principles of engineering

Principles of Engineering (POE) is one of two choices as a second foundation course for students who are interested in a career in Engineering, the other being CSP. Students will further their introduction to engineering through problems that engage and challenge, students explore a broad range of engineering topics, including mechanisms, the strength of structures and materials, and automation. Students develop skills in problem solving, research, and design while learning strategies for design process documentation, collaboration, and presentation. The 2017-18 syllabus for POE is available at the end of the page.

An example of a project done early in the year in Principles of Engineering. Students work in teams of 2 to design a compound machine to accomplish either one of two options:

• Lift a 2.5 lb weight vertically 12 inches while applying less than 1 lb of effort force. Time limit: 60 seconds.
• Transport a small, plastic army man a distance of 36 inches by employing a mechanical advantage less than 1:1. Time limit: 3 seconds.

Students sketched designs in their Engineering Notebooks, build their designs using VEX robotics components, measure effort and resistance forces, and calculate the total mechanical advantage for their system.