Study Aid Review: Engineering Mechanics Statics Tutor - Volume 1

 

Statics is a course that is technically a part of the Mechanical Engineering curriculum, but it is one of the classes that every engineering major, regardless of what program they are in, has to take. It is generally taken after Physics I and II, and basically takes the static equilibrium problems (the problems about forces acting on things that are not moving), makes them harder, and gives you a full semester of them. Needless to say, it was not my favorite course (especially as an electrical engineering major).

This covers what amounts to the material that is covered in the first 2-3 weeks of statics. The first few lessons are review (a review of Newton's Laws, units, and a review of trigonometry, which is used extensively in Statics), then gets into the material that you will hit the ground with on day 1 of class. The material covered in this set includes adding vectors and resolving forces in two and three dimensions and finding resultant forces, etc., Basically, the material that is the foundation of the class and used in every topic going forward. As I said above, this set does not cover anything close to all of the material that you will see in the full semester. It will basically get you through your first couple of homework assignments and quizzes, but that is about it. But, it is also the material that, if you are struggling with it, you will have no shot at doing well for the rest of the class. So, while it would be nice to have a volume 2 and probably 3 available, this will still help you. I would actually pick this up before you start taking Statics, learn this material backward and forward, and it will set you up well for the rest of the class.