by Dale Baker
Engineering Thermodynamics. This subject uses the concepts of science that deal with transfer of heat and work which are used to solve engineering problems. Engineers use thermodynamics to calculate energies in chemical processing, to calculate the fuel efficiency of engines, and to find ways to make more efficient systems, be they rockets, refineries, or nuclear reactors. For example, a mechanical engineer would have used “thermo” extensively in the design of an “alternative energy vehicle” that uses natural gas.
Activity—Differing educational focus of different engineering disciplines
Choose two or three types of engineers and describe and write down what you think are the typical math and science classes they might take that will provide a focus for their future professional activities.
Review Questions
The following questions will help you assess your understanding of the How Do Math and Science Connect with Engineering in High School and College? section. There may be one, two, three, or even four correct answers to each question. To demonstrate your understanding, you should find all of the correct answers.
College engineering programs require ACT or SAT scores
letters or recommendation
four years of high school mathematics
an essay about engineering
Engineering students must be able to apply math and science to problems
remember math and science problems
major in a math or science field
use math and science as tools
If you want to become an engineer you should study mostly mathematics
mostly science
mathematics and science
some history
English is as important as mathematic and science because engineers must be able to write
engineers must communicate with the public
engineers must communicate with coworkers
engineers must be well rounded
Engineering requires that you understand timelines
calculus
geometry
formulas
The best indicator of success in an engineering major in college is overall grade point average in high school
taking three years of metal shop in high school
taking two computer science courses in high school
successfully completing four years of math courses in high school
Review Answers
How Do Math and Science Connect with Engineering in High School and College?
a,c
a,d
c
a,b,c
a,b,c,d
b,d
Connecting Engineering Career Fields with Science and Engineering
This section discusses the nature of a variety of engineering disciplines: the background, engineering activities, and what is designed and built by engineers in the discipline.
Agricultural engineering involves the design of agricultural machinery and equipment, the development of ways to conserve water and improve the processing of agricultural foods, and the development of ways in which to conserve soil and water. None of this would be possible without an understanding of geology, chemistry, and biology.
Aerospace engineers use their knowledge of physics, math, and engineering to design and build airborne and space structures and the systems that support them. These include airplanes, helicopters, rockets, satellites, and the space shuttle. Examples of new human-related challenges are in designing safer and more comfortable commercial aircraft and in designing private airplanes for the elderly and physically challenged. Aerospace engineers typically work for organizations such as Lear, Boeing, and NASA.
Bioengineers design and develop devices and procedures that solve medical and health-related problems by combining a knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine with engineering principles. They develop and evaluate systems and products such as artificial organs, prostheses, instruments, medical information systems, and health management and care delivery systems. They work with doctors and health care specialists to design and build components and systems that aid and improve the physical well being of humans. These include diagnostic devices (e.g. blood sugar sensors for diabetics) and body repair or replacement parts such as artificial hips or prosthetic legs. Examples of new challenges include developing organ replacements and sensors to monitor body chemistry. Bioengineers typically work for companies such as Medtronic, Baxter Healthcare, and Johnson and Johnson.
Chemical engineers apply the principles of chemistry to solve design and supervise facilities for the production and use of chemicals and biochemicals. They must be aware of all aspects of chemicals manufacturing and how the manufacturing process affects the environment and the safety of the workers and consumers. Examples include desalinization plants and semiconductor processing equipment. Examples of new human-related challenges are in designing and building equipment for large-scale production of artificial skin and bacteria-created antibiotics. They typically work for organizations such as Dow, DuPont, Motorola, and Monsanto.
Civil engineers design and supervise construction of structures and infrastructure such as roads, buildings, bridges, and water supply and sewage systems. Examples of new human-related challenges are in providing ready access and easy mobility for the elderly and physically challenged to all structures as well as infrastructure improvements for controlling and reducing urban environmental pollution of water and air. Civil engineers typically work as consultants and for architectural and city organizations such as Del Webb Houses and the City of Phoenix. They make use of mechanics from physics in the design of roads and structures, but also need the tools of chemistry and biology when addressing environmental issues related to water supply and sewage.
Computer scientists and engineers design computers and the instruction sets in computer programs that control systems and devices in the world around us. Examples are automobile engine controls or Internet information delivery. Examples of new human-related challenges are in developing programs that help physically challenged for controlling the motion of artificial limbs or for driving a car. Computer engineers work for companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Hewlett Packard.
Electrical engineers design and fabricate electrical and electronic devices and systems. Examples include cell phones, televisions and skyscraper electrical delivery systems. Examples of new human-related challenges are in developing the sensors and electronics for bionic systems such as artificial eyes and ears. Electrical engineers typically work for organizations such as ATT, Motorola, Intel, and Medtronic.
Industrial engineers design and implement the most cost-effective organization of resources (people, information, energy, materials, and machines) for manufacturing and distributing engineering services and goods. Examples of new human-related challenges are improving safety and ergonomic design of cars for average or physically challenged individuals. Industrial engineers typically work for a variety of manufacturing organizations such as Intel, Boeing, and Honeywell.
Materials engineers design, select and improve the materials used in a wide array of engineering applications. These include the alloys in jet engines, plastics in bicycles, ceramics in radar equipment, composites in golf clubs, and semiconductors in cell phones. Examples of human-related challenges are new and improved materials for leg, arm or hand prosthetics and implants for hips and other joints. Materials engineers typically work for a variety of organizations such as Motorola, Boeing, and Ford.
Mechanical engineers use physics principles of motion, energy and force as a basis for understanding, analyzing, designing, and building mechanical components and systems. Such systems could include bicycles, cars, engines, and solar energy systems. New human-related challenges could include robotically controlled artificial limbs and mechanical components for an artificial heart. Mechanical engineers often work for organizations such as Boeing, Intel, and Honeywell.
Nuclear engineers design and build the processes, instruments
, and systems that include radioactive materials. They might design nuclear power plants to generate electricity or to power ships and submarines. They also might design medical devices and systems that use trace amounts of radioactive material for diagnostic imaging and radiation treatment. This field makes extensive use of chemistry, biology, and physics in designing for such applications.
Activity—What kinds of engineers are needed in a team to solve a specific problem.
For each of the global societal issues in Table 1 in the What Is the Role of Science and Mathematics in Engineering? section, decide the types of engineers that would be needed on a team to address these issues.
Activity—What do career resources say about engineering?
The purpose of this activity is to help you compare answers about various fields in engineering and the possible uses of math and science within these fields. Access the occupational outlook handbook on the web site http://www.bls.gov/oco/. On this site, click on the “ to Index,” and then click on the letter “” in the index. Take a moment to note the numerous options listed within “Engineering” or that have “Engineering” in their title. Select the “engineers” option, and you will be directed to a page that lists all possible career paths for a student pursuing engineering, along with a brief description of each specialty. Examine these career paths and then answer the following questions:
Did you learn about any different new engineering careers or activities?
Give an example for a single engineering career about the nature of the work, working conditions, training requirements, employment, job outlook, and earnings.
Review Questions
The following questions will help you assess your understanding of the Connecting Engineering Career Fields with Science and Engineering section. There may be one, two, three, or even four correct answers to each question. To demonstrate your understanding, you should find all of the correct answers.
Aerospace engineers train air traffic controllers to use up-to-date equipment
design airport runways and passenger lounges
teach at the Air force Academy in Colorado
design and build things such as airplanes and space shuttle
Agricultural engineering involves designing the best layout for a farm
selecting the plants that will produce the largest crop
designing agricultural machinery and equipment
selecting the best way to transport products to market
The engineering field or fields that use a great deal of mathematics are marine engineering
nuclear engineering
chemical engineer
industrial engineer
Bioengineers work with doctors and health care specialists
develop devices to diagnose diseases
must have a medical degree
develop health management systems
Most chemical engineers know how making chemicals affects the environment
typically work for the military creating weapons
are not responsible for their products’ safety
transform gases and liquids into useful products
Electrical engineers write computer programs
build solar energy systems
build sensors
design computers
Mechanical engineers work on mechanical rather than human-related problems
use physics principles of energy, force, and motion
develop new materials for building mechanical devices
none of the above
Civil engineers build bridges and water systems
work primarily for the federal government
do not need a background in biology
none of the above
Review Answers
Connecting Engineering Career Fields with Science and Engineering
d
c
a,b,c,d
a,b,d
a,d
c
b
a
Connecting Mathematics and Science to the Engineering Design Process
Who Is the Client or Customer for the Designed Artifact
There are many types of societal issues which extend beyond the borders of any single state or country that will impact the quality of many people’s lives in the future. However, in order to address a given global issue, it has to be reconfigured into a local issue, whether it is at the city, county, state, region, or national level. Then local action can be taken to address a local problem, which then contributes to the solution of the global range of the problem. For example, for the issue of Drought in the Southwest, a way to address this as a local problem might be given by the question, “How can water be conserved in the city of Phoenix?” Thus, the design process for a product designated for the public good requires consideration of the scope of implementation. For example, will the designed artifact or process address an audience of one person or many people? Do they live locally on the block or in the town, or regionally in the county or state or contiguous states or possibly nationally or internationally one. These issues will be considered in the exercise below.
Activity—Who is client or sponsor for a designed societal issue solution?
Select three or four topic from the list of global issues in Table 1 in the What Is the Role of Science and Mathematics in Engineering? section that interest you. Describe and write down who the clients or customers might be for the three or four issues you selected.
A Streamlined Engineering Design Process
The design process begins when a client or customer has a problem or need and wants a designed solution resulting in a product that meets the need or solves the problem. Sometimes, a new product is developed from scratch which would require a new design and sometimes innovations are used to improve existing products, in which case some aspects of an already existed design would be modified. New products generally use an open-ended process that rarely has a single correct solution. Instead, there are several solutions that will satisfy desired needs with varying degrees of effectiveness. In this section, we will indicate how each step of the design process is connected to math and science. One of the challenges of design is to choose from a number of possible solutions. However, a clearly defined process flow is needed so that designs are developed to meet the needs of customer or client. We will demonstrate how math and science connect to engineering in the engineering design process with a simplified example to facilitate understanding. The process is usually iterative but a single cycle will be used here since the goal is to show the math and science connection to engineering (Figure 6). Briefly stated, the streamlined steps in the design process might consist of the following:
Identify a problem or a need.
Define requirements and constraints.
Generate ideas or brainstorm for set possible solutions.
Use requirements and constraints to evaluate possible solutions.
Use the chosen solution to design and build a prototype.
Test and evaluate the prototype and modify if necessary to finalize prototype.
Communicate the results.
Figure 5.6
A simplified engineering design process.
Case Study—Water for a Small, Isolated Seaside Village in an Underdeveloped Country
Let us say that there is a small village of 50 people living in a tropical climate at the desert’s edge by the sea and named Ecologia. It is connected to the next small village 150 miles away by a poor one-lane road that is sometimes impassable due to dust storms and bad repair. The town lives by fishing from the ocean and by farming a small patch of vegetables, but does have a few gasoline-powered generators to supply some electricity to the village. It is located in the underdeveloped country of Optimicia which does not have the resources to supply utilities such as electricity, water, and communication to the town. A single well has supplied water to the town, but the water level is dropping and it may go dry. The village would like to have
another means of supply of water to supplement the current supply and assure sufficient quantities for the future.
This scenario will be used with the goal being to demonstrate math and science connections to engineering in the design process. As such, detailed numbers and calculations are not used, so decisions and details will not be rigorous in order to simplify the example. We now go through the steps of the design process, pointing out the connections to science and math.
Identify the Problem. An isolated village next to the ocean with 50 lower income people has no connection to government supported utilities, the nearest town 150 miles away on a poor road, and the village’s deep well water source that is being depleted. A new source of water is needed.
Science connection. A civil engineer might use an instrument to monitor the well water level to measure the rate of depletion of water.
Math connection. Mathematics could be used to develop a model for cost and availability of current water sources (wells, monsoons, and trucked in water).
Define Requirements and Constraints. Requirements might include the purity of the water, the rate at which water is produced, the lifetime required from a designed system, and the fact that, since the village is off the electrical distribution grid, no utilities are available to support the system. Constraints might include various cost limitations such as for design, fabrication, operation, and maintenance of the system, as well as possible safety and environmental considerations. From the sets of requirements and constraints, as well as consideration of the context of the situation with the village, people, and environment, a problem statement could be developed and might read as follows: “A system for producing drinkable water will be developed which will supply the needs of 50 people such that the cost is no greater than $2 per thousand gallons, including materials, construction, and operation over a period of 10 years.”
