engNRICH

Stage: 5 Challenge Level:

Welcome to engNRICH: the engineering section of stemNRICH. This contains mathematical activities for students aged 14 - 19 designed to complement and enhance the study of engineering.

Area of maths	Style	Question	Description
Dynamics	See also the dynamics problems on the physNRICH pages
		Model Solutions	How do these modelling assumptions affect the solutions?
		Dam Busters 1	At what positions and speeds can the bomb be dropped to destroy the dam?
		Ramping it Up	Look at the calculus behind the simple act of a car going over a step.
		Dam Busters 2	Can you work out which of the equations models a bouncing bomb? Will you be able to hit the target?
		Making More Tracks	Given the equation for the path followed by the back wheel of a bike, can you solve to find the equation followed by the front wheel?
Structural engineering		Overarch 1	This short question asks if you can work out the most precarious way to balance four tiles.
		Bridge Builder	In this short problem we investigate the tensions and compressions in a framework made from springs and ropes.
		More Bridge Building	Which parts of these framework bridges are in tension and which parts are in compression?
		Overarch 2	What is the furthest a tower can theoretically arch over?
		Beam Me Up	Look at the mathematics of the bending of beams.
		Euler's Buckling Formula	Find the critial load at which a beam will buckle.
Digital circuits and logic		Procedure Solver	Can you think like a computer and work out what this flow diagram does?
		Adding Machine	Can you set the logic gates so that this machine can decide how many bulbs have been switched on?
		Not Another NAND!	Prove that you can make any type of logic gate using just NAND gates.
		Circular Circuitry	What will happen when you switch on these circular circuits?
Decisions, logistics and control		Maximum Flow	Given the graph of a supply network and the maximum capacity for flow in each section find the maximum flow across the network.
Decisions, logistics and control		Pattern Recognition	What is a random pattern?
Mechanical engineering		Building up Friction	A series of activities to build up intuition on the mathematics of friction
		Stonehenge	Explain why, when moving heavy objects on rollers, the object moves twice as fast as the rollers. Try a similar experiment yourself.
		Stonehenge Is Going Nowhere	See why extensions of the ideas of the log rolling in Stonehenge would lead to a lack of progress in activity!
Power, work and energy in engineering	See also the Power, Work and Energy problems on the physNRICH pages
		Powerfully Fast	Explore the power of aeroplanes, spaceships and horses.
		Go Spaceship Go	Show that even this powerful spaceship will eventually run out of overtaking power.
		Turbo Turbines	A look at power generation using wind turbines.
Fluid mechanics	See the Fluids Problems on the physNRICH pages
Electrical Engineering		The Wheatstone Bridge	Explore the mathematics behind the famous Wheatstone Bridge circuit.
		A Circuit Problem	Find the voltages and currents in this interesting circuit configuration.
		Battery Modelling	Find out how to model a battery mathematically.
		Differential Electricity	As a capacitor discharges, its charge changes continuously. Find the differential equation governing this variation.
		Impedance Can Be Complex!	Put your complex numbers and calculus to the test in this impedance calculation.
Articles		AC/DC Circuits	Find out how Ohm's law develops and find a fundamental link to complex numbers along the way.
Articles		Who Is an Engineer?	This short article gives a quick perspective of engineering after one year of a university engineering course and will be useful to help to understand what exactly goes on during an engineering degree course.