The braking car problem: A challenging and stimulating test bench for beginning mechanical engineering students

Abstract

Introductory courses of physics should provide engineering students – especially mechanical engineering students – with a working knowledge of the laws of conservation of mechanical quantities, plus the capability of analyzing the kinematics and dynamics of simple mechanical systems (for instance, rolling wheels, which are a basic component of innumerable machines). Moreover, introductory courses of physics should teach the principle of relativity of classical mechanics which – within limits – allows to switch from an inertial reference frame to another. Experience proves that this is not always the case. The braking car problem is a challenging exercise which stimulates the ingenuity of beginning mechanical engineering students with its paradoxical nature. At the same time, the problem stress-tests their understanding of the basic tenets of mechanics and thermodynamics, preparing them for more advanced technical topics such as gears, cams, hydraulic machines, jet propellers.

Keywords

Applied mechanics first law of thermodynamics principle of relativity of classical physics conservation laws of mechanical quantities mechanical engineering education

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