically first — never rearrange after the numbers are in.
- Tabulate each given with its unit and confirm the units are consistent with the relation before substituting.
- Hydraulics items reward recognising the unknown before touching a calculator.
Step-by-step solution
Step 1 — State the governing relation:
Step 2 — Rearrange the relation so that Fr stands alone on the left-hand side.
Step 3
Step 4 — Substitute the given values into the rearranged relation.
Step 5 — Evaluate:
Step 6 — Check: returning Fr = 0.6206 to
reproduces the given quantities, and both sides carry the same units.
Why the other options are there
- 1.2413 — kept a factor of two that cancels in the correct rearrangement.
- 0.3103 — dropped that same factor in the other direction.
- 0.6827 — rounded an intermediate value before the final step.
Reference: FE Reference Handbook — Hydraulics → Specific Energy