A roller coaster project as part of an undergraduate dynamics course in mechanical engineering

Abstract

Undergraduate dynamics courses in mechanical engineering are typically structured around students solving numerous textbook-style problems in order to increase their proficiency at analyzing different scenarios involving dynamics concepts. However, students may not see how the same concepts can be useful in open-ended, design-oriented settings. To remedy this shortcoming and to help students synthesize material from different topics within dynamics, a roller coaster design project has been developed and incorporated into an undergraduate dynamics class. This roller coaster project allows students to investigate and creatively apply their analytic skills to an ambiguous, real-world problem that they are highly motivated to explore. It both reinforces the underlying curriculum and also helps students develop intellectually, as the project is designed to teach that dynamics isn't so much about looking for the "right answer" as it is about choices and simplifications made in modeling reality. Although roller coaster design projects have been used as the basis for entire undergraduate courses and also in STEM activities for pre-college students, the author is unaware of a similar project being included as part of a first course in dynamics. For this project, students in teams of three were tasked with designing, analyzing, and simulating a roller coaster over the course of a semester during one of the four instructional hours allotted each week. This paper details the organization of the project and the methods by which the students were assessed. It also includes data regarding student perceptions of the project, specifically how the project helped them learn to apply basic dynamics concepts, work in teams, and develop analytic skills valuable outside of the classroom.