Using Everyday Materials To Examine The Characteristic Mechanical Properties Of Metals, Polymers, And Ceramics

This paper will describe an active laboratory exercise designed to introduce key mechanical properties of metals, polymers, and ceramics. The materials investigated are common and everyday in the sense that they can be found in the desk, classroom, or refrigerator of a student, i.e., in his or her life. The exercise is presented as a “real-world” project, in which the students are newly hired employees, asked to review their knowledge of mechanical properties in materials and report their recommendations in a memorandum to their project manager. This active laboratory exercise is part of a sophomore-level materials science course that is designed into the mechanical engineering curriculum at Union College. The course also partially fulfills a writing requirement that all Union students must fulfill before graduation. The emphasis on mechanical properties makes relevant the understanding of materials science to the processing and design issues in mechanical engineering.