Engineering Mechanics I (Statics) Syllabus for 2025-2026
Return to Syllabus List

Instructor Information

Course Information

AI Statement

Collusion is defined as “the unauthorized collaboration with another person or by any other means, including artificial intelligence (AI) and computer translators, in preparing work for fulfillment of course requirements.” Using AI like (ChatGPT or Google Gemini) to create a document is considered colluding. The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence on specific assignments is at the discretion of the instructor.

Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Reporting

Amarillo College prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sex, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, under Title IX and Texas Education Code §51.253–255. Faculty and staff are mandatory reporters and must share any related concerns with the Title IX Coordinator at titleix@actx.edu. Reports and additional information are available at https://www.actx.edu/hr/title-ixtitle-ix. Confidential counseling and advocacy services are available through the Counseling Center and Advocacy & Resource Center.

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

If you have a disability (learning, mental, physical) that affects your ability to participate effectively and have access to any program or service at Amarillo College please contact Disability Services at (806) 345-5639 . Our offices are located in the Enrollment Center, Suite 700. More information may be found at www.actx.edu/disability.
Disability Services facilitates access to all programs and services according to the ADA, Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as well as other federal and state laws.

Amarillo College Web Accessibility Policy Statement

Amarillo College is committed to providing equal access to all programs and services, including all working, learning, and service environments that affect equal access for persons with disabilities. This commitment to provide equal access and opportunity for persons with disabilities is in compliance with federal and state law. Amarillo College also strives to provide Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) that are accessible to all authorized users.

If you find you are unable to access material in an accessible format please contact the Disability Services Office at (806) 345-5639 . This office will work in conjunction with other campus resources to address and accommodate your issue in a timely manner.

Statement for Mental Health and Advocacy & Resource Center:

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

Tutoring for Success applies to any student whose overall performance in the course falls below 75%. The instructor will create the task in the Student Engagement Portal (Watermark) to direct the student to the appropriate tutoring service, which may be faculty- or SI-led, discipline-specific, and/or general. The tutoring service assigned, the due date for when the tutoring must be completed, and the amount of tutoring required are at the discretion of the instructor. Additionally, the task will alert the student’s success team. Students who do not fulfill the assigned tutoring task may be subject to program- and course-specific penalties that could result in a grade reduction and/or in not being allowed to progress in the course until the tutoring requirement has been satisfied.

Administrative Drop Policy

Students who do not attend class on or prior to the census date will be administratively dropped. Effective Fall, 2016

Student Withdrawal Procedures

Students who wish to withdraw from a course must complete all steps indicated on the Academic Withdrawal Request form by the course withdrawal deadline.

NOTE: Students who are attending Texas institutions of higher education, for the first time fall 2007 and later, may not withdraw from more than six courses during their academic career. This withdrawal limitation does not include dual credit or developmental classes (Senate Bill 1231 Rule 4.10.) For more information on Drop and Withdrawal Policies, please visit the Registrar's Office Web site.

Privacy Statement

The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students.  If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .

Course

ENGR-2301-003 Engineering Mechanics I (Statics)

Prerequisites

Prerequisites: MATH 2413-minimum grade of C Corequisite: PHYS 2425

Course Description

Basic theory of engineering mechanics, using calculus, involving the description of forces, moments and couples acting on stationary engineering structures; equilibrium in two and three dimensions; free-body diagrams; friction; centroids; centers of gravity; and moments of inertia.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Notice to Students enrolled in an educational program for preparation of issuance of certain occupational licenses:

Students enrolled in an educational program in preparation for obtaining certain occupational licenses are potentially ineligible for such license if the student has been convicted of an offense. For further information, please contact:

Melodie Graves
Justice Involved Advocate
Student Service Center 117
mgraves24@actx.edu
806-371-5995
Make appointment at https://melodiegraves.youcanbook.me

You can also contact the Legal Clinic, or the faculty member in charge of the educational program that you seek to enroll in. The further information you will receive will include notification to you of your right to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the licensing authority in order to clarify your particular situation.

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics; Beer, F. P., Johnston, E. R., Mazurek, D.F. (2024), McGraw Hill, e-Book or hard copy (ISBN 978-1-266-47625-9).

Supplies

Internet Access - reliable Wi-Fi is required to complete online activities in e-Book and collaborate outside of class with team

Computer to access e-Book and complete online work (reading, SmartBook activites, and homework)

Graphing Calculator

You are free to take notes however you prefer (paper/pencil or digitally). You are responsible for supplies for taking notes. You will also be responsible for the materials to complete the homework and LL activities. 

Student Performance

After completing this course, the student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the following topics with 70% accuracy as evaluated by the engineering faculty:  

1. State the fundamental principles used in the study of mechanics.
2. Define magnitude and directions of forces and moments and identify associated scalar and vector products.
3. Draw free body diagrams for two- and three-dimensional force systems.
4. Solve problems using the equations of static equilibrium.
5. Compute the moment of force about a specified point or line.
6. Replace a system of forces by an equivalent simplified system.
7. Analyze the forces and couples acting on a variety of objects.
8. Determine unknown forces and couples acting on objects in equilibrium.
9. Analyze simple trusses using the method of joints or the method of sections.
10. Determine the location of the centroid and the center of mass for a system of discrete particles and for objects of arbitrary shape.
11. Analyze structures with a distributed load.
12. Calculate moments of inertia for lines, areas, and volumes.
13. Apply the parallel axis theorem to compute moments of inertia for composite regions.
14. Solve problems involving equilibrium of rigid bodies subjected to a system of forces and moments that include friction.
15. Solve problems involving dry sliding friction, including problems with wedges and belts.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

Students are expected to behave in the classroom in a manner that is supportive of the learning environment. Behaviors that are not supportive include, but are not limited to: tardiness/leaving early; electronic device noises; texting or using electronic devices for non-course related activities during the lecture; talking during the lecture; abusive, offensive, and/or disrespectful language or demeanor toward AC faculty, staff, students, and/or Amarillo College property.

In order to receive credit for a course, all material listed on the syllabus must be covered. The instructor sets the pace to ensure that these requirements are met. Complaining about the pace will not result in less material being covered.

Cheating is not acceptable. If you are caught cheating, you will receive an "F" in the course cannot be removed from your transcript. 

Students who fail to comply with the standards outlined in the syllabus and/or AC’s Student Rights & Responsibilities document will be subject to disciplinary action which may include, but is not limited to: removal from the classroom; consultation with the Math & Engineering Department Chair and/or other AC authority; withdrawal from the course and/or Amarillo College.

Grading Criteria

The final grades of A (90-100), B (80-89), C (70-79), D (60-69), and F (59 or below) will be computed as the average of the earned grades as follows:

Exams

Three written tests will be held in class and the dates are identified on the calendar in Blackboard for this course. Each exam will have 3-6 questions similar to the homework problems based on the important concepts for the chapters. 

Exams will not be curved. The maximum points on each exam is 100 points. The exams are typically challenging, and you will receive the grade earned. In lieu of curving exams, a submitted LLL activity can be used for a maximum of 15 points extra credit (see more information below). 

Absence from an exam will incur a zero unless there is prior notification. Students who miss an exam because of College or business related activities should notify the instructor before the absence occurs.

Grading of Tests: In complex problem analyses, such as those used in this course, there are many opportunities for errors. Thus exams will be graded using "partial credit" as it is recognized that some sections of an individual problem may have been carried out correctly even though the final answer may be incorrect. Partial credit will only be given if the student work is logically developed, with clear and well-marked diagrams, with the appropriate fundamental and auxiliary equations prominently displayed, where the substitutions into the equations are quite clear, and the assumptions used are quite obvious to the grader . That is, it is the student's responsibility to present his/her work so clearly that the grader can quickly ascertain the location and nature of the error(s) and can easily follow the subsequent work through to the now incorrect solution of the problem. Thus, the student's contribution, needed to obtain partial credit, is to be able to clearly lead the grader through the student's thought process on the exam page alone. If this is not quite clear on the work submitted, credit will not be given then nor later. Partial credit is simply not negotiable.

Final Design Project (replaces Final Exam)

You will be required to work in a group where you will complete work in a team. You are expected to behave in professional manner as those you were working in an engineering team while utilizing concepts you have learned in this class and other college courses. A written and oral presentation are required as well as a functional prototype. Details of the project can be retrieved from Blackboard before midterms. 

Bonus: Life Long Learning (LLL) Activity

As an engineer, you will need to continue lifelong learning throughout your career. To foster the need for students to work and engage outside of the classroom an activities grade will be factored into your exam grade as a bonus.

Details of suggested activities can be found in Blackboard. A LLL activity is worth 15 points for each exam and can only be submitted before taking the exam. The LLL activity is not required and can only be turned in before each exam. If you miss an exam, you miss the chance to submit the LLL activity. 

SmartBook Activities

Reading the course material will support completion of the online SmartBook activities for each chapter. You will have limited number of attempts before the application requires you to read (review) the material again. To get the most of the class activities, be sure to complete the SmartBook work before attending class each day.

Homework Format

Expect weekly homework each Wednesday to be submitted online or in person in class (Monday by 1035 AM). There are a few weeks when homework will be due on Monday and Wednesday (see course calendar for details). Completing the online homework is worth 50% and the remaining 50% of the homework grade will be earned upon turning in the handwritten problems. This is required to support test preparation.

All homework shall be presented on paper, in pencil, one side only. If an error is made, erase thoroughly. Homework with scratched out work will NOT be accepted. Each problem should be started on a new page. Homework presentations shall be as follows:

• Identify what is Given: 
• Be sure to redraw or draw any figure that frames the problem
• Identify what you will Find:
• State any assumptions that you make.
• Show all significant steps. It should be clear why each step is taken.
• Box (not circle) final results being sure to include the correct units.
• Review work to be certain all work is neat* and answer fits the problem.

*NOTE: If I can’t read it, I won’t grade it.

Homework sets shall be stapled upper left and then folded in half along a line perpendicular to the long dimension. The student’s name, course and section number (ENGR 2301-001), date, and the problems included shall be placed on the outside sheet with the fold to the left, the holes toward the bottom.

Janie Smith

ENGR 2301-003

8/28/25

Chapter 2: problems 2-6 

• The Instructor reserves the right to grade any number of problem(s) per assignment.
• Collaboration between students is allowed on problem solving; however, EACH STUDENT must hand in an ORIGINAL, COMPLETE, problem set.
• NO CREDIT will be given for late homework. Homework is due at the beginning of the class period. Once lecture has started none will be accepted. Homework can be submitted early.

Attendance

Your learning will be enhanced from class activities so strive to attend class. If you must miss class, be sure to communicate when you will return so that we can work together to get you caught up. 

Tips for Doing Well in this Class:
- Attend class regularly.
- Check the class schedule, your email, and Blackboard content each week. 
- Dedicate at least 6-9 hours each week outside of class to study for this course.
- Read the course material before and complete the online SmartBook activities that are part of the e-Book.
- Take notes in class and review before and after class.
- Ask questions in class or send an email; emails after 9 PM will be answered the next day.
- Solve as many homework problems as possible.
- Organize all your material in a way that supports test  preparation.

Calendar

Additional Information

Be sure to seek help immediately when you encounter a problem. Meet with classmates, get tutoring, ask your instructor. The best way to contact me is during class or during office hours or via email. Hard work, positive attitude and team work are expected. Remember, as engineers, we are problem solvers!