7 General Procedure to Analyze Problems
The best way to learn engineering is to solve problems.
This whole course is devoted to problem solving.
We recommend a five step procedure.
- Read the problem carefully. Take a deep breathe and read it again. Think about how the problem correlates with the theory you already know or is being studied at the time.
- Make a table of the data in the problem using standard abbreviations for the variables
- Draw a large scale free body diagram and any other diagrams that might be necessary. This drawing must be clear and easy to read and anaylze.
- Apply the relevant principles. You will likely be using an equation for this. Write out the equation first with the variables. Avoid putting your numerical values right away. When you write out an equation make sure the dimensions are consistent.
- Solve the necessary equations. It is a good practice in this textbook to find your final answer to three significant figures, even if the original numerical values were given to only one significant figure.
- Review your final answer. Ask yourself whether it seems reasonable or not. Use your common sense. Use your technical judgement. Does the answer seem much too big or much too small?