MEM 238 Syllabus Winter 24-25

MEM 238 Dynamics

4 credits
Winter 24-25

Instructor Information
Lecture instructor: Prof. James Tangorra
E-mail: [email protected]
Office: Alumni Engineering Labs (AEL), 171B
Phone: (215) 895-2296
Office hours: Thursday, 1300 - 1400, and by appointment.

Recitation instructor: Prof. Jennifer Atchison

E-mail: [email protected]
Office: 3101 Market St., Rm. 130
Office hours: Friday, 1300-1400, and by appointment.

Recitation instructor: Prof. Euisun Kim

E-mail: [email protected]
Office : Randell 113A
Office hours: Tues, 1300-1400, and by appointment.

Student Learning
Course Description MEM 238 introduces students to the fundamentals of dynamics. Emphasis is
placed on learning the physical principles that govern the motions of rigid bodies
and applying these principles to develop equations of motion for engineering
systems.

Purpose MEM 238 helps students develop the ability to evaluate, and to describe
mathematically, the motions of a rigid body that is affected by external forces.
This enables students to design systems that move, and to understand the forces
and energy that are required to create desired motions and actions.

Learning objectives
1. Develop an understanding of the fundamental principles governing the motion of objects and the
interaction between forces acting on objects and their motion.
2. Analyze rigid body motions using Newton’s second law, conservation of energy, and momentum.
3. Develop the ability to formulate dynamic models of physical systems and to analyze and predict
the behavior of the systems.

ABET student objectives

MEM 238 will contribute to a student’s development of:
1. The ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles
of engineering, science, and mathematics (5/5)
MEM 238 Syllabus Winter 24-25

2. The ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and
make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global,
economic, environmental, and societal contexts (1/5)
3. The ability to acquire new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies (5/5).

Delivery Mode and Class Structure

Lectures will be held in person from 1530 to 1650 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Lectures will introduce
students to information that is important for understanding dynamics. Students are expected to work
through problems (class examples and HW), and to use recitation and the textbook, to learn the material
more completely. It is believed that only through practice will students develop the level of proficiency
required to solve engineering problems. Two quizzes will be given during lectures. Tentative dates for the
quizzes are listed in the course schedule at the end of the syllabus.

Weekly recitations will be held on Wednesdays at four scheduled times. The recitations will be used,
primarily, to work through examples and to help answer questions that arise in lectures and on homework.
Students are expected to attend their assigned section. Students who want to attend a different section
must request permission from the recitation instructors.

Course Materials
Required Text Vector Mechanics for Engineers - Dynamics, 12th Edition, Beer, Johnston,
Cornwell, and Self., McGraw Hill, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-259-97730-5

Assignments and Assessments

Grading Problem sets (~ 12) 20%
Quiz one 15%
Quiz two 20%
Final exam 35%
Instructors’ input 1 10%

Final grading scale

Numerical Point Letter

Score Equivalent Equivalent
97-100 4.00 A+
94-96 4.00 A
90-93 3.67 A-
87-89 3.33 B+
84-86 3.00 B
80-83 2.67 B-
77-79 2.33 C+
74-76 2.00 C
70-73 1.67 C-
66-69 1.33 D+
60-65 1.00 D
< 60 0.00 F

1
Instructor’s input. In most cases, the instructors’ input will match a student’s numeric grade, and therefore will not
affect the student’s final grade. In exceptional cases where there is evidence that the student’s numeric grade does
not reflect the student’s abilities, the instructors’ input will be used to improve the student’s final grade.
MEM 238 Syllabus Winter 24-25

Problem sets Homework will be assigned Tuesdays and will be due prior to the subsequent
week’s recitation. Assignments will be submitted via BB Learn. HW assignments
will be graded on a scale from 0 to 3: 0 if it is not handed in; 1 if a reasonable
attempt was made on most problems, but there were conceptual errors; 2 if a
reasonable attempt was made on most problems and much seemed correct; and 3
if all problems were attempted and the graded problem(s) had no major mistakes.
Homework that is submitted late without prior approval2 from your recitation
instructor will receive no more than 1 point.

Collaboration Students are encouraged to assist each other with assignments and the use of
references is permitted. However, you must generate your work by yourself, and
you must acknowledge the help of fellow students (list names) and other sources
(i.e. solution manuals, AI chatbots…) at the top of your homework. Else, the
assignment will be considered to have been plagiarized and will receive a grade of
0.

Organization Organization and neatness counts. Your work is one of the main ways you
communicate with the teaching staff. It should therefore adhere to standard
professional practices: the problem statement should be summarized, assumptions
listed explicitly, solutions developed fully and presented neatly. You will not get
credit for leaps of faith, nor for what cannot be read easily.

Module quizzes Quizzes (~45 min) will be given during two of the lectures. The intent of the
quizzes is to encourage students to stay up to date with the course material, and
to give feedback to the students and instructors. Prior approval 2 is needed from
Prof. Tangorra if you are going to miss a quiz and would like a makeup. Quizzes
are closed book/laptop/smartphone unless stated otherwise by Prof. Tangorra.

Academic Policies
Students with Disabilities http://drexel.edu/oed/disabilityResources/students/

Students with disabilities requesting accommodations and services at

Drexel University need to present a current accommodation verification
letter (AVL) the ClockWork database before accommodations can be
made. These requests are issued by the Disability Resources (DR). For
additional information, visit the DR website at
http://www.drexel.edu/oed/disabilityResources/overview/ or contact DR
for more information by phone at 215-895-1401, or by email at
[email protected]. All exam accommodations are to be scheduled
at DR testing center. Arrangements must be made one week in advance.

Academic Integrity http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/academic_dishonesty.asp

A student will be awarded a zero on any assignment that violates the
academic integrity policy. A student will receive an F for the course if
two violations occur.

2
Prior approval. Requests must be made more than 24 hours in advance for quizzes, and 48 hours for homework.
You do not have approval until you receive confirmation. E-mails should include MEM238 in the subject.
MEM 238 Syllabus Winter 24-25

Course Add/Drop http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/course-add-drop

Course Withdrawal http://drexel.edu/provost/policies/course-withdrawal

Course Change Course changes should be discussed with Prof. Andrei Jablokow.

Use of Course Materials It is important to recognize that some or all the course materials provided
to you are the intellectual property of Drexel University, the course
instructor, or others. Use of this intellectual property is governed by
Drexel University policies, including the IT-1 policy found
at: https://drexel.edu/it/about/policies/policies/01-Acceptable-Use/

Briefly, this policy states that all course materials including

recordings provided by the course instructor may not be copied,
reproduced, distributed or re-posted, unless otherwise
given prior written approval by the University. Doing so may be
considered a breach of this policy and will be investigated and addressed
as possible academic dishonesty, among other potential violations.
Improper use of such materials may also constitute a violation of the
University’s Code of Conduct found
at: https://drexel.edu/cpo/policies/cpo-1/ and will be investigated as such.

Recording In general, students and others should not record course interactions and course activities
in lectures, lab, studio, or recitation.

Students who have an accommodation from the Office of Disability Resources to record
online lectures and discussions for note taking purposes should inform their course
instructor(s) of their approved accommodation in advance. The recording of lectures and
discussions may only be carried out by the students enrolled in the class who have an
approved accommodation from Disability Resources with their instructors’ prior
knowledge and consent. Students with approved accommodations may be asked to turn
off their recorder if confidential or personal information is presented.

If a student has any comments, concerns, or questions about provided class materials and/
or recording, talk to your course instructor first. If this does not resolve the issue, you can
also reach out to the Department Head, and use the process described for a grade appeal
to move your concern forward. The process described for grade appeals can be found at:
https://drexel.edu/provost/policies/grade-appeals/
MEM 238 Syllabus Winter 24-25

Course Schedule (Tentative)

Week Date L/R/Q Topic Book

1 T, 0107 L1 Course intro, kinematics of particles 11.1
1 W, 0108 R1 Review fundamentals
1 R, 0109 L2 Rectilinear motion 11.2, 11.3
2 T, 0114 L3 Curvilinear motion: rectangular components 11.4
2 W, 0115 R2 HW 1 due
2 R, 0116 L4 Curvilinear motion: non rect components 11.5
3 T, 0121 L5 Newton's 2d law, equations of motion 12.1, 12.2
3 W, 0122 R3 HW2 due, review for Quiz 1
3 R, 0123 Quiz 1 Quiz 1: Particle kinematics 11
4 T, 0128 L6 Work and power 13.1
4 W, 0129 R4 HW 3 due
4 R, 0130 L7 Conservation of energy 13.2
5 T, 0204 L8 Impulse and momentum 13.3, 13.4
5 W, 0205 R5 HW 4 due
5 R, 0206 L9 Systems of particles: Newton's 2d law 14.1
6 T, 0211 L10 Systems of particles: Energy and momentum 14.2
6 W, 0212 R6 HW 5 due, review for Quiz 2
6 R, 0213 L11 Rigid body kinematics 15.1, 15.2

7 T, 0218 Quiz 2 Quiz 2: Newton, energy systems 12, 13, 14

7 W, 0219 R7 HW 6 due
7 R, 0220 L12 Kinematics, center of rotation 15.2, 15.3
8 T, 0225 L13 Plane motion: acceleration 15.4,15.5
8 W, 0226 R8 HW 7 due
8 R, 0227 L14 Synthesis 15
9 T, 0304 L15 Plane motion: Newton's 2d law 16.1
9 W, 0305 R9 HW 8 due
9 R, 0306 L16 Plane motion: constrained 16.2
10 T, 0311 L17 Synthesis / Buffer 15,16
10 W, 0312 R10 HW 9 due Friday, 14 Mar
10 R, 0313 L18 Course review all

11 Final exam Final exam: comprehensive all