Students learn how to classify materials as mixtures, elements or compounds and …
Students learn how to classify materials as mixtures, elements or compounds and identify the properties of each type. The concept of separation of mixtures is also introduced since nearly every element or compound is found naturally in an impure state such as a mixture of two or more substances, and it is common that chemical engineers use separation techniques to separate mixtures into their individual components. For example, the separation of crude oil into purified hydrocarbons such as natural gas, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and/or lubricants.
This unit describes a general approach to guiding students to complete service-based …
This unit describes a general approach to guiding students to complete service-based engineering design projects, with specific examples provided in detail as associated activities. With your class, brainstorm ideas for engineering designs that benefit your community or a specific person in your community. Then, guided by the steps of the engineering design process, have students research to understand background science and math, meet their client to understand the problem, and create, test and improve prototype devices. Note that service-based projects often take more time to prepare, especially if you arrange for a real client. However, the authors notice that students of both genders and all ethnicities tend to respond with more enthusiasm and interest to altruistic projects.
Students are introduced to the concepts of graywater and water reuse within …
Students are introduced to the concepts of graywater and water reuse within households. They calculate the amount of used water a family generates in one day and use a model of home plumbing to find out how much graywater is produced in homes every day. They graph their results and discuss energy efficiency implications. Students are then challenged to find ways to reduce water use within the home.
Students learn about how engineers design and build shake tables to test …
Students learn about how engineers design and build shake tables to test the ability of buildings to withstand the various types of seismic waves generated by earthquakes. Just like engineers, students design and build shake tables to test their own model buildings made of toothpicks and mini marshmallows. Once students are satisfied with the performance of their buildings, they put them through a one-minute simulated earthquake challenge.
Students learn about STEM education through an engineering design challenge that focuses …
Students learn about STEM education through an engineering design challenge that focuses on improving building materials used in shantytowns. First, they consider the factors that lead to shantytown development. After researching the implications of living in shantytowns, students design, build and test cement-based concrete block composites made of discarded and/or recycled materials. The aim is to make a material that is resistant to degradation by chemicals or climate, can withstand natural disasters, and endure through human-made conditions (such as urban overcrowding or pollution). The composites must be made of materials that are inexpensive and readily available so that they are viable alternative in shantytown communities. Students assess the results both chemically and physically and then iterate their designs with the materials that proved to be strongest.
Students are introduced to brainstorming and the design process in problem solving …
Students are introduced to brainstorming and the design process in problem solving as it relates to engineering. They perform an activity to develop and understand problem solving with an emphasis on learning from history. Using only paper, straws, tape and paper clips, they create structures that can support the weight of at least one textbook. In their first attempts to build the structures, they build whatever comes to mind. For the second trial, they examine examples of successful buildings from history and try again.
Ship longitudinal strength and hull primary stresses. Ship structural design concepts. Effect of superstructures and dissimilar materials on primary strength. Transverse shear stresses in the hull girder. Torsional strength of ships.Design limit states including plate bending, column and panel buckling, panel ultimate strength, and plastic analysis. Matrix stiffness, grillage, and finite element analysis. Computer projects on the structural design of a midship module. This course is intended for first year graduate students and advanced undergraduates with an interest in design of ships or offshore structures. It requires a sufficient background in structural mechanics. Computer applications are utilized, with emphasis on the theory underlying the analysis. Hydrostatic loading, shear load and bending moment, and resulting primary hull primary stresses will be developed. Topics will include; ship structural design concepts, effect of superstructures and dissimilar materials on primary strength, transverse shear stresses in the hull girder, and torsional strength among others. Failure mechanisms and design limit states will be developed for plate bending, column and panel buckling, panel ultimate strength, and plastic analysis. Matrix stiffness, grillage, and finite element analysis will be introduced. Design of a ship structure will be analyzed by "hand" with desktop computer tools and a final design project using current applications for structural design of a section will be accomplished.
Students explore the basic physics behind walking, and the design and engineering …
Students explore the basic physics behind walking, and the design and engineering of shoes to accommodate different gaits. They are introduced to pressure, force and impulse as they relate to shoes, walking and running. Students learn about the mechanics of walking, shoe design and common gait misalignments that often lead to injury.
Students use their understanding of projectile physics and fluid dynamics to find …
Students use their understanding of projectile physics and fluid dynamics to find the water pressure in water guns. By measuring the range of the water jets, they are able to calculate the theoretical pressure. Students create graphs to analyze how the predicted pressure relates to the number of times they pump the water gun before shooting.
Students perform one of the first steps that environmental engineers do to …
Students perform one of the first steps that environmental engineers do to determine water quality sampling and analysis. Student teams measure the electrical conductivity of four water samples (deionized water, purified water, school tap water and a salt-water solution) using teacher-made LED-conductivity testers and commercially available electrical conductivity meters. They use multimeters to also measure the resistance of the samples. They graph their collected data to see the relationship between the conductivity and resistance. Then, all students measure the conductivity of tap water samples brought to school from their homes; they organize and average their data by sub areas within their local school district to see if house location has any relationship to the water conductivity in their community.
By this point in the unit, students have learned all the necessary …
By this point in the unit, students have learned all the necessary information and conceptualized a design for how an optical biosensor could be used to detect a target strand of DNA associated with a cancer-causing gene as their solution to the unit's challenge question. Now student groups act as engineers again, using a poster format to communicate and prove the validity of the design. Successful posters include a description of refraction, explanations of refraction in a thin film, and the factors that can alter the interference pattern of a thin film. The posters culminate with an explanation of what is expected to be seen in a biosensing device of this type if it were coupled to a target molecule, proven with a specific example and illustrated with drawings and diagrams throughout. All the poster elements combine to prove the accuracy and viability of this method of gene detection. Together with its associated lesson, this activity functions as part of the summative assessment for this unit.
Students learn about the major factors that comprise the design and construction …
Students learn about the major factors that comprise the design and construction cost of a modern bridge. Before a bridge design is completed, engineers provide overall cost estimates for construction of the bridge. Students learn about the components that go into estimating the total cost, including expenses for site investigation, design, materials, equipment, labor and construction oversight, as well as the trade-off between a design and its cost.
Subject provides a solid theoretical foundation for the analysis and processing of …
Subject provides a solid theoretical foundation for the analysis and processing of experimental data, and real-time experimental control methods. Includes spectral analysis, filter design, system identification, simulation in continuous and discrete-time domains. Emphasis on practical problems with laboratory exercises. Subject is designated as a d'Arbeloff Laboratory "gateway" subject.
This course covers the fundamentals of signal and system analysis, focusing on …
This course covers the fundamentals of signal and system analysis, focusing on representations of discrete-time and continuous-time signals (singularity functions, complex exponentials and geometrics, Fourier representations, Laplace and Z transforms, sampling) and representations of linear, time-invariant systems (difference and differential equations, block diagrams, system functions, poles and zeros, convolution, impulse and step responses, frequency responses). Applications are drawn broadly from engineering and physics, including feedback and control, communications, and signal processing.
This course was developed in 1987 by the MIT Center for Advanced …
This course was developed in 1987 by the MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Studies. It was designed as a distance-education course for engineers and scientists in the workplace. Signals and Systems is an introduction to analog and digital signal processing, a topic that forms an integral part of engineering systems in many diverse areas, including seismic data processing, communications, speech processing, image processing, defense electronics, consumer electronics, and consumer products. The course presents and integrates the basic concepts for both continuous-time and discrete-time signals and systems. Signal and system representations are developed for both time and frequency domains. These representations are related through the Fourier transform and its generalizations, which are explored in detail. Filtering and filter design, modulation, and sampling for both analog and digital systems, as well as exposition and demonstration of the basic concepts of feedback systems for both analog and digital systems, are discussed and illustrated.
Student teams make polymers using ordinary household supplies (glue, borax, water). They …
Student teams make polymers using ordinary household supplies (glue, borax, water). They experiment with the semi-solid material when warm and cold to see and feel its elastic and viscous properties. Students will begin to understand how the electrical forces between particles change as temperature or the force applied to the substance changes. Is it a solid, a liquid, or something in between? How might it be used?
In this activity, students play the game Simon Says to make the …
In this activity, students play the game Simon Says to make the amplitudes and wavelengths defined by the teacher. First they play alone, and then they play with a partner using a piece of rope.
Students build and use a very basic Coulter electric sensing zone particle …
Students build and use a very basic Coulter electric sensing zone particle counter to count an unknown number of particles in a sample of "paint" to determine if enough particles per ml of "paint" exist to meet a quality standard. In a lab experiment, student teams each build an apparatus and circuit, set up data acquisition equipment, make a salt-soap solution, test liquid flow in the apparatus, take data, and make graphs to count particles.
Students work with partners to create four different instruments to investigate the …
Students work with partners to create four different instruments to investigate the frequency of the sounds they make. Teams may choose to make a shoebox guitar, water-glass xylophone, straw panpipe or a soda bottle organ (or all four!). Conduct this activity in conjunction with Lesson 3 of the Sound and Light unit.
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