Principles of Engineering (PLTW)

Principles of Engineering (POE) - PLTW                                               

2023-2024 Course Outline

                                                                                                   

Engineers make a world of difference!

Through problems that engage and challenge, students explore a broad range of engineering topics, including mechanisms, the strength of materials and structures, automation, and motion. Students develop skills in problem solving, research, and design while learning strategies for design process documentation, collaboration, and presentation.

 

What type of engineer or engineering technologist would you like to be?

 

Principles of Engineering (POE) is a foundation course of the high school engineering pathway. This survey course exposes students to some of the major concepts that they will encounter in a post-secondary engineering course of study. Through problems that engage and challenge, students explore a broad range of engineering topics, including mechanisms, the strength of materials and structures, automation, and kinematics. The course applies and concurrently develops secondary level knowledge and skills in mathematics, science, and technology.

Students have the opportunity to develop skills and understanding of course concepts through activity-, project-, and problem-based (APB) learning. By solving rigorous and relevant design problems using engineering and science concepts within a collaborative learning environment, APB learning challenges students to continually hone their interpersonal skills, creative abilities, and problem solving skills. Students will also learn how to document their work and communicate their solutions to their peers and members of the professional community. It also allows students to develop strategies to enable and direct their own learning, which is the ultimate goal of education.

The following is a summary of the units of study that are included in the course. Alignment with NGSS, Common Core, and other standards is available through the PLTW Alignment web-based tool.

 

Unit Summary

Unit 1………………Energy and Power

Unit 2………………Materials and Structures

Unit 3………………Control Systems

Unit 4………………Statistics and Kinematics

 

Unit 1: Energy and Power

 The goal of Unit 1 is to introduce students to mechanisms, energy sources, and alternative energy applications. Students will gain an understanding of mechanisms through the application of theory-based calculations accompanied by lab experimentation.

They will also learn that as energy and power are transferred and transformed, losses to friction in the system will occur. Students will understand that such losses affect the overall efficiency of the system. They will have an opportunity to investigate thermal energy and alternative energy applications. Students will explore and gain experiences relating to solar hydrogen systems and thermal energy transfer through materials.

The unit concludes with students working in teams to solve a design problem that focuses on energy and power. They will use the knowledge and understanding built through the previous learning events to create a solution to the problem. It is important for students to understand that an acceptable solution is one that fits the criteria and constraints of the design brief.  

 

Unit 2: Materials and Structures

The goal of Unit 2 is for students to have a more concrete understanding of engineering through materials properties and statics. Students begin by learning about beam deflection and then forces on truss structures. They learn to identify forces acting on those structures and then gain the ability to calculate internal and external forces acting on those structures.

The students learn about material properties, which lead students to the ability to properly select a material for a given task. Creating new products to meet a given need or want is not the only concern in this area of study. How to reuse/recycle materials for continued and unique uses is also learned.

The primary way of studying materials properties in this unit is through destructive and non-destructive material testing on various materials. Tensile testing is the major destructive test. Students are engaged in how machines perform these tests and use either a classroom machine or a simulation to further their understanding of these processes.

 

Unit 3: Control Systems

The goal of Unit 3 is for students to recognize the abundance of and infinite variety of computer use in our daily lives.

Students learn to control mechanical systems by recognizing computer outputs and gaining an understanding of how to write code to control them. They additionally experiment with various input devices and learn how they can adapt computer code to control computer outputs.

Furthermore students gain an understanding of fluid power, both hydraulic and pneumatic. They begin to recognize the power and control advantages of fluid power.

The unit concludes with students working in teams to solve a design problem that focuses on using control systems. They will integrate their prior knowledge, skills, and understandings from Unit 1: Simple Machines, Unit 2: Material Properties, and this unit. Students will decide what input devices to use, how to code their use, and the various output devices necessary to create a solution to the problem.

 

Unit 4: Statistics and Kinematics

In Unit 4 students are engaged in learning to use statistics to evaluate an experiment. Later they begin a study of dynamics, specifically kinematics, and apply statistical skills to study freefall motion.

Students use theoretical and experimental data as a basis for learning statistical analysis. By collecting, organizing, and interpreting the data, students build the skills needed to understand data results.

They further use these new skills and knowledge to design a vehicle that will propel itself. Later, students will address the problem of designing a machine to accurately launch an object a specified distance. Examining projectile motion is at the core of this design problem.

 

ARTICULATION AGREEMENT: 

Mt. San Antonio College

ENGR 1 Introduction to Engineering

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES/STANDARDS:

In order to pass this course, Students will be expected to:

- Be in attendance for 94% of class meetings. As a laboratory course, attendance is necessary to gain the knowledge and skills needed for an appropriate understanding of the material.

- Achieve a cumulative grade point average of 70% or higher in this course.

- Complete the following performance standards:

1. Complete all assigned open response, performance events, and presentations.
2. Actively participate in problem solving and group activities.
3. Keep an acceptable portfolio with notes, sketches, designs and key terms.

GRADING:

20 pts. per week = 360 pts/semester. (Based on an 18 week semester)

Fall Semester Final Exam: 50 pts. – Spring Semester Final Project: 50 pts.

Total possible points: 410 (semester)

 

*Unexcused late work is worth 50% of original point value.

 

Grading Chart based on Technology Department Standards.

A= 90-100%

B= 80- 89%

C= 70- 79%

D= 60- 69%

F= below 59%

 

CLASSROOM AND LAB RULES:

All students are expected to conduct themselves in a business-like/professional manner.

1. Respect your classmates, the classroom fixtures, tools, and all electronic equipment.
2. Be on time. This means, be in your assigned seat before the tardy bell rings.
3. All assignments due must have your full name, date, and title on them.
4. Be prepared. Bring all classroom materials with you, including Portfolio.
5. Obey all school-wide rules as outlined in the Sierra Vista High School Handbook.
6. All cellular phones must be off and no cellular phones or any electronic devices may be in view of any classmate or the instructor.

Only on specific dates and projects can a cell phone be used for academic purposes.

 

CONSEQUENCES:

1. Warning
2. Teacher/student meeting and parent contact
3. Detention and parent contract, to be signed by the parent
4. Parent Phone Conference
5. Referral to Discipline Office

 

MAKE-UP WORK:

It is your responsibility to ask for missed assignments when returning to school from an absence!

 

CONFERENCES:

The teacher is available for conferences with parents and/or students between 8:30am-9:21am

(9:00am-9:47am) Wed. 

Please, if possible, schedule an appointment ahead of time.

email: [email protected]

Tel. number: 626.960.7741 ex: 87028