SYLLABUS FOR AERO211-501
AEROSPACE ENGINEERING MECHANICS
FALL 2006
TR 02:20PM-03:35PM HRBB 131
R 11:05AM-12:25PM HRBB 105
Instructor: Tamás Kalmár-Nagy
Website: http://aero.tamu.edu/people/kalmarnagy/
Office: 609C HRBB
e-mail: kalmarnagy@tamu.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday 5:10-6:10
TA: Ramesh V B
Office Hours: Wednesday 11:00-12:00
Course Description: Fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics; Static equilibrium of
particles, system of particles and rigid bodies; Free body diagrams; Rectilinear and
curvilinear motion of particles; Linear momentum; Angular momentum; Friction;
Plane motion of rigid bodies; Beams and trusses.
Recommended Textbook: Vector Mechanics for Engineers - Statics & Dynamics by
F.P. Beer, E.R. Johnston, McGraw-Hill (buy it used to save money).
Goal: To make students proficient in the fundamentals of Newton’s laws and their
application to statics and dynamics of particles and rigid bodies, and to prepare them
for follow-on courses in aerospace engineering.
Course Prerequisites: Admission to upper division AERO.
concurrent enrollment in, MATH 251 OR 253.
Grading Policy: Standard 10% system.
A>=90%, 80%<=B<=89%, 70%<=C<=79%,
Completion of, or
60%<=D<=69%,
F<=59%.
Course grade will be based on your best 11 scores of 13 weekly quizzes (RATs), a
final comprehensive exam, and instructor/TA score (attendance, bonus problems, lab
activity, etc.).
11 Quizzes at 10 pts each
Final examination
Instructor/TA score
Total points
110
100
40
250
All examinations will be closed book & notes. There are no scheduled make-up dates
for quizzes or examinations.
Academic Integrity:
“An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.”
There is zero tolerance for cheating in any form. Any concerns regarding academic
integrity that you choose not to address directly with your course instructor must be
followed
up
through
the
Office
of
the
Aggie
Honor
System
(http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor). It is vitally important that we all strive to
maintain the relevance of the credo quoted above. Remember, if you cheat the
system, you cheat yourself, as well.
Accommodation for Students with Disabilities: The Americans with Disabilities
Act is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights
protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires
that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides
for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe that you have a
disability requiring accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life,
Services
for
Students
with
Disabilities,
Cain
Hall
(979-845-1637,
http://studentlife.tamu.edu/ssd). Any student needing accommodation due to
disability, either in the classroom or during exams should let the instructor know
privately during the first week of the semester.
Accommodation for Religious Observance:
Texas HB256 (9/1/03): “An
institution of higher education shall excuse a student from attending classes or other
required activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy
day, including travel for that purpose. A student whose absence is excused under
this subsection may not be penalized for that absence and shall be allowed to take
an examination or complete an assignment from which the student is excused.” An
effort will be made to accommodate students’ needs for religious observance.
Students are instructed to contact the instructor during the first week of class in
order to make arrangements.
211 CLASS FORMAT FOR FALL 2006
Class meetings
TR 02:20PM-03:35PM HRBB 131 – 75 minutes (5 minute break)
R 11:10AM-12:25PM HRBB 105 – 50 minutes
Semester details
14 weeks; 225 minutes per week; 3150 semester minutes; 13 weekly quizzes
(all previous material is fair game); drop 2 quizzes; Final comprehensive exam.
Weekly model
Tuesday – Lecture topic A. Assign reading. Assign sample problem.
Tuesday – Office hours by TKN (5:10-6:10pm)
Wednesday – Office hours by RVB (11:00-12:00pm?)
Thursday Morning – Quiz (Feedback - How is Dr. T doing?). Demos.
Thursday Afternoon - Lecture topic B. Work problems. Assign HW problems.
Important weekly duties for students
Read relevant “Sample problems.”
Read relevant “Solving problems on your own.”
Read relevant “Review and summary.”
BRIEF WEEK-BY-WEEK OVERVIEW OF TOPICS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
1
Course introduction. Newton’s Laws. Unit systems.
Forces and vector representations. Vector operations.
2
Free body diagrams, resultant forces, and (static) equilibrium. Spring forces.
Differences between point mass modeling and rigid body modeling.
3
Kinematic vectors. Analysis of rectilinear motion. Relative motion. Important
kinematic expressions & special cases. Dependent motions.
4
Point mass kinematics using curvilinear representations. Time derivative of unit
vectors. Tangential and normal expression; radial and transverse expressions.
5
Point mass kinetics for translational motion. Newton’s Second Law (N2L).
Translational momentum. Friction forces & their part in dynamic motion.
6
Kinetics of particles undergoing rotational (angular) motion.
momentum of a particle.
7
Forces on rigid bodies.
forces.
8
Equilibrium of rigid bodies.
dimensions.
9
Distributed Forces. Mass centroids & center of gravity. Mass moment of inertia
definition.
10
Kinematics of rigid body motion. Translations & rotations. Motion restricted to
a plane.
11
Kinetics of rigid bodies (plane motion).
Euler). Angular momentum.
12
Energy of point mass motion and rigid body motion. Conservation of energy.
Conservation of momentum. Energy & momentum methods.
13
Analysis of beams. Static equilibrium of beams.
Internal forces (stress).
14
Introduction to harmonic motion. Free vibrations. Pendulum motion.
15
Review and final examinations.
Moment of a force.
Couples.
Free body diagrams.
Mechanics definitions.
N2L.
Angular
Equivalent system of
Focus on equilibrium in 2-
Equations of motion (Newton and
Analysis of truss systems.
GRADING PHILOSOPHY:
Except for open-ended design problems, the problems in this class and the textbook
usually have a unique answer (i.e., “the answer”). In grading problems, my
philosophy is:
1) An engineer obtains a solution to a problem based on physical understanding of
the problem and the solution is substantiated through supporting engineering
analysis,
2) An engineer should always try to have a “gut-feeling” for the solution, i.e., he
should know when the solution is obviously (or probably) wrong (because of
math or other errors),
3) In most mechanics problems, the problem is dealing with forces, mass,
temperature, area, etc. Thus, a solution is not 3.26 but 3.26 something
(something = N, kg, m/s^2, etc.). Units are essential!! You will be docked
points for answers without units.
4) Incorrect solutions may ONLY receive partial credit if it is clear to me that your
solution procedure is correct and you have satisfied 1-3 above.
RE-GRADING POLICY:
If you think your homework, RAT, or Exam was improperly graded, you have 1 week
in which to submit your paper to me for re-grading after it has been returned to you.
Submit your paper to me along with an explanation of what you consider to be
relevant information that I should consider. No paper will be re-graded after this
ONE-WEEK period.
ATTENDANCE:
I strongly recommend you to attend all classes and BE ON TIME (being consistently
late is a sign of disrespect).
TEAMING:
Working on homework together is fine. However, you can NOT just copy assignments
from each other. You have to INDEPENDENTLY write up the solution and you MUST
unambiguously show the name(s) of the other person(s) you worked with. I may, at
my discretion, choose to quiz any class member on current or past assignments. If it
becomes obvious that the person being quizzed does not adequately understand
what they have affixed their signature to, the grade for that item will automatically
be recorded as a zero.
HOMEWORK:
There will be one homework assignment per week.
1) Homework will be assigned on Thursdays and is to be turned in at the beginning
of class on Tuesday. Late homework will NOT be accepted.
2) Homework must be complete with all steps shown. You may use computer
software (Maple, EES, etc.) and/or calculators to complete tedious calculations
but you must describe what you did and show computer output if computer
software was utilized.
3) Make sure your work is neat (it reflects on you) and staple the pages together.
4) Your final answer must be easily identifiable (either boxed, highlighted,
underlined, separate from other work, etc.) and must appear with appropriate
units.
5) Your name must appear on the top right corner of the first page, together with
the names of people you received/gave help from/to. Not giving credit is
considered scholastic dishonesty, and will be grounds for removal from the class.
PLEASE TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY, WE DO.
READING ASSIGNMENTS:
You are responsible for reading and studying the text material that has been
assigned for a particular lecture. This is your responsibility whether I remind you or
not. A detailed syllabus with reading assignments is attached.
READINESS ASSESSMENT TESTS (RATS):
You may want to call these pop quizzes. RATs will be 5-20 minute closed book
exams. In order to be ready for a RAT, you must have read the assigned material,
listened in class, and have done and understood the homework.
FINAL EXAM:
The Final Exam will be closed book. There will be NO make-up exam except with a
university-approved absence.
Some Do's and Don'ts
I.
USE OF VECTORS
Almost all mechanics equations are vector equations. You must be able
to do vector algebra and calculus to work mechanics problems. Vectors must
be denoted clearly, with an underbar. Vector equations written using scalar
notation are wrong. Equations which equate vectors to scalars, use scalars
where vectors are required (e.g., cross products), contain division by vectors,
indicate vector multiplication without a dot or a cross product, etc., are wrong.
II.
CONSISTENCY (OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOOD AND BAD
HABITS)
There is an old saying that, "Practice makes perfect." This saying is
incorrect; rather, "Practice makes consistent." Perfect practice makes you
consistently perfect. Bad practice makes you consistently bad. Many
people who don't use correct vector notation, etc., on homework say they will
do it right on the exam. Wrong! If you practice it wrong, that is how you will
do it on the exam; under pressure you will revert to the habits you have
practiced, be they good or bad. The best way is to do it right all of the time.
III.
IV.
UNITS
In this class, SI units will be emphasized. Always use units in evaluating
an equation. If the units don’t match up in various terms of a long
equation; this is telling you something: the equation is wrong; you have
mixed units that need conversion, or something else. For example, in
dynamics problems, which can be worked by conservation of momentum
and/or energy principles, if your work results in terms that look like
linear momentum (kg m/s) and energy (N m) and you are trying to add
them; then something is wrong!
SLOPPY MATHEMATICS
The language of mathematics is very precise, and the mathematics used
for mechanics is very well defined. You cannot ignore signs, equations,
etc., because they don't agree with what you expect. For example, if you
have two scalar equations involving only one unknown you cannot arbitrarily
solve one equation for the unknown and ignore the other equation. Over
determined systems are usually inconsistent; i.e., there is no value of the
unknown that satisfies both equations. Inconsistent equations tell you that
something is wrong (the assumptions, equations, or mathematics which
preceded the equations). Only by pure luck will you get the correct answer by
solving one of the equations and ignoring the other. If the math gives you
inconsistent equations, signs, etc., it is trying to tell you something; go
back and find your error.
SOME POTENTIALLY USEFUL INFORMATION FOR RATS AND EXAMS
STRATEGIES FOR TAKING AN EXAM; IN PARTICULAR, EXAMS IN
ENGR 211
Quickly read all of the problems and note their point value before you start
working on any problem. Answer the problems you judge to be easiest first and
the hardest problems last. Do not spend more time on a problem than its point
value justifies (unless you have already attempted all of the other problems). If you
can do the easier problems quickly you may have extra time for the harder problems.
Do not assume that the order in which the problems are presented is also the order of
increasing difficulty.
Make sure you pace yourself as you work through an exam. For example,
let us say you have roughly 100 minutes to earn 100 points. The time that you can
spend on a particular page of the exam is therefore about the same (in minutes) as the
point value of that page. Do not get stuck on one page -- move on! You can
always come back later if you have time left over.
When you finish any engineering problem you should check your answers to
see if they make sense and are dimensionally correct. If you come up with an
answer that you know is wrong but you do not have time to find your error, write the
grader a short note stating that the answer is wrong and why, and that you could not
find and correct your error in the available time. For example, if you calculate that the
tension in a cable is negative, then something is obviously wrong since you cannot push
on a rope. Write "Negative tension impossible. Out of time." on your paper so that the
grader at least knows that you realized your answer was physically impossible.
Study early and get plenty of sleep the night before the exam. You may
be able to cram the night before some exams and learn enough facts to do well;
however, cramming does NOT work for engineering courses. In these courses,
there are a minimum number of facts (principles) that you have to
UNDERSTAND AND KNOW HOW TO APPLY to do well on an exam. To do well on
a dynamics exam you must be able to THINK during the exam (apply basic
principles to problems you have not seen before), NOT recite facts or PLUG
NUMBERS INTO EQUATIONS. You will perform better if you learn the
principles/facts early and get a good night's sleep the night before the exam.
It is also NOT a good idea to try and digest a lot of information in the 3-4
hours just prior to an exam. A cursory glance at notes or at examples in the
textbook often results in your spending precious time trying to recall what it was that
you saw when you see a similar figure accompanying an exam problem. You would
be much better off focusing on the problem you have actually been asked to do.