Thinking Like an Engineer: An Active Learning Approach 5e

945 Pages·5·65.68 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Stephan, David Bowman, William Park, Benjamin Sill, Matthew Ohland

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Thinking Like
An Engineer
An Active Learning Approach
Fifth Edition
Elizabeth A. Stephan
Clemson University
David R. Bowman
Boeing
William J. Park
Clemson University
William D. Martin, III
Clemson University
Matthew W. Ohland
Purdue University
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Stephan, Elizabeth A., author. | Bowman, D. R. (David Richard) author. | Park, W. J. (William John), author.
| Martin, William D., III, author. | Ohland, Matthew W., author.
Title: Thinking like an engineer : an active learning approach / Elizabeth A. Stephan, Clemson University, David R. Bowman, Boeing,
William J. Park, Clemson University, William D. Martin, III, Clemson University, Matthew W. Ohland, Purdue University.
Description: Fifth edition. | NY, NY : Pearson, [2022] | Includes index. | Summary: “This text reviews the basic principles and good practices
used in the engineering field with an emphasis on engineering essentials, a discussion of units, the use of spreadsheets as a tool, and an
intro to programming using MATLAB”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020056051 | ISBN 9780136932208 (hardcover) | ISBN 0136932207 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Engineering—Study and teaching (Higher) | Active learning.
Classification: LCC TA147 .S74 2022 | DDC 620.0071/1—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020056051
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ISBN-10: 0-13-693220-7
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-693220-8
Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xvii
Part 1 3.6 Prototyping and Testing 70
3.7 Sustainability—A Special Design Criterion 70
Engineering Essentials 2
3.8 Working in Teams 73
Engineering is an . . . Itch! 6 3.9 Experimental Design: PERIOD Analysis 79
Chapter 1 3.10 Project Timeline 82
Everyday Engineering 8 3.11 Modern Project Management 84
In-Class Activities 85
1.1 Choosing a Career 8
Review Questions 86
1.2 Choosing Engineering as a Career 9
Mini Design Projects 87
1.3 NAE Grand Challenges for Engineering 11
1.4 Choosing a Specific Engineering Field 14
Chapter 4
1.5 Engineering Technology—A Related Field 22
Engineering Communication 91
1.6 Gathering Information 24
4.1 Basic Presentation Skills 91
1.7 Pursuing Student Opportunities 26
4.2 Sample Presentations 94
Review Questions 40
4.3 Basic Technical Writing Skills 98
Chapter 2
4.4 Common Technical Communication Formats 102
Ethics 45
In-Class Activities 111
2.1 Ethical Decision Making 46 Review Questions 118
2.2 Plagiarism 51
2.3 Engineering Creed 52 Chapter 5
2.4 Social Responsibility 53 Estimation 124
In-Class Activities 54 5.1 General Hints for Estimation 127
Review Questions 58 5.2 Estimation by Analogy 129
Chapter 3 5.3 Estimation by Aggregation 129
Design, Teamwork, and Project 5.4 Estimation by Upper and Lower Bounds 130
Management 61 5.5 Estimation Using Modeling 130
3.1 Design Processes 61 5.6 Significant Figures 131
3.2 Defining the Problem or Need 62 5.7 Reasonableness 135
3.3 Criteria: Defining What Is Important 64 5.8 Notation 139
3.4 Generating Ideas 67 In-Class Activities 144
3.5 Comparing Designs and Making Decisions 68 Review Questions 147
v
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 6 9.3 Dimensional Analysis 287
Solving Problems 148 9.4 Rayleigh’s Method 290
6.1 Problem Types 148 In-Class Activities 298
6.2 SOLVEM—One Approach to Solving Problems 151 Review Questions 302
6.3 Representing Final Results 157
Part 3
6.4 Avoiding Common Mistakes 157
6.5 Examples of SOLVEM 158 Spectacular Spreadsheets 306
In-Class Activities 161
Chapter 10
Review Questions 165
Excel Workbooks 309
Part 2
10.1 Cell References 310
Ubiquitous Units 166 10.2 Functions in Excel 314
10.3 Logic and Conditionals 322
Lessons of the Mars Climate Orbiter 168
10.4 Lookup and Data Validation 331
Chapter 7
10.5 Conditional Formatting 336
Fundamental Dimensions
10.6 Sorting and Filters 339
and Base Units 169
In-Class Activities 345
7.1 The Metric System 170
Review Questions 360
7.2 Other Unit Systems 173
7.3 Conversion Procedure for Units 173
Chapter 11
7.4 Conversions Involving Multiple Steps 176
Graphical Solutions 371
7.5 Conversions Involving “New” Units 180
11.1 Graphing Terminology 371
7.6 Derived Dimensions and Units 181
11.2 Proper Plots 372
7.7 Equation Laws 185
11.3 Available Graph Types in Excel 379
7.8 Conversion Involving Equations 189
11.4 Graph Interpretation 382
In-Class Activities 192
Review Questions 199 11.5 Meaning of Line Shapes 386
11.6 Graphical Solutions 392
Chapter 8
In-Class Activities 399
Universal Units 205
Review Questions 410
8.1 Force 205
8.2 Weight 208 Chapter 12
8.3 Density 209 Models and Systems 422
8.4 Amount 214
12.1 Proper Plot Rules for Trendlines 423
8.5 Temperature 218
12.2 Linear Functions 424
8.6 Pressure 222
12.3 Linear Relationships 427
8.7 Gas Pressure 228
12.4 Combinations of Linear Relationships 432
8.8 Energy 231
12.5 Power Functions 442
8.9 Power 234
12.6 Exponential Functions 445
8.10 Efficiency 236
In-Class Activities 451
8.11 Electrical Concepts 240
Review Questions 464
In-Class Activities 250
Review Questions 267
Chapter 13
Chapter 9 Mathematical Models 476
Dimensionless Numbers 281 13.1 Selecting a Trendline Type 477
9.1 Constants with Units 281 13.2 Interpreting Logarithmic Graphs 485
9.2 Common Dimensionless Numbers 284 13.3 Proper Plot Rules for Log Plots 490
CONTENTS vii
13.4 Converting Scales to Log in Excel 491 Chapter 17
13.5 Dealing with Limitations of Excel 493 Input/Output in MATLAB 687
In-Class Activities 498 17.1 Input 687
Review Questions 506 17.2 Output 701
17.3 Plotting 706
Chapter 14
17.4 Trendlines 719
Statistics 514
17.5 Microsoft Excel I/O 724
14.1 Histograms 515
In-Class Activities 732
14.2 Statistical Behavior 518
Review Questions 745
14.3 Distributions 521
14.4 Cumulative Distribution Functions 527 Chapter 18
14.5 Statistical Process Control (SPC) 530 Logic and Conditionals 757
14.6 Statistics in Excel 535 18.1 Algorithms Revisited—Representing Decisions 758
14.7 Statistics in MATLAB 539 18.2 Relational and Logical Operators 762
In-Class Activities 547 18.3 Logical Variables 765
Review Questions 556 18.4 Conditional Statements in MATLAB 772
18.5 Application: Classification Diagrams 776
Part 4
18.6 switch Statements 781
Programming Prowess 558
18.7 Errors and Warnings 784
In-Class Activities 788
Some Advantages of Computers 561
Review Questions 800
Chapter 15
Chapter 19
MATLAB Basics 562
Looping Structures 814
15.1 Variable Basics 565
15.2 Numeric Types and Scalars 568 19.1 Algorithms Revisited—Loops 814
15.3 Vectors 572 19.2 while Loops 820
15.4 Matrices 584 19.3 for Loops 827
15.5 Character Arrays 597 In-Class Activities 840
15.6 String Arrays 599 Review Questions 853
15.7 Cell Arrays 601
Comprehension Check Answers 883
15.8 Structure Arrays 610
Index 913
In-Class Activities 616
MATLAB Graphing Properties 923
Review Questions 627
Chapter 16 Appendix A: Basic Engineering Math—Online
Algorithms, Programs, and Functions 633 Appendix B: Basic Workbooks—Online
Appendix C: Basic Excel Graphs—Online
16.1 Algorithms 633
Appendix D: Basic Excel Trendlines—Online
16.2 Programs 641
16.3 Functions 651
16.4 Deriving Mathematical Models 660
16.5 Debugging MATLAB Code 664
16.6 Live Scripts 667
In-Class Activities 670
Review Questions 678
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Preface
At Clemson University, all students who wish to major in engineering begin in the
General Engineering Program, and after completing a core set of classes, they can
declare a specific engineering major. Within this core set of classes, students are required
to take math, physics, chemistry, and a two-semester engineering sequence. Our courses
have evolved to address not only the changing qualities of our students, but also the
changing needs of the engineering profession. The material taught in our courses is the
foundation upon which the upper-level courses depend for the skills necessary to mas-
ter more advanced material. It was for these first-year courses that this text was created.
We didn’t set out to write a textbook: we simply set out to find a better way to
teach our students. Our philosophy was to help students move from a mode of learning
where everything was neatly presented as lecture and handouts where the instruc-
tor was looking for the “right” answer, to a mode of learning driven by self-guided
inquiry. We wanted students to advance beyond “plug-and-chug” and memorization of
problem-solving methods—to ask themselves if their approaches and answers make
sense in the physical world. We couldn’t settle on any textbooks we liked without
patching materials together—one chapter from this text, four chapters from another—
so we wrote our own notes. Through them, we tried to convey that engineering isn’t
always about having the answer—sometimes it’s about asking the right questions, and
we want students to learn how to ask those sorts of questions. Real-world problems
rarely come with all of the information required for their solutions. Problems pre-
sented to engineers typically can’t be solved by looking at how someone else solved the
exact same problem. Part of the fun of engineering is that every problem presents a
unique challenge and requires a unique solution. Engineering is also about arriving at
an answer and being able to justify the “why” behind your choice, and equally impor-
tant, the “why not” of the other choices.
We realized quickly, however, that some students are not able to learn without suf-
ficient scaffolding. Structure and flexibility must be managed carefully. Too much struc-
ture results in rigidity and unnecessary uniformity of solutions. On the other hand, too
much flexibility provides insufficient guidance, and students flounder down many blind
alleys, thus making it more difficult to acquire new knowledge. The tension between
these two must be managed constantly. We are a large public institution, and our stu-
dent body is very diverse. Our hope is to provide each student with the amount of
scaffolding they need to be successful. Some students will require more background
work than others. Some students will need to work five problems, and others may need
to work 50. We talk a great deal to our students about how each learner is unique. Some
students need to listen to a lecture, some need to read the text over three times, and
others just need to try a skill and make mistakes to discover what they still don’t under-
stand. We have tried to provide enough variety for each type of learner throughout.
ix