TI-89 Titanium

It’s about that time of year again when students go back to school to tackle some more engineering and physics. They use highly visual and real-world examples in day-to-day classes. In my experience, I have discovered that a few things at the desk really helps with understanding the course material when studying or doing homework.

Of course, every good engineering student has a good calculator. Here at Engineerography Blog, we use the TI-89 Titanium almost exclusively. It’s a godsend to solving equation, comparing data, and graphing pretty pictures.

Next, we need a 6″ plastic ruler (wooden rulers don’t work too well). It isn’t as cumbersome as a 12″ ruler and it helps you draw straight lines. Simple as that. Engineering and physics requires the use of a lot of diagrams and sketches, etc. So, of course, we want to be able to present our data clearly and be able to organize ourselves effectively.

Third: an elastic rubber eraser. It’s not only for when you make a mistake though. Turns out, it’s a very good way to visualize tensile and compressive forces, and it can help with understanding bending forces and stresses. You can easily see the physical stretching of the rubber eraser which can give you some insight to how the internal forces are acting. Try it! (It’s also a nice way to remember these things during an exam. Using my eraser as a visual device has helped assure me of my answer when I wasn’t sure if the answer was supposed to be positive or negative, for example.)

Fourth: a golf ball. If you are taking a course in dynamics or mechanics (for all beginning physics students and mechanical engineers), having a golf ball handy is another amazing visual aid to understanding how velocity relates to position and acceleration. You can get a feel for what collisions actually involve and how, if the ball were to be made of a softer material, how it would react to environmental forces. I prefer to use a golf ball because it’s small. Tennis balls work pretty well too. Ping pong balls, not so much (because it is too light and too bouncy). Oh, and a badminton birdie isn’t a ball.

Lastly, we need paper. Lots and lots of paper. Don’t try to squeeze all your mathematical calculations on less than one quarter of a page. Spread your work around a few pages. And sketch nice and huge pictures and diagrams. Frankly, it’s less stressful.

If you have any more tools you like to use to help you learn, feel free to add a comment!

(TI-89 Titanium image from Wikimedia Commons.)