Milestone map
Milestone map
4 milestones
Forces, moments, equilibrium and trusses
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Read the statics part of the 2.001 lecture notes and chapters 1–6 of Engineering Statics (vectors, moments, equilibrium of particles and rigid bodies, trusses and frames). NPTEL Engineering Mechanics covers the same ground on video. Then work through 1.050 problem sets 1–2 and the odd-numbered problems of chapter 12 of the OpenStax physics text (Volume 1). Self-check: University Physics Volume 1, Answer Key, chapter 12 (Static Equilibrium and Elasticity). Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 1.050 problem sets 1–2 and the odd-numbered problems of chapter 12 of the OpenStax physics text (Volume 1) written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Every problem starts with a free-body diagram that shows all forces and moments.
- Truss answers state tension or compression for each member, with units.
- Answers match the 1.050 solutions and the chapter 12 key, and misses are reworked.
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a free-body diagram or sign convention left out.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 1.050 problem sets 1–2 and the odd-numbered problems of chapter 12 of the OpenStax physics text (Volume 1), with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ME 1: Statics and Mechanics of Materials, unit 1: Forces, moments, equilibrium and trusses Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Every problem starts with a free-body diagram that shows all forces and moments.
- Truss answers state tension or compression for each member, with units.
- Answers match the 1.050 solutions and the chapter 12 key, and misses are reworked.
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Stress, strain, axial load and torsion
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Read Bucciarelli's chapters on stress, strain and material behaviour (1.050 readings) and the matching 2.001 notes: axial members, thermal strain, statically indeterminate bars, shafts in torsion, and stress and strain transformation (Mohr's circle). Then work through 1.050 problem sets 4, 5, 7 and 8. Self-check: MIT 1.050 problem sets with solutions. Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 1.050 problem sets 4, 5, 7 and 8 written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Equilibrium, compatibility and the material law are written separately before they are combined.
- Indeterminate problems check that the deformations fit together.
- Answers match the published solutions, and misses are reworked.
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a free-body diagram or sign convention left out.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 1.050 problem sets 4, 5, 7 and 8, with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ME 1: Statics and Mechanics of Materials, unit 2: Stress, strain, axial load and torsion Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Equilibrium, compatibility and the material law are written separately before they are combined.
- Indeterminate problems check that the deformations fit together.
- Answers match the published solutions, and misses are reworked.
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Beams: bending, shear, deflection and buckling
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Read Bucciarelli's chapters on beams (shear and moment diagrams, bending stress, deflection) and on buckling, with the matching 2.001 notes. Then work through 1.050 problem sets 3, 9 and 10, then the deflection and buckling exercises in Bucciarelli's beam chapters. Self-check: MIT 1.050 problem sets with solutions. Free tools only.
Proof required
Link the public repo with 1.050 problem sets 3, 9 and 10, then the deflection and buckling exercises in Bucciarelli's beam chapters written up (a typeset PDF, LaTeX source or notebook), and show the self-check: which answers matched and how you fixed the ones that did not.
What gets checked
- Shear and moment diagrams are drawn and checked at the supports and load points.
- Deflections come from the beam equation with stated boundary conditions, each checked against a standard beam-table formula.
- Problem-set answers match the published solutions; deflection and buckling answers are checked a second way (a beam table or a FreeCAD FEM run).
Common mistakes
- Answers copied from a solution with no working.
- Missing units, or a free-body diagram or sign convention left out.
Powstik Guide
A public write-up of 1.050 problem sets 3, 9 and 10, then the deflection and buckling exercises in Bucciarelli's beam chapters, with the self-check shown.
Steps
- Study the linked course material.
- Solve the problems on your own first.
- Check them against the self-check and rework the misses.
- Typeset the write-up (LaTeX or a notebook) in a public repo.
- Ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ME 1: Statics and Mechanics of Materials, unit 3: Beams: bending, shear, deflection and buckling Problems: Self-check result (matched / reworked): What I got wrong first and why:
What gets sent back
- No working shown.
- The self-check result is missing.
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Shear and moment diagrams are drawn and checked at the supports and load points.
- Deflections come from the beam equation with stated boundary conditions, each checked against a standard beam-table formula.
- Problem-set answers match the published solutions; deflection and buckling answers are checked a second way (a beam table or a FreeCAD FEM run).
- Is the engineering right, not just the final number?
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.
Load a beam and predict how far it bends
about 3 weeks (about 12 hrs/week)
Make a measured experiment on a cantilever beam: a wooden or plastic ruler held flat on a table edge (clamped, or pinned under a stack of heavy books), loaded at its tip with small known masses in a bag on a string (coins of known published mass, or water measured in a kitchen jug: 1 mL weighs 1 g). Measure the ruler's width b and thickness h and work out I = bh³/12. Take Young's modulus E from a published value for the material. Predict the tip deflection δ = PL³/(3EI) for five loads, with L from the support edge to the string. Keep every load small enough that δ stays under L/10. Measure each deflection from the unloaded position, so the ruler's own weight cancels. Read it from a phone photo taken square to the beam, next to a fixed ruler. Stand clear of the tip: a ruler can snap. Estimate the uncertainty of each reading, then fill a predicted-vs-measured table that explains the gaps (spread in E, clamp flexibility, reading error). Optional, costs money: a kitchen scale, a clamp or a set of known masses. Safety glasses are needed for this experiment (they cost money); without them, simulate it instead. Safety: hand tools and eye protection only. Never machine tools, welding, pressure vessels, combustion, or springs and flywheels that store dangerous energy, unless a trained supervisor is present in a proper workshop. Under 18? Build with an adult present, or simulate the same set-up instead.
Proof required
Link the public repo with the raw data (or links to it), photos of the set-up, the analysis notebook and the predicted-vs-measured table with uncertainties (under 18 without an adult: a simulation of the same set-up, compared with published values), and a README that says how to rerun it and what limits the result.
What gets checked
- The write-up shows I, the value of E with its source, and δ = PL³/(3EI) worked for each load.
- The table lists five loads with predicted and measured deflection, each with its uncertainty, in consistent units.
- Every gap over 10% is explained with a cause the reviewer can check, and the fitted E is compared with the published one.
Common mistakes
- A result that nobody else can rerun from the repo.
- A table with no explanation of the gaps.
Powstik Guide
A measured experiment on a cantilever beam: a wooden or plastic ruler held flat on a table edge (clamped, or pinned under a stack of heavy books), loaded at its tip with small known masses in a bag on a string (coins of known published mass, or water measured in a kitchen jug: 1 mL weighs 1 g), in a public repo.
Steps
- Write down what you expect before you start.
- Measure the ruler's width b and thickness h and work out I = bh³/12. Take Young's modulus E from a published value for the material. Predict the tip deflection δ = PL³/(3EI) for five loads, with L from the support edge to the string. Keep every load small enough that δ stays under L/10. Measure each deflection from the unloaded position, so the ruler's own weight cancels. Read it from a phone photo taken square to the beam, next to a fixed ruler. Stand clear of the tip: a ruler can snap. Estimate the uncertainty of each reading, then fill a predicted-vs-measured table that explains the gaps (spread in E, clamp flexibility, reading error).
- Fill the predicted-vs-measured (or hand-vs-simulated) table.
- Explain every gap with a cause someone can check.
- Write the README and ask someone who knows the subject to check it.
Template
README ME 1: Statics and Mechanics of Materials — Load a beam and predict how far it bends What I expected: How to rerun it: Predicted vs measured: Why they differ: Safety: hand tools and eye protection only
What gets sent back
- No predicted-vs-measured table, or no uncertainties.
- Machine tools, welding, pressure vessels, combustion, or springs and flywheels storing dangerous energy without a trained supervisor.
Resources
Foundationstart here
What a verifier looks for
- The write-up shows I, the value of E with its source, and δ = PL³/(3EI) worked for each load.
- The table lists five loads with predicted and measured deflection, each with its uncertainty, in consistent units.
- Every gap over 10% is explained with a cause the reviewer can check, and the fitted E is compared with the published one.
- Check the engineering and the numbers, not just that it exists: do the units, the hand calculation and the table agree?
- Build photos show hand tools only and eye protection worn: no machine tools, welding, pressure vessels, combustion, or springs and flywheels storing dangerous energy (unless a trained supervisor and a proper workshop are shown).
You'll sign in first, then come straight back here.