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Author Topic: Static Engineering Forces  (Read 6183 times)

Offline Sandoz

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Static Engineering Forces
« on: September 08, 2012, 01:21:27 PM »
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« Last Edit: October 10, 2023, 07:18:46 PM by Sandoz »

Offline jim360

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #1 on: September 08, 2012, 02:30:10 PM »
Good grief, only 1 mark awarded for all that! And there's so much working needed to sort it all out!

I might attempt this if you need a solution - or are you just setting this to see who wants to do it?
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Offline BFM_Enigma

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2012, 03:02:04 PM »
a simple vector problem, a little geometry and trig will take care of it.

Offline BFM_Enigma

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2012, 10:23:33 AM »
Good grief, only 1 mark awarded for all that! And there's so much working needed to sort it all out!

The life of a college student studying engineering! You bleed, sweat, and cry over each problem; babying it until you adopt it as your child. You look it over; interpreting it; checking it; recognize each angle, component, and force by name; making sure it is everything you expect! All for one mark.

...Then you move on to the next problem to attempt adoption!


very well put

Offline jim360

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2012, 03:29:30 PM »
It seems there's a very different approach to problem-setting in the US from at least my university. All those awkward numbers... does it really add anything to the problem? Maybe some more practice with a calculator, and a test of patience.

Anyway, thanks for sharing, nice to see how things are done across the pond.
Check out my Short introduction... corner and my "Historical figures who should perhaps be better-known" thread!!

Exciting videos: 1.1 / 1.2 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6



              

Offline BFM_Fénix

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2012, 04:26:20 PM »
It seems there's a very different approach to problem-setting in the US from at least my university. All those awkward numbers... does it really add anything to the problem? Maybe some more practice with a calculator, and a test of patience.

Anyway, thanks for sharing, nice to see how things are done across the pond.

More like a thing of Engineering nowadays... I've felt somewhat similar when I go to some of my classes (good thing I already finished the basic picky-with-numbers ones already). At most, I leave results as fractions, keeping more the integrity of the answer imo, but they always ask for decimals...

As for calculators... I agree with you completely  :siderofl: Around half my colleagues use TI's for exams while I go for mental calculus or a simple scientific calculator...
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Offline jim360

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #6 on: September 11, 2012, 01:26:49 PM »
I'm not convinced there's an easier way of solving this problem - it seems that all the information provided will be needed at some point. It's the nature of the problem that is different from what I'm used to. I tend to get asked problems like "a ball of mass m moving at an initial speed v takes t seconds to reach speed zero in the presence of a force F...". I might dig up one of them to show you what I mean - few if any numbers involved at all.

The original question looks doable but with all those numbers you could get very bogged down in the arithmetic which seems rather off-putting if ever you get slightly lost. Well, I say it looks doable anyway but I haven't put pen to paper on it yet.
Check out my Short introduction... corner and my "Historical figures who should perhaps be better-known" thread!!

Exciting videos: 1.1 / 1.2 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6



              

Offline jim360

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2012, 02:53:24 AM »
Out of interest, what's the age group that this is aimed at? First year of university/ college/ 18 years old?
Check out my Short introduction... corner and my "Historical figures who should perhaps be better-known" thread!!

Exciting videos: 1.1 / 1.2 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6



              

Offline BFM_Fénix

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #8 on: September 18, 2012, 12:59:24 PM »
Don't worry, it is normal. Engineering will give you plenty of things to dislike.  :bang: :bang: :bang:
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Offline jim360

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Re: Static Engineering Forces
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2012, 02:19:49 PM »
I asked mainly so I can find an equivalent question from the same year in my university here - not to say "Oh look, these are the questions I do!" or anything (because in my first year at university I couldn't do these, lol!) but mainly to compare the different style of questions. Ideally it would be from an engineering paper but I don't seem to have access to those currently. I might put one up from a first-year physics paper some time soon.

As far as vectors go, I started to love them about a year or so ago, but funnily enough that was also the same time that I stopped doing the number work with them! The algebra of vectors can be quite wonderful and elegant. Switch to math, Sandoz, and save yourself from engineering tedium... do it!!
Check out my Short introduction... corner and my "Historical figures who should perhaps be better-known" thread!!

Exciting videos: 1.1 / 1.2 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6



              

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