Students learn first-hand the relationship between force, area and pressure. They use a force sensor built from a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT kit to measure the force required to break through a paper napkin. An interchangeable top at the end of the force sensor enables testing of different-sized areas upon which to apply pressure. Measuring the force, and knowing the area, students compute the pressure. This leads to a concluding discussion on how these concepts are found and used in engineering and nature.

Students will create go-carts and calculate the speed, then change a variable and record the differences in speed.

Introduces mechanical and economic models of assemblies and assembly automation on two levels. "Assembly in the small" comprises basic engineering models of rigid and compliant part mating and explains the operation of the Remote Center Compliance. "Assembly in the large" takes a system view of assembly, including the notion of product architecture, feature-based design and computer models of assemblies, analysis of mechanical constraint, assembly sequence analysis, tolerances, system-level design for assembly and JIT methods, and economics of assembly automation. Case studies and current research included. Class exercises and homework include analyses of real assemblies, the mechanics of part mating, and a semester long project.

This site contains a broad overview of the mechanical engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is one of the broadest and most versatile of the engineering professions. The site features lecture notes, assignments, solutions, online textbooks, projects, study groups and exams. This is a nice broad overview of available courses within this program.

Introduces the fundamentals of machine tool and computer tool use. Students work with a variety of machine tools including the bandsaw, milling machine, and lathe. Instruction given on the use of the Athena network and Athena-based software packages including MATLABĺ¨, MAPLEĺ¨, XESSĺ¨, and CAD. Emphasis on problem solving, not programming or algorithmic development. Assignments are project-oriented relating to mechanical engineering topics. It is recommended that students take this subject in the first IAP after declaring the major in Mechanical Engineering. From the course home page: This course was co-created by Prof. Douglas Hart and Dr. Kevin Otto.

In the Cold War period of the 1950s and early 1960s, an era in which married life was often idealized as essential for personal happiness and success, non-conformance became a social problem in need of study and explanation. Experts in social science fields of psychology and sociology, and commentators in the popular press conducted research and published findings that sought to account for the relatively large numbers of men and women who remained unmarried despite societal pressures to wed. In this sequel to an earlier article on unmarried women, Look magazine writer Eleanor Harris, in response to suggestions of readers, addressed the topic of bachelorhood by presenting testimonies of selected men on the reasons they remained unmarried and conclusions of authorities regarding these explanations. The divergent ways that the two articles presented their subjects revealed some gender biases of the period. Unmarried women were depicted as "depressed" or "frantic," while single men were typed as "fixated on a mother figure," inclined to "antiresponsibility," or "latent homosexuals." Men often failed to find the "perfect" woman; women frequently could not find even an "eligible" man. Ultimately, the articles portrayed the unwed female's predicament far more portentously than the male's: women were "likely to get stranded" if they waited too long to get married, but it was "never too late" for men.

Students observe and discuss a cup and pencil model of a cyclone to better understand the science behind how this pollutant recovery method functions in cleaning industrial air pollution.

Modeling of microelectronic devices, and basic microelectronic circuit analysis and design. Physical electronics of semiconductor junction and MOS devices. Relation of electrical behavior to internal physical processes; development of circuit models; and understanding the uses and limitations of various models. Use of incremental and large-signal techniques to analyze and design bipolar and field effect transistor circuits, with examples chosen from digital circuits, single-ended and differential linear amplifiers, and other integrated circuits. Design project. Description from the course home page: 6.012 is the header course for the department's "Devices, Circuits and Systems" concentration. The topics covered include: modeling of microelectronic devices, basic microelectronic circuit analysis and design, physical electronics of semiconductor junction and MOS devices, relation of electrical behavior to internal physical processes, development of circuit models, and understanding the uses and limitations of various models. The course uses incremental and large-signal techniques to analyze and design bipolar and field effect transistor circuits, with examples chosen from digital circuits, single-ended and differential linear amplifiers, and other integrated circuits.

In this lesson students will learn about Minnesota's natural resources, particularly iron ore.

The heart of this activity is a laboratory investigation that models the production of silicon. Students learn about silicon and its sources, uses, properties, importance in the fields of photovoltaics (solar cells/renewable energy) and integrated circuits industries, and, to a limited extent, environmental impact of silicon production.

Consumer products came to the fore in the economy of the 1920s, putting new technologies like radios, toasters, and electric irons into even working-class homes. A quarter of a century separates these two model kitchens

Students will predict bond polarity using electron negativity values; indicate polarity with a polar arrow or partial charges; rank bonds in order of polarity; and predict molecular polarity using bond polarity and molecular shape.

Students work as engineers to learn about the properties of molecules and how they move in 3D space through the use of LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robotics. They design and build molecular models and use different robotic sensors to control the movement of the molecular simulations. Students learn about the size of atoms, Newman projections, and the relationship of energy and strain on atoms. This unique modular modeling activity is especially helpful in providing students with a spatial and tactile understanding of how molecules behave.

In this online, interactive module, students learn how enhanced Earth remote-sensing capabilities are used by dozens of satellites that are continuously collecting data from multiple vantage points. This allows scientists from different countries to transcend political and geographical boundaries by sharing data and ideas towards the common mission of caring for planet Earth. The module is part of an online course for grades 7-12 in satellite meteorology, which includes 10 interactive modules. The site also includes lesson plans developed by teachers and links to related resources. Each module is designed to serve as a stand-alone lesson, however, a sequential approach is recommended. Designed to challenge students through the end of 12th grade, middle school teachers and students may choose to skim or skip a few sections.

In this activity students analyze the motion of a student walking across the room and predict, sketch, and test distance vs. time graphs and velocity vs. time graphs.

Try the new "Ladybug Motion 2D" simulation for the latest updated version. Learn about position, velocity, and acceleration vectors. Move the ball with the mouse or let the simulation move the ball in four types of motion (2 types of linear, simple harmonic, circle).

Learn about position, velocity, and acceleration graphs. Move the little man back and forth with the mouse and plot his motion. Set the position, velocity, or acceleration and let the simulation move the man for you.

This 1903 police department arrest record reflects the faith in data and science espoused by some Progressives. The reputedly scientific measurements instituted by French anthropologist Alphonse Bertillon claimed to detect innate criminality and other character flaws, many associated with particular ethnic and racial groups, through physical evidence. Although it bore the stamp of scientific approval, this and other contemporary techniques for differentiating people based on race or physical characteristics incorporated widely held beliefs that Southern Europeans, Asians, and African Americans were inherently and biological different from and inferior to white Anglo Saxons. These beliefs, in turn, lent credence to the rise of Jim Crow and immigrant exclusion.

Fall River, Massachusetts, mill worker Thomas O'Donnell (who had immigrated to the U.S. from England eleven years earlier) appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor on October 18, 1883, to answer the panel's questions about working-class economic conditions. An unemployed mule spinner for more than half of the year, he described the introduction of new production methods at the Fall River, Massachusetts, textile factory where he worked as a mule spinner (a worker who tended the large yarn-making machines). These changes allowed the mill's owners to employ children, and they also left the mule spinner unemployed for much of the year. O'Donnell described the sharp decline in his family's living standards that followed and the ways they struggled to make ends meet.

Radio and other popular entertainments, like movies, created a truly national popular culture during the 1920s. Pausing to tune in to his favorite program, this farmer represents an extreme example of radio's broad popularity during the 1920s. For rural Americans, radios not only delivered music and sports but also vital information on commodity prices and weather reports. While they linked rural residents to the rest of the country, radio broadcasts and movie theaters also provided a vehicle for advertising and a spur for consumer culture.