Lee L. Lowery, Jr.

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STATICS – CVEN 221 Section 503 – 2017

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The Art of Making Things Sit Still

Course Syllabus – 2017 Fall (CRN 24476)
MW 4:10 pm – 6:00 pm in CVEN Room 118

What’s wrong with this picture? (Rube Goldberg was not statics savvy)

What really happens:  Weight of cannon ball on unbalanced lever rotates T-lever at top, dropping cannon ball on ground hog, killing it instantly.  Golfer unfortunately is also killed when entire mechanism rotates clockwise, impacting right end on ground, dynamically transmitting reacting force to left end of mechanism, snapping golfer’s neck.  Adding insult to injury, impact bends gun barrel such that tee projectile wounds local video reporter on scene.  Reporter taken to hospital, reports animal rights violation to ASPCA who call Animal Cops.  Video of crime goes viral on YouTube.  Riots break out.  Golfing banned.

The gentleman shown here made a D in my statics class last semester.

Please note that although your grade in CVEN 221 will be highly influenced by your ability to do everything covered in the class, you MUST be able to find forces in trusses by the methods of joints and sections, you MUST be able to calculate reactions on beams, trusses, and frames, you MUST be able to draw shear and moment diagrams, you MUST be able to write equations for the magnitude of a moment as a function of x in any section of a beam, and you MUST be able to find the centroid and moment of inertia of plane sections, or you will not pass. These things are critical and your professors teaching later courses will flunk you and pillory me if you go into their class unable to perform to this minimum level of competency.

Help for this course is available from the people shown below, at the office hours listed.

Professor of Record: Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E.

Office: Dwight Look Office Building was CE/TTI Room 701c
Phone: 979-845-4395 (Office), 979-775-5401 (Home)
e-mail: Lowery@tamu.edu
Click here for office hours
I try and keep my known appointments below r up to date, and to add unexpected meetings as they arise. However, sometimes they just pop up, so it will always be in your best interest to call before you come by and let me know, unless you are already in the area.

Teaching Associates:  See list on Help Desk:

HELP DESK HOURS – FALL 2017  In the old pi R^2 room, ground floor of the Dwight Look building (formerly the CE/TTI 8 story building).  Has sign on desk: Help Desk CVEN Mechanics.  They run a full-blown help desk for our class.

Textbook:    Either the hard copy or an electronic version of
                       Vector Mechanics for Engineers: STATICS,
Eleventh Edition, Beer, Johnston, Mazurek, Cornwell, Self
McGraw Hill, Boston, 2016
ISBN:
Must have access to McGrawHill Connect

It would be best that you not get a text until you attend class the first day.

Click here for instructions on how to activate your text, and for other information peculiar to this class.

Catalog Description:

Application of the fundamental principles of Newtonian mechanics to the statics of particles and the equilibrium of trusses, frames, beams and other rigid bodies. Forces; moments; trusses; beams; free body diagrams; friction; equilibrium; first and second moments of lines, areas, and volumes; centers of pressure, mass, and gravity; and moments of inertia. Vector algebra and calculus are used. Prerequisites: Admission to a major sequence in Civil Engineering; MATH 251 or 253, or registration therein; PHYS 218.

Course Objectives:

  • To introduce the student to statics of particles and rigid bodies, equilibrium, forces and force components, moments, shear and moment diagrams, moments of inertia.

Learning Outcomes

  • (a) Ability to apply knowledge of basic mathematics, science, and engineering.

Course Prerequisites:

To take CVEN 221, you must have been admitted to upper level in Civil Engineering, and have received a passing grade (no D’s, F’s or I’s) in PHYS 218, and have completed or be registered in MATH 251 or MATH 253.

Course Assessment:

  • Graded weekly exams – every Wednesday starting on Class 4, ending on Class

Syllabus Information – Please Read:

Resources available to the student:

Websites:  The following McGrawHill website will serve as one of the central resources for the class throughout the semester.  Membership to the McGrawHill website should be possible with information provided with your new textbook.  If you wish, you can use a fully online textbook at a reduced cost.

http://connect.mheducation.com/class/221-17c-503

Daily Videos: This course is divided into 28 meetings (refer to Class Schedule).  A daily video will be posted on the McGrawhill website for each meeting day except for days 25 and 28.  Day 25 will be used for catch up day.  No work is assigned or due on Day 25.  No video is assigned to be watched on Day 28.

Each video will be divided into segments that are labeled as follows:  Video_d_x  where d is the class day (refer to Class Schedule) that the video should be watched and x is the video sequence for day d.  On day 1, after class you should watch video segments Video_01_01, Video_01_02, Video_01_03, etc.  On day 2, after class you should watch video segments Video_02_01, Video_02_02, Video_02_03, etc.  These videos will contain material that is necessary for you to successfully complete the Homework assigned on the McGrawhill Website (refer to the Assignment Schedule Sheet at the end of this syllabus).

You should read the assigned text material, view the daily video, and work the appropriate homework prior to the next class meeting (refer to the Assignment Schedule Sheet at the end of this syllabus).

Proper Solution Format:

It is an engineer’s responsibility to prepare neat, well presented problem solutions.  Engineering work is generally presented on 8-1/2” x 11” engineering paper.  I would encourage you to get in the habit of doing your work as though you are already an engineer.

All work should be presented on one side of the paper only. Begin each new problem on a new sheet. Your name, course, section number, and due date should appear at the top of each page. The current page number as well as the total number of pages in the assignment should appear in the upper right corner of each page. The next line of each page should be the assignment number. The body of the solution for each problem should consist of six sections:

Problem: Give a problem statement in complete sentences.

Given:  State all that is known about the problem in complete sentences.

Required: State what you have been asked to determine in complete sentences.

Figures: Almost every problem in this course will require a detailed Free-Body-Diagram in support of your solution! Use an appropriate and consistent set of units and show all appropriate sign conventions.

Solution: Present your solution in a logical and methodical manner that you could defend in a court of law.

Summary: Provide an organized summary of the problem by listing each item from the required statement followed by its corresponding result from the solution section.

You should keep an assignment notebook that contains all of your homework calculations that support the answers that you submit to the McGrawHill website as discussed below.  This notebook will be a very important resource when you study for your weekly quizzes  and final exams.  Please bring the assignment notebook with you when you come for help. 

Homework: A homework problem set will be assigned each day except for days 1, 15 and 28.  It will be necessary for you to read the assigned text material and view the assigned video to fully understand how to solve each problem in the assigned homework set (refer to the homework Summary Sheet at the end of this syllabus).  To access the homework you should go to the McGrawHill course website and click on the appropriate assignment.  Then, work each problem in the assignment and enter your result in the blanks provided.

Because of the recent hurricane, the videos and homework for day 1 is added into day 2.  There was very little in there anyway.  (Also, not my decision.)

You will either get full credit for each homework problem or no credit.  You can attempt each problem as many times as you wish until you are successful.   It should be noted that some of the homework assignments are algorithmic.  This means that each of you will receive essentially the same problem but with different numbers.  If you try a particular problem too many times, it may switch numbers on you.

You will only receive credit for problems that are successfully answered and submitted on-line by the deadline listed.  If your assignment is not submitted, it will not be graded.

The homework problems are due before the next class starts, as listed on the website..

Enter your homework problem solution sheets into your assignment notebook for future reference. 

Quizzes: Quizzes will be given on Wednesdays except for Day 2 and 28.  There will be anywhere from 10 to 14, depending on circumstances (like storms).  The questions that appear on the quizzes will be inspired by homework problems and information presented on the videos and in classes up to the day of the quiz.  The number will range from between 10 and 14.

You will be expected to use the proper solution format to solve the quiz problems as discussed above.  The information already printed on each quiz page will suffice for the problem statement, the given statement, and the required statement.  You will be expected to provide a coherent problem solution that contains all necessary figures, Free-Body-Diagrams, units, appropriate sign conventions.  Your solution must be presented in a logical and methodical manner.  You must provide an organized summary of your result.  Often this will involve simply entering your answer in the blank provided.  BOX YOUR FINAL ANSWERS.

All quizzes will be graded using Beason’s Qualitative Grading Rubric.  All solutions MUST include all necessary Free-Body-Diagrams.

If a weekly quiz is missed for a valid university excused reason (see below), then you will be given a replacement quiz at a later date to be decided.  A date and time in the evening toward the end of the semester will be selected to give makeups and everyone with excused absences will be given make-ups at that time.

You MUST bring an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper to take the weekly quiz on, just like some classes require you to bring a scantron, except it doesn’t cost $0.50.  Paper torn out of a spiral notebook with ragged edges will be worth 1/2 credit.

Class Attendance Policy: 

Class attendance is required for all students at all classes.  If a weekly quiz is missed for a documented University Excused absence, then a date towards the end of the semester will be set up for everyone who has an excused absence to take a make-up.

Final Exam:       There will be one final exam as scheduled by the University in our regular classroom.  The exam date and time is not a “suggested” time and date.   It is your job to show up for the scheduled final exam and take it at the appointed time.  There is no regularly scheduled “make-up” final exam.

If the final exam is missed for a valid university excused reason (see below), then you will be given a make-up exam.

Websites: The following McGraw Hill website will serve as a central resource for the class throughout the semester.

http://connect.mheducation.com/class/221-17c-503

Membership to the McGraw Hill website should be possible with information and the code provided with your new textbook.  If you wish, you can use a fully online textbook at a reduced cost.

Daily Videos: This course is divided into 28 meetings (refer to Class Schedule below).  A daily video will be posted on the McGraw Hill website for each meeting day except for days 25 and 28. Day 25 will be used for a catch-up day. No homework is assigned or due on Day 25. No video is assigned to be watched on Day 28.

Hurricane exceptions –

Each video will be divided into segments that are labeled as follows: Video_d_x where “d” is the class day (refer to the Class Schedule below) on which you should watch that video and “x” is the video sequence on day “d”.  On day 1, after class 1 you should watch video segments Video_01_01, Video_01_02, Video_01_03, etc. On day 2, after class 2 you should watch video segments Video_02_01, Video_02_02, Video_02_03, etc. These videos contain material that is necessary for you to successfully complete the Assigned Homework on the McGrawHill Website (refer to the Assignment Schedule Sheet below).

You should read the assigned text material sheets (the .pdf files), and view the daily videos, and work the appropriate homework prior to the next class meeting (refer to the Class Schedule Sheet below).

For information on how to log on to the McGraw Hill website and see how to view the homework assignments and videos, CLICK HERE

On the final exam you will be supplied with tables for areas, centroids, moments of inertia etc. for simple shapes like semi-circles, etc.  You are permitted to bring one 8-1/2″ x 11″ sheet of paper with the more complex equations, but no example problems of any kind.  Legal equations are for things like moments of forces about a line or a point, moments of inertia for composite shapes (Itotal = sum Ioi plus sum Ai*di^2), stuff like that.  Hand it back in with your name on it, with your other work at the end of the exam.

CVEN 221 Section 503 2017c Class Schedule

Date Class Topic(s) To Be Addressed

Chapter Reference

 

8/28

 

 1 Introduction to Mechanics; Fundamental Principles and Newton’s Laws; 1.1-1.2
8/30 2 Units; Problem Solution and Numerical Accuracy 1.3-1.6
9/4 3 Statics of Particles 2.1
9/6 4 Equilibrium of a Particle 2.2-2.3
9/11 5 Equilibrium of a Particle 2.4-2.5
9/13 6 Force System Resultants/Moment Systems 3.1
9/18 7 Force System Resultants/Moment Systems 3.2-3.3
9/20 8 Force System Resultants/Moment Systems 3.4-3.4C
9/25 9 Equilibrium of a Rigid Body 4.1
9/27 10 Equilibrium of a Rigid Body 4.2
10/2 11 Equilibrium of a Rigid Body 4.3
10/4 12 Centroids and Center of Gravity 5.1-5.2A
10/9 13 Centroids and Center of Gravity 5.3
10/11 14 Centroids and Center of Gravity 5.2B, 5.4-5.4B
10/16 15 Catch Up Day  
10/18 16 Structural Analysis 6.1-6.1B
10/23 17 Structural Analysis 6.1C-6.2
10/25 18 Structural Analysis 6.3
10/30 19 Structural Analysis 6.4
11/1 20 Internal Forces in Structural Members 7.1
11/6 21 Internal Forces in Structural Members 7.2
11/8 22 Internal Forces in Structural Members 7.3
11/13 23 Internal Forces in Structural Members 7.4A
11/15 24 Second Moments of Areas 9.1
11/20 25 Second Moments of Areas 9.2
11/27 26 Friction 8.1
11/29 27 Friction 8.2A
12/6 28 Review  
Item Timing Credit

 

Weekly Quizzes

 

Given on Wednesdays – total number 10 to 14 except for days 2 and 28

 

60%

 

Final Exam

 

Click here for date and time

 

30%
Home Work Daily 10%
  Final Grade 100%

 A=90-100, B=80-89, C=70-79, D=60-69, F=0-59

Dr. W. Lynn Beason’s Grading Rubric will be used to score Weekly Quizzes

The following is the required ADA statement:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 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 you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Disability Services, currently located in the Disability Services building at the Student Services at White Creek complex on west campus or call 979-845-1637. For additional information, visit http://disability.tamu.edu.

The following is the required Academic Integrity Statement:

 “An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.”

All syllabi shall contain a section that states the Aggie Honor Code and refers the student to the Honor Council Rules and Procedures on the web: http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor

Final Exam Date – check here: 
http://registrar.tamu.edu/Registrar/media/REGI_SpecPDFDocs/Fall-2017-Final-Exam-Schedule.pdf