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Advanced Engineering Systems in Motion: Dynamics of

Three Dimensional (3D) Motion
Course Overview
This course is an advanced study of bodies in motion as applied to engineering systems and structures.
We will study the dynamics of particle motion and bodies in rigid three dimensional (3D) motion. This will
consist of both the kinematics and kinetics of motion. Kinematics deals with the geometrical aspects of
motion describing position, velocity, and acceleration, all as a function of time. Kinetics is the study of
forces acting on these bodies and how it affects their motion.

Prerequisite Knowledge
To be successful in the course you will need to have mastered basic engineering mechanics concepts
and to have successfully completed my courses en titled an Introduction to Engineering Mechanics,
Applications in Engineering Mechanics, and Engineering Systems in Motion: Dynamics of Particles and
Bodies in 2D Motion. We will apply many of the engineering fundamentals learned in those classes and
you will need those skills before attempting this course.

Course Outline
Week 1 - Modules 1-6:
Course Introduction
Angular velocity
Angular acceleration
Week 2 - Modules 7-12:
Velocities in moving reference frames
Accelerations in moving reference frames
The Earth as a moving frame
Week 3: Modules 13-20:
Eulerian Angles
Eulerian Angles Rotation Matrices
Angular Momentum in 3D
Inertial Properties of 3D Bodies

Week 4: Modules 21-26:

Translational and Rotational Transformations of Inertial Properties
Principal Axes and Principal Moments of Inertia
Week 5: Modules 27-31:
Motion Equations Governing 3D Rotational Motion of a Rigid Body (Euler Equations)
Week 6: Modules 32-35:
3D Impulse-Momentum Principles
3D Work-Energy Principles

Course Textbook or Online Resources

While no specific textbook is required, this course is designed to be compatible with any standard
engineering dynamics textbook. You will find a book like this useful as a reference and for completing
additional practice problems to enhance your learning of the material.
I would like to acknowledge two of my faculty colleagues at Georgia Tech, Drs. David McGill and Wilton
King, who have supported my Coursera course efforts by allowing me to use figures and examples from
their textbook in my preparation of this course. We use this textbook at Georgia Tech for our Dynamics
course. While not required, if you are interested in purchasing this textbook, you may go to this link for
our Barnes and Noble store at Georgia Tech:
Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics - Barnes and Noble store at Georgia Tech
In addition, Ive been made aware of a textbook that is available online. The authors, Drs. Andy Ruina and
Rudra Pratap, have given me permission to post the link to this textbook. Please understand that the
authors retain all rights to this textbook.
Introduction to Statics and Dynamics - Online Version
Please also note that Dr. Ruina requests that he would like feedback from any and all about how to
improve this Ruina/Pratap book, or of any issues anyone has with it. Dr. Ruinas email is
ruina@cornell.edu

Expectations
Participants are expected to:
Watch all lecture videos every week.
Each week's modules and weekly quizzes requirements will be released at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time on
Mondays.
Complete and submit all weekly quizzes by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Sundays. Late quiz
submissions will NOT be accepted.

Abide by the standards of academic honesty plagiarism and any form of cheating will not be
tolerated and will result in the removal of the participant from the course.

Communication
Please communicate with the instructor and staff via the online forums. Because there are so many
students, it is not possible for us to respond individually to every question.
Please submit your questions regarding the weekly modules by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on
Thursdays.
Please try not to repeat the questions asked by your peers.
You are allowed to up-vote for the most popular questions and Dr. Whiteman will answer the top 5
most common up-voted questions of the week by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Fridays.

Netiquette
Written language will be primary means of communication. As such, there can be miscommunication as
there is no intonation in these written communications. Please be positive, supportive and constructive in
your comments and forum postings.

Clarification of the Honor Code in this Course

I wanted to provide some clarification regarding the Honor Code in this course.
Here is a statement of the Honor Code:
In order to ensure fairness, all students participating in any of our online classes must agree to abide by
the following code of conduct:
I will register for only one account.

My answers to homework, quizzes and exams will be my own work (except for assignments that
explicitly permit collaboration).

I will not make solutions to homework, quizzes or exams available to anyone else. This includes both
solutions written by me, as well as any official solutions provided by the course staff.

I will not engage in any other activities that will dishonestly improve my results or dishonestly
improve/hurt the results of others.

Here are my SPECIFIC GUIDELINES regarding the Honor Code in this course:
I encourage all students to help each other with conceptual problems on the quizzes. This type of

assistance is appreciated by all participants and contributes to the learning experience. I discourage
providing answers or exact processes toward achieving the correct answer. This is a violation of the
Honor Code and will result in your removal from the course.
Here are examples of GOOD comments that would be appropriate for the Discussion Forums:
Quiz Assistance:
"If I am understanding you correctly, I believe your confusion comes from the wording onto the pole since
it creates an impression as if the cable is pushing the pole, which is impossible. I think in the problem
statement "onto the pole" is intended to show that the pole is the receiver of the force exerted by the
cable. Either way, the pole is being pulled by the cable therefore the force acting on the pole should be
directed from point B towards point C. Hope this helps."
Quiz Assistance:
"These are two individual cables, probably made of the same materials and hence can withstand the
same maximum tension force before failing. But they don't necessarily have the same tension force. The
force in each cable needs to be determined through equilibrium."
Here are examples of a BAD comment that would NOT be appropriate for the Discussion Forums:
Quiz Assistance:
"If 1 pound force is equal 4.44822162 newtons then we have 2500*4.44822162 = 11,120.55405 or
2500*4.448 = 11,120 newtons....I think..."

Grading Policy
There will be a graded quiz each week. Each quiz will consist of 3 problems.
Complete and submit the weekly quiz by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Sundays. Late quiz submissions
will NOT be accepted.
You will only be allowed one submission per quiz. You will be awarded 3 points, 2 points, 1 point, or 0
points based on the number of answers you submit correctly.
Quiz solutions will be released each week on Mondays after the quiz submission deadline on Sunday
night from the previous week has passed.
Students who earn an average score of at least 2.0 out of a possible 3.0 on the weekly quizzes
(66.6% or a total of 12 points out of 18 possible points over the entire six week course) will be
awarded a Statement of Accomplishment at the conclusion of the course.
Students who earn an average score of 2.33 or higher out of a possible 3.0 on the weekly quizzes
(77.8% or a total of 14 points out of 18 possible points over the entire six week course) will be
awarded a Statement of Accomplishment with Distinction at the conclusion of the course.
If you achieve one of these levels, you will automatically receive an electronic version of the
Statement of Accomplishment at the conclusion of the course.

System of Units

This course will use both the English (Imperial) system of units and the International System (SI) (metric)
system of units.
For students outside of the United States, the English (Imperial) system of units will be unfamiliar and may
be a source of frustration. Please view this as a learning process where you will be learning something
new.
While there have been efforts to make the metric system the standard for use in the United States,
unfortunately those efforts have failed to date. I, personally, would like to see the U.S. adopt the metric
standard. But, for my U.S. students, it is imperative that they understand and be able to use the English
system of units, as well as the SI system of units. This is why I will use a mixture of both systems in my
lectures and examples throughout the course.
Thank you for understanding my choice to use both systems of units in this course.

Significant Figures
The answers to all of the questions for the quizzes in this course will be rounded to 3 significant figures
(sig figs).
The significant figures of a number express a magnitude to a specified degree of accuracy. For example,
if you calculate an answer to be 3.14159, it should be expressed as 3.14

Created Mon 25 Jun 2012 12:48 PM PET

Last Modified Wed 2 Jul 2014 9:36 AM PET