For students taking the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) or Professional Engineering (PE) exams in petroleum, the Tarek Ahmad solution manual is a goldmine of typical exam-style numerical problems.

So go ahead. Open Ahmed’s handbook to Chapter 3. Solve for porosity from a density log. Check your work. Get it wrong. Get it right. And join the ranks of engineers who truly understand how to coax hydrocarbons from the earth’s deepest chambers.

She presented her findings to the VP of Operations. He frowned. “But the original solution—the standard calculation—says 120.”