In this course, students will explore specialized areas of engineering and related fields by focusing on scientific inquiry, interdisciplinary integration, and project-based learning. Through research, projects, and collaboration, students will learn about manufacturing, electronic theory, thermal energy, kinematics, material processes, and other topics that provide insights into the intersection of technology, society, and innovation. In addition, course content will inform students about technical writing, construction drawings, computing advancements, and design and documentation. This course furthermore helps students prepare for college-level study and careers in STEM fields.

Course outline

Unit 1: Introduction to Applied Engineering

This unit highlights key innovations in the histories of civil, electrical, chemical, and mechanical engineering. Important contributors, engineers, dates, places of origin and descriptions of the significance of innovations are discussed, along with how each field progressed.

• Investigate the histories of civil, electrical, chemical and mechanical engineering.
• Report on the different engineering histories.
• Describe engineering innovations and their contribution to the field and society.

Unit 2: Learning Communities

This unit defines learning communities, their purpose, the roles people play in them and the best way to take advantage of participating in one, specifically for seeking advice.

• Define a learning community.
• Identify how learning communities are utilized in education.
• Describe the roles in learning communities.
• Describe components of a learning community.
• Examine how individuals can seek and respond to advice from peers and educators when completing work in a learning community.

Unit 3: Science Explained: Engineering Science

This unit will provide the basics and limitations of science as well as how scientific hypotheses, theories and laws differ by being able to distinguish between them. Performing a scientific inquiry using a multitude of sources will also be detailed.

• Describe the parameters of science.
• Identify and explain limitations of science.
• Differentiate between scientific hypotheses, theories and laws.
• Analyze scientific information and evidence using empirical evidence, logical reasoning and experimental observational testing.
• Provide an overview of the manufacturing industry.
• Evaluate how the development of technology has affected the manufacturing industry.

Unit 4: The Manufacturing Industry

Students will learn about the manufacturing industry and the career opportunities within the industry. Students will also learn about the technological evolution of the industry and what impacts technology has made. This unit also provides an overview of safety within the industry.

Unit 5: Technical Writing in Engineering

This unit informs students of the components of technical writing and how to craft common technical engineering documents.

• Understand the components of engineering technical writing.
• Comprehend how to read an engineering technical document.
• Compose common engineering technical documents.

Unit 6: Introduction to Construction Drawings

Students will be introduced to the basics of construction drawings including the different types, elements of symbols, various drawing tools as well as the construction drawing process or plan.

• Understand classifications of different construction drawings.
• Recognize elements and symbols of construction drawings.
• Recognize various drawing tools.
• Understand how to develop and design a building plan.

Unit 7: Impact of Science: Engineering Design

This unit will teach students about the history of science and how the concept of science evolved over time. Students will explore important scientific figures and how various scientific innovations came to exist. Additionally, students will identify current trends in modern science and describe what they think the future of science will look like.

• Describe major contributions in the history of science.
• Analyze the impact of scientific contributions on society.
• Identify and explain emerging scientific research and innovations.

Unit 8: Impact of Computing Advancements

This unit explains computing and how computing related advancements have impacted or can impact society. Additionally, the unit identifies computing related advancements in various industries.

• Illustrate major computing technology advancements.
• Examine the impact of computers and computing technology on society.
• Explore future computing advancement possibilities.

Unit 9: Design & Documentation: Tool Options

This unit provides an overview detailing the software and hand tools needed for the designing and building phase of development.

• Identify software options for the designing phase.
• Analyze hand tool options for the building phase.

Unit 10: Basic Electronic Theory

This unit covers the basic concepts of electricity, including how it is formed, its flow and the relationship between current, resistance and voltage. Additionally, students will be introduced to basic circuits and how they are built.

• Explain how electricity is formed and flows.
• Understand the correlation between electricity and magnetism.
• Differentiate between the necessary parts of a functioning circuit.
• Explain the need for the parts of a functioning circuit.

Unit 11: Electrical Forces & Fields

This unit focuses on electrical fields and their applications. Students will be introduced to the concepts of electrical fields and electrical forces. Additionally, students will explore the concepts of conductors and insulators, the relationship between electricity and magnetism, and practical applications of both.

• Describe the concepts of electrical fields and electrical force.
• Classify objects as electrical insulators or conductors based on their properties.

Unit 12: Laws & Conservation of Energy & Momentum

This unit describes the law of conservation of energy and the law of conservation of momentum and explains how they are applied in situations including falling objects, explosions and collisions.

• Describe the law of conservation of energy and how it is applied.
• Describe the law of conservation of momentum and how it is applied.
• Demonstrate how the laws of conservation of energy and conservation of momentum are applied in collisions.

Unit 13: Thermal Energy Concepts

This unit describes thermodynamic systems, contrasts different forms of thermal energy transfer, and explains the laws of thermodynamics.

• Relate the macroscopic and molecular-level properties of thermodynamic systems.
• Contrast different forms of thermal energy transfer.
• Analyze the laws of thermodynamics.
• Explain technology that uses the laws.

Unit 14: Principles of Kinematics

This unit will teach students the fundamentals of kinematics and how to use kinematics equations to analyze one-dimensional motion. In addition, students will use the analytical skills developed for one-dimensional analysis to analyze two-dimensional motion.

• Calculate distance, displacement, speed, velocity and acceleration from data.
• Experimentally calculate the acceleration due to gravity given data from a free-falling object.
• Calculate the x- and y-components of an object in projectile motion.
• Determine and test the angle needed to launch a projectile at a specific range given the projectile’s initial velocity.

Unit 15: Introduction to Material Properties

This unit guides students to be able to recognize and categorize material properties as chemical, physical, mechanical, electrical, or biological. Students will be able to use this information to determine if a material will meet a product’s need.

• Differentiate between various material properties.
• Evaluate a material’s ability to meet a specific need in an engineering project.

Unit 16: Advanced Material Properties

This unit refreshes students on how to find measurements for a material using specific formulas with practice. Students will also discover the functions and purpose of non-destructive tests (NDT) and determine which non-destructive test works best with different materials.

• Calculate the weight, mass, volume, density and surface area of various objects.
• Determine which non-destructive test work best for a material and conclude if the material in question has any defects.

Unit 17: Engineering & the Environment

This unit outlines the steps to become an environmental engineer, the impacts of engineering efforts and practical examples of environmental solutions.

• Describe the environmental engineering profession.
• Detail problems identified and solutions designed by environmental engineers.
• Outline the process of becoming an environmental engineer.

Unit 18: Analyzing Data: Engineering Design & Problem Solving

This unit explores how to analyze qualitative and quantitative data sets. Students will learn how to perform descriptive and inferential statistical analyses to determine significant patterns and trends in a data set.

• Differentiate between and perform statistical tests on a set of data.
• Identify significant patterns and relationships though a data analysis.
• Interpret and describe the results of a data analysis.

Unit 19: Conducting Lab & Field Investigations: Engineering Science

This unit provides students with information about the scientific method and its application to science. Students will explore each step of the scientific method and determine the importance of each step of the method. Using their knowledge, they will apply the process to various investigations.

• Describe the process of the scientific method and the importance of each step.
• Utilize the scientific method to make observations, ask questions, formulate hypotheses and identify variables.
• Design an experiment to test a hypothesis by collecting data, analyzing data and communicating outcomes.

Unit 20: Product Design Considerations

This unit informs students about the necessity of creating safe, reliable and quality products for consumers and introduces them to the patent process. Stu