Online courses directory (10358)

All around us, engineers are creating materials whose properties are exactly tailored to their purpose. This course is the second of three in a series of mechanics courses from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. Taken together, these courses provide similar content to the MIT subject 3.032: Mechanical Behavior of Materials.

The 3.032x series provides an introduction to the mechanical behavior of materials, from both the continuum and atomistic points of view. At the continuum level, we learn how forces and displacements translate into stress and strain distributions within the material. At the atomistic level, we learn the mechanisms that control the mechanical properties of materials. Examples are drawn from metals, ceramics, glasses, polymers, biomaterials, composites and cellular materials.

Part 1 covers stress-strain behavior, topics in linear elasticity and the atomic basis for linear elasticity, and composite materials.

Part 2 covers stress transformations, beam bending, column buckling, and cellular materials.

Part 3 covers viscoelasticity (behavior intermediate to that of an elastic solid and that of a viscous fluid), plasticity (permanent deformation), creep in crystalline materials (time dependent behavior), brittle fracture (rapid crack propagation) and fatigue (failure due to repeated loading of a material).

All around us, engineers are creating materials whose properties are exactly tailored to their purpose. This course is the third of three in a series of mechanics courses from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. Taken together, these courses provide similar content to the MIT subject 3.032: Mechanical Behavior of Materials.

The 3.032x series provides an introduction to the mechanical behavior of materials, from both the continuum and atomistic points of view. At the continuum level, we learn how forces and displacements translate into stress and strain distributions within the material. At the atomistic level, we learn the mechanisms that control the mechanical properties of materials.  Examples are drawn from metals, ceramics, glasses, polymers, biomaterials, composites and cellular materials.

Part 3 covers viscoelasticity (behavior intermediate to that of an elastic solid and that of a viscous fluid), plasticity (permanent deformation), creep in crystalline materials (time dependent behavior), brittle fracture (rapid crack propagation) and fatigue (failure due to repeated loading of a material).

This course is aimed at presenting the concepts underlying the response of polymeric materials to applied loads. These will include both the molecular mechanisms involved and the mathematical description of the relevant continuum mechanics. It is dominantly an "engineering" subject, but with an atomistic flavor. It covers the influence of processing and structure on mechanical properties of synthetic and natural polymers: Hookean and entropic elastic deformation, linear viscoelasticity, composite materials and laminates, yield and fracture.

This course introduces the fundamentals of machine tool and computer tool use. Students work with a variety of machine tools including the bandsaw, milling machine, and lathe. Instruction given on MATLAB®, MAPLE®, XESS™, and CAD. Emphasis is on problem solving, not programming or algorithmic development. Assignments are project-oriented relating to mechanical engineering topics. It is recommended that students take this subject in the first IAP after declaring the major in Mechanical Engineering.

This course was co-created by Prof. Douglas Hart and Dr. Kevin Otto.

12.524 is a survey of the mechanical behavior of rocks in natural geologic situations. Topics will include a brief survey of field evidence of rock deformation, physics of plastic deformation in minerals, brittle fracture and sliding, and pressure-solution processes. We will compare results of field petrologic and structural studies to data from experimental structural geology.

This course provides an introduction to the mechanics of solids with applications to science and engineering. We emphasize the three essential features of all mechanics analyses, namely: (a) the geometry of the motion and/or deformation of the structure, and conditions of geometric fit, (b) the forces on and within structures and assemblages; and (c) the physical aspects of the structural system (including material properties) which quantify relations between the forces and motions/deformation.

The main objective of 1.054/1.541 is to provide students with a rational basis of the design of reinforced concrete members and structures through advanced understanding of material and structural behavior. This course is offered to undergraduate (1.054) and graduate students (1.541). Topics covered include: Strength and Deformation of Concrete under Various States of Stress; Failure Criteria; Concrete Plasticity; Fracture Mechanics Concepts; Fundamental Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Structural Systems and their Members; Basis for Design and Code Constraints; High-performance Concrete Materials and their use in Innovative Design Solutions; Slabs: Yield Line Theory; Behavior Models and Nonlinear Analysis; and Complex Systems: Bridge Structures, Concrete Shells, and Containments.

Professor Oral Buyukozturk thanks Tzu-Yang Yu, a graduate student at MIT, for his valuable assistance in preparing course documents.

The main objective of 1.054/1.541 is to provide students with a rational basis of the design of reinforced concrete members and structures through advanced understanding of material and structural behavior. This course is offered to undergraduate (1.054) and graduate students (1.541). Topics covered include: Strength and Deformation of Concrete under Various States of Stress; Failure Criteria; Concrete Plasticity; Fracture Mechanics Concepts; Fundamental Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Structural Systems and their Members; Basis for Design and Code Constraints; High-performance Concrete Materials and their use in Innovative Design Solutions; Slabs: Yield Line Theory; Behavior Models and Nonlinear Analysis; and Complex Systems: Bridge Structures, Concrete Shells, and Containments.

Professor Oral Buyukozturk thanks Tzu-Yang Yu, a graduate student at MIT, for his valuable assistance in preparing course documents.

This course provides Mechanical Engineering students with an awareness of various responses exhibited by solid engineering materials when subjected to mechanical and thermal loadings; an introduction to the physical mechanisms associated with design-limiting behavior of engineering materials, especially stiffness, strength, toughness, and durability; an understanding of basic mechanical properties of engineering materials, testing procedures used to quantify these properties, and ways in which these properties characterize material response; quantitative skills to deal with materials-limiting problems in engineering design; and a basis for materials selection in mechanical design.

Many natural and man-made structures can be modeled as assemblages of interconnected structural elements loaded along their axis (bars), in torsion (shafts) and in bending (beams). In this course you will learn to use equations for static equilibrium, geometric compatibility and constitutive material response to analyze these structural assemblages.

This course also provides an introduction to behavior in which the shape of the structure is permanently changed by loading the material beyond its elastic limit (plasticity), and behavior in which the structural response changes over time (viscoelasticity).

This is the second course in a 3-part series. In this series you will learn how mechanical engineers can use analytical methods and “back of the envelope” calculations to predict structural behavior.  The three courses in the series are:

Part 1 – 2.01x: Elements of Structures. (Elastic response of Structural Elements: Bars, Shafts, Beams). Next session starts October 2017

Part 2 – 2.02.1x Mechanics of Deformable Structures: Part 1. (Assemblages of Elastic, Elastic-Plastic, and Viscoelastic Structural Elements).

 Part 3 – 2.02.2x Mechanics of Deformable Structures: Part 2. (Multi-axial Loading and Deformation. Energy Methods). Next session starts October 2018

These courses are based on the first subject in solid mechanics for MIT Mechanical Engineering students.  Join them and learn to rely on the notions of equilibrium, geometric compatibility, and constitutive material response to ensure that your structures will perform their specified mechanical function without failing.

This course is an advanced subject in fluid and continuum mechanics. The course content includes kinematics, macroscopic balances for linear and angular momentum, stress tensors, creeping flows and the lubrication approximation, the boundary layer approximation, linear stability theory, and some simple turbulent flows.

1.033 provides an introduction to continuum mechanics and material modeling of engineering materials based on first energy principles: deformation and strain; momentum balance, stress and stress states; elasticity and elasticity bounds; plasticity and yield design. The overarching theme is a unified mechanistic language using thermodynamics, which allows understanding, modeling and design of a large range of engineering materials. This course is offered both to undergraduate (1.033) and graduate (1.57) students.

1.033 provides an introduction to continuum mechanics and material modeling of engineering materials based on first energy principles: deformation and strain; momentum balance, stress and stress states; elasticity and elasticity bounds; plasticity and yield design. The overarching theme is a unified mechanistic language using thermodynamics, which allows understanding, modeling and design of a large range of engineering materials. This course is offered both to undergraduate (1.033) and graduate (1.57) students.

Overview of mechanical properties of ceramics, metals, and polymers, emphasizing the role of processing and microstructure in controlling these properties. Basic topics in mechanics of materials including: continuum stress and strain, truss forces, torsion of a circular shaft and beam bending. Design of engineering structures from a materials point of view.

Mechanics ReView is a second look at introductory Newtonian Mechanics. It will give you a unified overview of mechanics that will dramatically increase your problem-solving ability. It is open to all students who meet the prerequisites (see right), but is especially designed for teachers and students who want to improve their existing understanding of mechanics.

Newtonian mechanics is the study of how forces change the motion of objects. This course begins with force, and moves on to straight-line motion, momentum, mechanical energy, rotational motion, angular momentum, and harmonic oscillators. Optional units include planetary orbits and a unit whose problems require multiple concepts to be applied to obtain one solution.

NOTE: New Section “Problem-solving Pedagogy”

We have developed a special approach to organizing the physics content knowledge and for applying it when solving problems.  This approach is called “Modeling Applied to Problem Solving” and has been researched carefully and has proven effectiveness for improving students’ performance in a later physics course on Electricity and Magnetism.

If you are a teacher looking to improve your knowledge of mechanics, or to learn new approaches to teach your students, we encourage you to sign up in the special teacher section featuring a discussion forum for teachers to discuss teaching ideas and techniques related to the topics discussed in this course.  To join these discussions,  verify yourself as a teacher, and we will sign you up in the teacher forum.

Note that this forum is exclusively reserved for teachers, so please do not register if you are not a teacher.

Teachers in the United States, and especially in Massachusetts, can receive extra benefit from this course. We offer Professional Development Points (PDPs) at no charge to teachers in Massachusetts who complete our course. If you are in a different state, we instead offer Continuing Education Units through the American Association of Physics Teachers. There is a fee for this certificate.

Course Syllabus

Note: Taking this Course Involves Using Some Experimental Materials

The RELATE group that authors and administers this course is an education research group, dedicated to understanding and improving education, especially online.  We showed that 8.MReV generated slightly more conceptual learning than a conventionally taught on-campus course  - but we were unable to find exactly what caused this learning.   (So far this is the only published measurement of learning in a MOOC).  This summer we will be comparing learning from different types of online activities that  will be administerered to randomly assigned sub-groups of our students.  At certain points in the course, new vs. previously used sequences of activities will be assigned to different groups.  We will then use common questions to compare the amount learned. Which group receives the new activities will be switched so that neither group will have all new activities.

Our experimental protocol has been approved by the MIT Committee on Use of Human Subjects.  As part of this approval we have the obligation to inform you about these experiments and to assure you that:

• We will not divulge any information about you that may be identified as yours personally (e.g. a discussion post showing your user name). 
• The grade for obtaining a certificate will be adjusted downwards (from 60%) to compensate if one group has harder materials.

Note: By clicking on the registration button, you indicate that you understand that everyone who participates in this course is randomly assigned to one of the groups described above. 

Welcome, and we hope you will both learn from and enjoy this course.

FAQs

Is there a required textbook?

You do not need to buy a textbook. All material is included in this edX course and is viewable online. If you would like to use a textbook with the course (for example, as a reference), most calculus-level books are suitable. Introductory physics books by Young and Freedman, Halliday and Resnick, or Knight are all appropriate (and older editions are fine).

What if I take a vacation?

The course schedule is designed with this in mind! Course contents are released four weeks ahead of the deadline, so even if you have a four-week vacation, you do not need to miss any deadlines and can still complete all of the material.

Will I get a certficiate?

Yes! This course awards certificates to all who satisfactorily complete the required portion of the course.

How are grades assigned?

There are three parts of the course that are worth points: Checkpoint problems that are folded in with the reading, Homework problems that come at the end of each unit, and Quizzes that are at the end of every 1-2 units. Each is worth a varying number of points, and you will not have to do every problem.

The course consists of 11 required units and three optional units. You do not need to complete the optional units in order to receive a certificate.

There is no final exam.

Mechanics is the study of the physics of motion and how it relates to applied forces. It lays the foundation of understanding the world around us through the how and why of motion.

This physics course is the first in a series of modules that covers calculus-based mechanics. This module reviews kinematics (the geometrical description of motion) in the context of one-dimensional, multi-dimensional, and circular motion. It also reviews Newton’s laws of motion and examines their application to a wide variety of cases.

This series of modules is based on the MIT subject 8.01: Physics I, required of all MIT undergraduates. The modules are:

• Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics
• Mechanics: Momentum and Energy
• Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics

The course image is a picture of an MIT building with the name Newton prominently displayed.

This course is the second of a series of modules that cover calculus-based mechanics.  You will learn about the concepts of momentum, impulse, energy, and work, as well as the powerful idea of conservation laws. You will apply these concepts to solve interesting mechanics problems such as collisions and rockets.

The complete series of modules is based on the MIT subject 8.01: Physics I, required of all MIT undergraduates.  The modules are:

• Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics
• Mechanics: Momentum and Energy
• Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics

To understand the material in this course you should have taken Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics. 

The course image is a fire truck on top of the MIT dome. Image taken by Sarahjane10784 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MIT_firetruck_hack_2006.JPG

Mechanics is the basis of much of physics, engineering and other technological disciplines. It begins by quantifying motion, and then explaining it in terms of forces, energy, momentum. This allows us to analyse the operation of many familiar phenomena around us, but also the mechanics of planets, stars and galaxies.

This course is the third of a series of modules that cover calculus-based mechanics. You will explore rotational motion and learn about the concepts of torque and angular momentum. You will learn about the conservation of angular momentum, and use it with other conservation laws to solve complex problems in rotational dynamics.

The complete series of modules is based on the MIT subject 8.01: Physics I, required of all MIT undergraduates.  The modules are:

• Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics
• Mechanics: Momentum and Energy
• Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics

To understand the material in this course you should have taken Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics and Mechanics: Momentum and Energy.

This course addresses the scientific basis for the development of new drugs. The first half of the semester begins with an overview of the drug discovery process, followed by fundamental principles of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, metabolism, and the mechanisms by which drugs cause therapeutic and toxic responses. The second half of the semester applies those principles to case studies and literature discussions of current problems with specific drugs, drug classes, and therapeutic targets.