Everything You’ll Learn in Mechanical Engineering
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, Jake provides an extensive overview of the diverse curriculum of a mechanical engineering degree. He breaks down the program into seven key categories, including mathematics, static and dynamic systems, materials science, robotics and programming, data analysis, and manufacturing and design. The video emphasizes the broad knowledge base required for mechanical engineers, from algebra and calculus to fluid mechanics and thermodynamics, highlighting the problem-solving skills and physical system expertise gained throughout the degree.
Takeaways
- 📚 A mechanical engineering degree provides a broad education, covering various engineering disciplines including chemical, electrical, civil, computer, and software engineering.
- 🔢 Mathematics is fundamental to mechanical engineering, with courses in algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and differential equations essential for solving engineering problems.
- 🏗️ Static systems courses teach the analysis of unmoving structures like bridges and beams, involving force vectors, moments, and equilibrium of forces.
- 🌌 Materials courses include chemistry for understanding elements and bonding, strength of materials for stress and strain, and material science for predicting material properties based on microstructure.
- 🚀 Dynamic systems involve the study of moving objects, with dynamics expanding on physics principles, fluid mechanics for fluid behavior, thermodynamics for energy utilization, and heat transfer for heat movement prediction.
- 🤖 Robotics and programming courses include physics for electricity and magnetism, electrical engineering for circuit analysis, computer science for coding and programming, and mechatronics for integrating mechanical and electronic systems.
- 📊 Data analysis involves numerical methods for solving complex problems with computer programs and statistics for dealing with large data sets to find trends and information.
- 🛠️ Manufacturing processes are studied in courses that cover material removal, forming, casting, polymer manufacturing, composites, welding, additive manufacturing, and quality control.
- 🎓 Senior design is a culmination of the degree, involving a full-year project-based course where students design and present a significant engineering project.
- 🛑 The curriculum may vary between schools, but the script outlines a common list of subjects that form the core of a mechanical engineering education.
- 🔑 The diverse education in mechanical engineering prepares graduates for a wide range of career paths and further studies in engineering or related fields.
Q & A
What is the main focus of a mechanical engineering degree according to Jake?
-The main focus of a mechanical engineering degree is to provide a broad education that covers not only mechanical systems but also a solid understanding of chemical, electrical, civil, computer, and software engineering.
Why is algebra considered an essential tool in an engineering degree?
-Algebra is essential because it teaches how to manipulate functions, solve for unknowns, isolate variables, and graph functions, which are skills used throughout the entire engineering degree.
What role do triangles play in trigonometry for engineering?
-In trigonometry, triangles are important because they are ubiquitous in engineering, especially mechanical engineering, and provide the tools and equations to solve various engineering problems involving angles and ratios.
How does calculus help in mechanical engineering?
-Calculus helps in mechanical engineering by dealing with continuous change, allowing engineers to solve problems involving variables like speed, position, and temperature that change over time.
What are the key topics covered in the static systems category of a mechanical engineering curriculum?
-The key topics in the static systems category include Newton's laws of motion, force vectors, moments, center of gravity, friction, and force balancing in beams, trusses, columns, and other static systems.
What is the significance of studying chemistry in a mechanical engineering program?
-Studying chemistry is significant as it provides knowledge about the periodic table, bonding, intermolecular forces, and the structure of materials, which are crucial for understanding material properties and behavior in mechanical engineering.
What does the strength of materials course cover in a mechanical engineering degree?
-The strength of materials course covers how different materials and shapes deal with stress and strain, including topics like plasticity, elasticity, fatigue, creep, yield, and material failure.
What are the main topics in the dynamics category of a mechanical engineering curriculum?
-The main topics in the dynamics category include kinematics, velocity, acceleration, momentum, vibrations, impact, and the conservation of energy.
Why is fluid mechanics considered one of Jake's personal favorite courses?
-Fluid mechanics is considered one of Jake's personal favorites because it covers how different fluids move and behave in various environments, including fluid kinematics, hydrostatics, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, boundary layers, and laminar versus turbulent flow.
What does the senior design project entail in a mechanical engineering degree?
-The senior design project is a fully project-based course that lasts a full year, allowing students to work on a significant project, applying their engineering knowledge. It culminates in a design day where students present their projects to the school and faculty.
How does the study of electrical engineering complement the knowledge gained from physics 2 in a mechanical engineering curriculum?
-Electrical engineering builds upon the knowledge from physics 2, providing a deeper understanding of electric circuits, resistance, current flow, voltage, capacitance, inductance, and topics like Kirchhoff's laws, diodes, amplifiers, power actuators, and transformers.
What is the purpose of studying computer science in a mechanical engineering degree?
-Studying computer science in a mechanical engineering degree introduces students to computer programming, allowing them to create programs for modeling and analysis of engineering systems, and covers topics like loops, functions, image processing, sensors, microcontrollers, and mechatronic systems.
What skills are developed in the mechatronics course of a mechanical engineering degree?
-The mechatronics course develops skills in robotics, linkages, control systems, microcontrollers, sensors, actuators, programming, servos, and motors, integrating knowledge from various fields into practical applications.
What is the role of numerical methods in solving complex engineering problems?
-Numerical methods teach students how to create and utilize computer programs to solve complex engineering problems, including root finding, interpolation, approximation of functions, integration, differential equations, and curve fitting.
How does the study of probability and statistics contribute to a mechanical engineering degree?
-Probability and statistics contribute by teaching students how to deal with large amounts of data, find trends, and extract useful information using statistical methods and programming.
What manufacturing processes are covered in the manufacturing course of a mechanical engineering degree?
-The manufacturing course covers various processes including material removal or machining, material forming, casting, polymer manufacturing, composites manufacturing, welding, additive manufacturing, micro and nano manufacturing, and quality control.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Mechanical Engineering Education
Jake introduces the video, stating his intention to cover the breadth of knowledge gained in a mechanical engineering degree. He emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of the field, which requires proficiency in various engineering disciplines including chemical, electrical, civil, computer, and software engineering. The video is structured into seven categories to detail the subjects studied in mechanical engineering.
🔢 The Fundamentals: Mathematics in Mechanical Engineering
This section delves into the mathematical foundation of mechanical engineering, highlighting the importance of algebra for function manipulation, trigonometry for understanding shapes and angles, and calculus for analyzing continuous change. The summary also mentions the study of ordinary and partial differential equations to model and predict the behavior of physical systems.
🏗️ Static Systems and Physics Principles
The paragraph discusses static systems, which are unmoving structures like bridges or beams. It covers the study of physics, particularly Newton's laws, and the application of trigonometry to determine forces and angles. Statics is introduced as a deeper dive into the analysis of these systems, including topics like force vectors, moments, and center of gravity.
🌀 Dynamic Systems: Mechanics and Fluids
Dynamic systems, which are in motion, are explored in this section. The study of dynamics builds on physics principles, covering kinematics, velocity, acceleration, and vibrations. Fluid mechanics is introduced as a favorite course, teaching how fluids behave in various environments, including topics on fluid kinematics, hydrostatics, and flow types. Thermodynamics and heat transfer complete this category, focusing on energy utilization and heat movement between mediums.
🤖 Robotics, Programming, and Electrical Engineering
This part of the video script covers the integration of physics, electrical engineering, computer science, and mechatronics in mechanical engineering. Physics II delves into electricity and magnetism, while electrical engineering builds on this with circuit analysis. Computer science introduces basic coding and programming for engineering systems. Mechatronics combines these elements, focusing on robotics, control systems, and project-based learning.
📊 Data Analysis and Numerical Methods
The script moves into data analysis with numerical methods, teaching how to use computer programs to solve complex engineering problems. Topics include root finding, interpolation, and differential equations. Probability and statistics are also covered, focusing on handling large data sets and extracting useful information through statistical methods.
🛠️ Manufacturing and Design in Mechanical Engineering
The final category discusses manufacturing processes and materials, including machining, forming, casting, and additive manufacturing. Quality control is also a focus. Senior design is highlighted as a culmination of the degree, where students engage in a full-year project-based course, showcasing their designs and projects at a school-wide event.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mechanical Engineering
💡Algebra
💡Trigonometry
💡Calculus
💡Differential Equations
💡Static Systems
💡Materials Science
💡Dynamic Systems
💡Fluid Mechanics
💡Thermodynamics
💡Robotics
💡Manufacturing
💡Senior Design
Highlights
Mechanical engineering education is broad, covering knowledge of various engineering disciplines.
A mechanical engineer needs proficient knowledge on mechanical systems and a solid understanding of other engineering fields.
Mathematics is fundamental to any engineering degree, including algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and differential equations.
Trigonometry is crucial for understanding shapes, ratios, and angles, especially in mechanical engineering.
Calculus is essential for solving problems involving continuous change in variables like speed and temperature.
Differential equations are used to model and predict the behavior of moving physical systems.
Static systems involve the analysis of unmoving structures like bridges and beams.
Physics is key to understanding Newton's laws and applying them to static systems.
Chemistry provides knowledge on elements, bonding, and chemical equations, crucial for material interactions.
Strength of materials explores how different materials and shapes deal with stress and strain.
Material Science delves into the microstructure of materials to predict their properties and behavior.
Dynamic systems involve the study of moving objects and their kinematics, momentum, and energy conservation.
Fluid mechanics teaches how fluids move and behave in different environments.
Thermodynamics focuses on energy utilization in engines and systems, including efficiency and conservation.
Heat transfer is about understanding and controlling the movement of heat between mediums.
Robotics and programming involve the study of electricity, magnetism, and mechatronic systems.
Electrical engineering builds on physics knowledge for in-depth analysis of electric circuits.
Computer science introduces basic coding, programming, and computer system operations.
Mechatronics combines robotics, control systems, and programming for practical applications.
Data analysis includes numerical methods and statistics for solving complex engineering problems.
Manufacturing processes are explored in-depth, including material removal, forming, casting, and quality control.
Senior design is a culmination project where students apply their knowledge to a significant engineering challenge.
Transcripts
hey everyone my name is Jake and in this
video I'm going to go over everything
that you're going to learn in a
mechanical engineering degree let's go
[Music]
I might be a little bit biased but I'd
say that the education that you'll get
in mechanical engineering is the most
broad when compared to all the other
engineering disciplines
because in order to be a good mechanical
engineer not only do you have to have
proficient knowledge on mechanical
systems but you also have to have a
solid understanding of chemical
electrical civil computer and software
engineering so by majoring in mechanical
engineering you're going to receive a
really diverse education it's a great
choice for anybody who loves problem
solving and dealing with physical
systems but what kind of things are you
going to be learning and studying day
after day if you were to major in
mechanical engineering that's why you
clicked on this video right so I've
broken it up into seven categories and
let's Jump Right In with category number
one everybody's favorite math there's no
getting around it mathematics is the
Bedrock of any engineering degree so we
have to start here right so I'm going to
go over briefly every math class that
you have to take and why it's important
to the degree okay so first up we have
algebra in algebra you're going to learn
how to manipulate functions and solve
for unknowns and isolate variables and
graph functions right algebra is
probably the most widely use tool that
you're going to have throughout your
entire engineering degree almost every
class you take you're going to use a
little bit of algebra next up we have
trigonometry in trigonometry you're
going to learn all about shapes and
ratios and angles right but most
importantly you're going to learn about
triangles triangles are everywhere in
engineering especially mechanical
engineering so in trigonometry you'll
really learn all the tools and different
tricks and equations that come with
triangles to solve all sorts of
engineering problems next up we have
calculus and in mechanical engineering
you're going to have to go through
calculus one two and three just a heads
up so calculus is the branch of math
that deals with continuous change right
continuous position change temperature
change or time change you're going to
learn about integrals derivatives and
limits these tools are going to allow
you to solve problems where variables
like speed position and temperature
change with time and lastly in math
you're going to learn ordinary
differential equations and partial
differential equations so these high
level math courses are going to teach
you how to model and predict how moving
physical systems will behave into the
future things like oscillation wave
behavior and heat dissipation Category 2
static systems so just to clarify a
static system is just something that's
unmoving right it's not moving it's like
a bridge or a column or a beam so the
first course in this category is physics
physics one so in physics one you'll
learn all about Newton's laws of motion
and how to apply them you'll learn about
momentum gravity friction and velocity
and you'll learn about how to utilize
trigonometry to determine the forces and
angles of those forces on a given object
the next course is Statics so in Statics
you're going to dive much deeper into
the analysis of static systems some of
the topics include Force vectors moments
or rotational force center of gravity
friction Force balancing and just a much
more in-depth analysis of beams trusses
columns and a lot of other static
systems hey I hope you enjoyed the video
so far if you are make sure you hit the
like button subscribe to the channel and
share with your friends that kind of
stuff really helps the channel grow and
if you or anybody you know is looking to
study engineering or any other stem
degree be sure to check out my book you
know I wrote this book to serve as a
true universal guide write a road map to
show how anybody and everybody can have
success in engineering or any other stem
degree it's getting great reviews so far
you can go on Amazon and see for
yourself it's available on paperback
ebook and audiobooks so I'll put links
in the description for everything thanks
for the support category number three
materials so first up in this category
we have chemistry so in chemistry you're
going to learn all about the periodic
table of elements liquids gases solids
right Stoichiometry you're going to
learn about bonding and intermolecular
forces and structure and then you also
learn how to balance chemical equations
next up we have strengths of materials
so in strengths you're going to learn
all about how different materials and
shapes deal with stress and strain right
so other topics include plasticity
elasticity fatigue creep yield and
material failure so last step in this
category we have Material Science in
Material Science you're going to dive
much deeper into the structure of
materials you're going to learn how to
predict the properties and behavior of a
given material based on its
microstructure you'll also learn about
Atomic bonding melting point thermal
expansion crystalline materials and
diffusion and you'll also learn about
what controls the electrical Optical and
thermal behavior of a given material
category 4 Dynamic systems so static
systems are things that aren't moving
Dynamic systems are things that are
moving so first up in this category we
have Dynamics in Dynamics you're going
to really expand pretty thoroughly on
what you already learned in physics one
so topics include kinematics velocity
acceleration momentum vibrations impact
and conservation of of energy next up we
have fluid mechanics this is one of my
personal favorite courses by the way so
in fluid mechanics you're going to learn
all about how different fluids you know
move and behave in different
environments right so you're going to
learn all about fluid kinematics
hydrostatics Newtonian and non-Newtonian
fluids boundary layers laminar versus
turbulent flow and conservation of mass
and momentum so next up we have
thermodynamics and thermodynamics you're
going to learn all about energy and how
it's used and utilized to make things
work right so the topics include energy
Cycles engines heat work entropy
enthalpy efficiency Refrigeration cycles
and conservation of energy okay so last
step in this category we have heat
transfer so in heat transfer you're
going to learn all about how heat moves
between different mediums right so
you'll be able to calculate and predict
and eventually control the movement of
heat in your design so topics include
conduction convection radiation heat
exchangers and finite element analysis
category number five have Robotics and
programming so first up in this category
we have physics two so in physics 2
you're going to get a real kind of
in-depth crash course into electricity
and magnetism and how you can use math
or calculus specifically to analyze
those things right so the topics include
electrostatics electric fields and
potentials magnetic fields current flow
electric circuits resistance capacitance
inductance electromagnetism and Optics
so next up in this category we have
electrical engineering in electrical
engineering you're going to really build
upon the knowledge that you've got from
physics 2. so you're going to get really
more in depth with electric circuits and
how to analyze and predict resistance
current flow voltage capacitance
inductance right other topics that
you're going to cover are kirchhoff's
laws diodes amplifiers power actuators
and Transformers next up we have
computer science so in computer science
you're going to get a good intro a good
crash course into computer programming
right you're going to learn basic coding
language and how computers are
programmed and execute different
commands you're going to learn how to
create your own programs for modeling
and Analysis of Engineering Systems
other topics include Loops functions
image processing sensors
microcontrollers and mechatronic systems
so last step in this category we have
mechatronics and mechatronics circle
learn everything robotics right linkages
Control Systems microcontrollers sensors
actuators programming so servos and
Motors mechatronics was really one of my
personal favorite courses because it was
really where I felt like all my
knowledge was coming together into
something really useful and then to add
to that mechatronics is usually Project
based which makes it really fun so
you'll you'll design and build a robot
throughout the course and the robot is
supposed to perform some kind of special
task or compete with the other robots in
your class at the end of the year super
fun category number six data analysis so
first up in this category we have
numerical method so numerical methods
you're going to learn all about you know
how to create and utilize computer
programs that you make to solve some
pretty complex engineering problems this
class is pretty pretty tough but it's
pretty fulfilling in that it it shows
you how to build your own tools through
computer programming to solve some
pretty hard problems so some of the
topics include root finding
interpolation approximation of functions
integration differential equations
direct and iterative problem solving and
curve fitting so next up in this
category we have probability and
statistics so in this class you're going
to really learn how to deal with large
amounts of data you're going to learn
how to utilize statistical methods and
programming to find Trends and useful
information within large amounts of data
other topics include probability Theory
distributions and random sampling okay
so lastly we have category number seven
manufacturing and design of mechanical
systems so first up in this category we
have manufacturing so in manufacturing
you're going to learn all about the
different manufacturing processes and
how they're utilized on all the
different materials in this course
you're also going to learn about
material removal or Machining material
forming like bulk deformation and Sheet
Metal forming casting polymer
manufacturing Composites manufacturing
welding additive manufacturing micro and
Nano manufacturing and quality control
so lastly we have senior design so
senior Your Design is kind of where it
all pays off right where you can kind of
spread your newly formed engineering
wings so to speak so it's a fully
Project based course it lasts a full
year and it's where you can really kind
of sink your teeth into a big meaty
project so your your professor will
either come to you guys with a list of
projects that you and your team can uh
choose from or you can go to your
professor with an idea you have and
they're pretty good about approving
these as long as they're you know meaty
and kind of challenging enough but it
all culminates on design day where you
know you show your whole project and
your design to the whole school and to
the whole faculty everybody comes by and
you spend the whole day kind of showing
off what you did that year it's a great
way to end the degree so there you have
it that was pretty much everything that
you're going to learn in a mechanical
engineering degree you know every school
is a little different so your curriculum
might change a little bit from school to
school but that was pretty much the the
common list of stuff that everybody
learns in mechanical engineering you
know the the education is truly diverse
and and pretty unique and it'll really
set you up to go in almost any direction
you want after you graduate but that's
it for now so I hope you guys found that
useful and until next time thanks for
watching and keep up the good work
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)