MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. ENGLISH 1.

UNIT 1a. MEASUREMENTS AND DIMENSIONS.

1. NUMBERS AND FIGURES.
Numbers or numerals are also called figures and digits, although a figure can be an
amount expressed numerically as well as a graphic representation.
A composite number is an integer that can be factorized into two or more integers,
while a prime number cannot.
Numbers can be even (2, 24, 100, ), or odd (7, 11, 121, )
The number 345 is composed of three digits (3, 4 and 5) with different values (three
hundreds, four tens and five ones.)
When you read a number in English, you can put the conjunction and between the
hundreds and the tens (instead of between the tens and the ones, as in Spanish).
Use a space or a comma to separate the thousands (instead of a period or dot as in
Spanish).
Use a point or dot to separate the decimal fractions.
A number can be rounded up or rounded down to the nearest (tens, hundreds, etc)
There are recurring, repeating or non-terminating decimals, which are marked with a
superscript dot over the beginning and final numbers of the repetition.
Although the letter o [ou] can be used instead of the zero value when giving
numbers of telephones, current accounts, etc., it is preferable to use nought or
zero.
A billion is one thousand million in the US, but can be one million million in the UK.
Accordingly, a trillion can be a million million or a million million million
respectively.
Remember the differences between braces, brackets and parentheses.
(Round) brackets (parentheses in US)
Square brackets (brackets in US)
Brace brackets (braces)
Angle brackets

()
[]
{}
<>

2. MATHEMATICAL FUNCTIONS. Study the different expressions employed.

Addition, summation (addends)
To add X to y
Two hundred and two plus six is equal to two hundred and eight. (202 + 6 = 208)
If we add two to seven, the answer is nine.
The sum of two and seven is nine.
The addition of two to seven produces nine.
Adding two to seven equals nine.
Subtraction (minuend, subtrahend)
To subtract X from Y
Eighty-three minus thirty-two equals fifty-one. (83 32 = 51)
If we subtract seven from nine, we get two.
Multiplication (multiplier, multiplicand, product)
Five times (multiplied by) seventy-three is three hundred and sixty-five.
Usually written a x b, a.b, ab.
Division (divisor, dividend, quotient)
Fifty four divided by nine makes six.
Usually written ab,

a
, a/b
b

To multiply/divide X by Y

Powers: The value of a number raised to some exponent or index. Values of indices
can be positive, negative or fractional.
x squared / y cubed
(Do not confuse square metres and metres squared, or cubic metres and metres
cubed)
Ten to the fourth power / ten to the (power) fourth / Ten to the power four
X to the power minus j times e
Roots: The radicand is the number from which a root is to be extracted.
The square / cubic root of x

Other expressions:
Fractions: Vulgar fractions: One half / five and a half / three quarters / one eighth
Complex fractions: Three over four six two / twenty over eighty-three
Decimal fractions: (Nought) point one two five / fourteen point seven five
(Zero) point nine zero three
Differential of x

df(x)

Derivative (differential coefficient / first derivative)

The limit of [f(a + x) f(a)] / x, at x = a, as the increment, x, tends to 0.
Increment of y (y)
Finite increase of x
Integral of x (between the limits a and b). There are definite and indefinite integrals.
Logarithms: (index, base)
Binary logarithm (or logarithm of M to the base a):

logaM)

Common logarithm (or logarithm to the base ten of M):

logM or log10M
Natural logarithm (or logarithm to the base e of M): lnM or logeM
Summation ( )
Matrix (determinants, matrices)
Solutions of equations in one unknown:
Linear equations (one solution or root)
quadratic equations (two solutions or roots, roots are real and unequal, real
and equal or conjugate complex.)
cubic equations
equations of higher degree
Doubtful quantities:
Replace [150% more than] by [2 times]
Replace [4 times more than] by [4 times as much as]

3. EXERCISE 1. Write down and read the following figures.

19 000
19.167
19,847
0.45
7.504
12,638.592
3.1416
3,142
2/3
32/45
489/735
9x
4.53
xy
1:15,000
1:2:5

2
7

dt =

r 2 sin
f

x2
a=
16
3

x2 y2
+
=1
a2 b2

n!
x !( n x ) !
10 .1
(790 32) = 68.1
112. 5
log 2 32 = 5
75 x10 3 x 20.9 x10 3
9(1 0.5 2 )1.477
x=

(17.5 3) 2 + 3 37
4 x133

4. GIVING DIMENSIONS. Read the expressions below.

The new data cable is 65 kilometres long.
The new data cable is 65 kilometres in length.
The length of the new data cable is 65 kilometres.
The new data cable has a length of 65 kilometres.
This is the new 65-kilometre(-long) data cable.
The new Audi R8 5.2 is 4.435 m long, 1.930 m wide, and 1.252 m high.
The new Audi R8 5.2 is 4,435 cm in length, 1,930 cm in width, and 1,252 cm in height.
The new Audi R8 5.2 has a length of 4.435 m, a width of 1.930 m, and a height of 1.252 m.
The broadcasting antenna is at a height of 87 m above sea level.
The bottom of each pile is at a depth of 135 metres below sea level.
The dam will rise 610 feet over the current river surface and span 6,600 feet.
The deepest drilling is fifteen times as deep as the tallest free-standing structure.
In this project we must work seven days a week (i.e. around the clock).
We require approximately 5 000 sq ft of office space.
Aero engines require about 200,000 separate measurements during production.
The project will cost up to $ 29 billion.
The walls of the equipment room are almost 400 mm thick.
The deck superstructure of the bridge required 263 segments, each some 52 t in
weight.
- Numerals are not used adjacent to other numbers:
Replace [24 5-inch straps] by [twenty-four 5-inch straps].
Two 4 kHz circuits.
5. EXERCISE 2. Correct the following expressions.
1. The surface is 30 cm long x 20 cm wide. The area of the surface is 600 cm squared.
2. The base is a capacity of 1800 cu cm.
3. The steel must be at least 0.2 mm high. The protective layer must be at least 0.2 mm
high. The plastic insulating sheet must be at least 0.2 mm high.
4. The width of the iron bar is 11 cm wide.
5. The volume of the cage is 60 cm x 20 cm.
6. The height of the ditch is two metres.
7. The bar is 2.5 cm diameter.
8. The stone is 5 kg weight.
9. The track is 7.8 m in long.
10. A trench, three metres high, must be excavated to lay a 45,5-mm-width cable. The
length of the trench must be 5.500 metres long, while it must be one metre in wide. The
volume of the excavated soil is 100,000 m2 and the affected area 7,5 km squared.

Now, fill in the chart with the missing terms.

Noun

Adjective

Verb

Deep
Heighten
Width
Thick
Lengthen
Use the terms in the chart to fill in the blank spaces.
1. The existing pipeline will be
of the pipes will not be changed.

by 16 km, but the

2. The trench has been

to 6.09 metres below street level.

3. The mobile cover must be

trousers pocket.

enough to avoid damage when carried in the

4. Hand drills can be used for making holes up to 10 to 15 ft

5. The building stands 116 m

6. The damage involves a 2-km-

section of the oil pipeline.

7. Possibly the tallest tower is the Warsaw radio and TV mast, 645 m in

Sometimes the terms above imply a maximum dimensionality. So, there is an opposite term
available. Write these words.
1. Something that is not too deep is

(e.g.

2. Something that is not too tall or high is

(e.g.

waters)
-rise buildings)

3. Something that is not too long is

(e.g. a

stretch of road)

4. Something that is not too thick is

(e.g. a

sheet of metal)

5. Something that is not too wide is

(e.g. a

6. Something that is wide enough is

(e.g. a

passage)
perspective)

6. STYLE CONVENTIONS AND RULES FOR USING SI UNITS. General principles for the writing of
unit symbols and numbers were first proposed in 1948. These were subsequently adopted and
elaborated by ISO, the international standards organisation.
1. Unit symbols are printed in roman (upright) type, irrespective of how the rest of the
text is printed.
2. Unit symbols are unaltered in the plural.
3. Unit symbols are written without a final full stop (period) except for normal
punctuation such as at the end of a sentence.
4. Unit symbols are placed after the numerical value, leaving a space between the value
and the symbol. For example 5 V not 5V.
5. Unit symbols are generally written in lower case letters, except when the name of the
unit is derived from a proper name. (Note that when the name of a unit which is
derived from a proper name is written out in full, such as ampere or hertz, the name is
not capitalised. The only exception to this is Celsius.)
6. The given SI unit symbol should be used. The symbol for second, for example, is s. To
use sec or secs is incorrect.
7. Unit symbols and unit names shouldn't be mixed. Metre per second, not metre/second
or metre/s.
8. When you offer a series of values, do not repeat the units:
3 and 4 g
The percentage was 8 / the proportion was 8%
The voltage was 8 / The PD was 8V
MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS AND UNITS.
All engineered systems require measurements for specifying the size, weight, speed, etc. of
objects as well as characterizing their performance. Understanding the application of these
units is very important because it applies to all forms of engineering and everything that one
does as an engineer. Understanding units is far more than simply being able to convert from
feet to meters or vice versa; combining and converting units from different sources is a
challenging topic. For example, if building insulation is specified in units of BTU inches per hour
per square foot per degree Fahrenheit, how can that be converted to thermal conductivity in
units of Watts per meter per degree C? Or can it be converted? Are the two units measuring
the same thing or not? (For example, in a new engine laboratory facility that was being built
for me, the natural gas flow was insufficient so I told the contractor I needed a system
capable of supplying a minimum of 50 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of natural gas at 5 pounds
per square inch (psi). His response was whats the conversion between cfm and psi? Of
course the answer is that there is no conversion; cfm is a measure of flow rate and psi a
measure of pressure.) Engineers have to struggle with these misconceptions every day.
Engineers in the United States are burdened with two systems of units and measurements:
(1) the English or USCS (US Customary System) ! and (2) the metric or SI (Systme International
dUnits). Either system has a set of base units, that is, units which are defined based on a
standard measure such as a certain number of wavelengths of a particular light source.
Length (meters, centimeter, feet, inches); 1 m = 100 cm = 3.281 ft = 39.37 in
Mass (lbm, slugs, kilograms); (1 kg = 2.205 lbm = 0.06853 slug) (lbm = pounds mass)
Time (seconds; the standard abbreviation is s not sec) (same units in USCS and SI!)
Electric current (really electric charge in units of coulombs [abbreviation: coul] is the base
unit and the derived unit is current = charge/time) (1 coulomb = charge on 6.241506 x 1018
electrons) (1 ampere [abbreviation: amp]= 1 coul/s).

Moles are often reported as a fundamental unit, but it is not; it is just a bookkeeping
convenience to avoid carrying around factors of 1023 everywhere. The choice of the number
of particles in a mole of particles is completely arbitrary; by convention Avogadros number is
defined by NA = 6.0221415 x 1023, the units being particles/mole (or one could say individuals
of any kind, not limited just to particles).
Temperature is frequently interpreted as a base unit but again it is not, it is a derived unit, that
is, one created from combinations of base units. Temperature is essentially a unit of energy
divided by Boltzmans constant. Specifically, the average kinetic energy of an ideal gas
molecule in a 3-dimensional box is 1.5kT, where k is Boltzmans constant = 1.380622 x 10-23
J/K (really (Joules/molecule)/K). Thus, 1 Kelvin is the temperature at which the kinetic energy
of an ideal gas (and only an ideal gas, not any other material) molecule is 1.5kT =2.0709 x 1023 J.
7. MEASUREMENT UNITS. Some units take their name from their inventors and are written
with a capital letter, e.g. A for Ampere or V for Volt. Write down at least 10 other units with a
similar circumstance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

8. MEASUREMENT UNITS. Read the abbreviations below.

var

V/m

kWh

rpm

Vm

Ah

ppm

C/s

lbf
9. MEASUREMENT UNITS. The International System of Units (SI) is not the only one in use
nowadays. The imperial or avoirdupois system of units is currently employed in the US, Canada,
the UK and the Republic of Ireland as well as other derived systems such as the English
Engineering or the US Customary System (USCS).
What do these units measure?
stone

acre

furlong

pint

dram (drachm)

league

slug

knot

Decide which category the following units (or abbreviations) belong to.
Btu

cwt

fps

ft

gal

kip

oz

peck

sq yd

US bbl

Now read the following units and their corresponding units in the metric system.
What do they measure?
1 psi

703.07 kg/m2

1 lb/ft3

10-7 J

1 Btu/ft2.hr.F =

5.678 W/m2C

1 hp

10-5 N

1 fps

10-4 m2/s

1 dyn

0.7457 kW

1 erg

16.02 kg/cm3

1 stoke

0.3048 m/s

Read these three examples of conversion of units.

1. Convert 10 grams into pounds.
From Appendix 2, 1 Ib = 0.4536 kg and 1000 g = 1 kg.
so ( 1 lb/ 0.4536 kg) = 1 and (1 kg/1000 g) = 1.
therefore
10 g = 10 g x (1 lb/0.4536 kg) x (1 kg/1000g). = 2.2 x 10-2 lb
10 g = 2.2 x 10-2 lb
The quantity in brackets in the above example is called a conversion factor. Notice that within
the bracket, and before cancelling, the numerator and the denominator are equal. In
equations, units can be cancelled in the same way as numbers. Note also that although (1
lb/0.4536 kg) and (0.4536 kg/1 lb) are both = 1, the appropriate numerator/denominator must
be used for the unwanted units to cancel in the conversion.

2. The viscosity of water at 60F is given as 7.8 x 10-4 Ib ft-1 s-1.

Calculate this viscosity in N s m-2.
From Appendix 2,
0.4536 kg = 1 lb
0.3048 m = 1 ft.
Therefore 7.8 x 10-4 Ib ft-1 s-1 =

7.8 x 10-4 Ib ft-1 s-1 x

0.4536 kg
1 lb

1 ft
0.3048 m

= 1.16 x 10-3 kg m-1 s-1.

but remembering that one Newton is the force that accelerates unit mass at 1 m s-2
So 1 N = 1 kg m s-2
therefore 1 N s m-2 = 1 kg m-1 s-1
Required viscosity = 1.16 x 10-3 N s m-2.
3. The thermal conductivity of aluminium is given as 120 Btu ft-1 h-1 F-1.
Calculate this thermal conductivity in J m-1 s-1 C-1.
From Appendix 2,
1 Btu
= 1055 J
0.3048 m = 1 ft
F
= (5/9) C.
Therefore 120 Btu ft-1 h-1 F-1
= 120 Btu ft-1 h-1 F-1

= 208 J m-1 s-1 C-1

1055 J
1 Btu

1 ft
1h
1F
x
x
0.3048 m
3600 s
(5/9)C

Alternatively a conversion factor can be calculated :

1 Btu ft-1 h-1 F-1
= 1 Btu ft-1 h-1 F-1
= 1.73 J m-1 s-1 C-1

1055 J
1 Btu

1 ft
x
0.3048 m

Therefore 120 Btu ft-1 h-1 F-1

= 120 x 1.73J m-1 s-1 C-1
= 208 J m-1 s-1 C-1

10

1h
3600 s

1F
(5/9)C

10. GRAMMAR STUDY: CONNECTORS THE BUT GROUP.

Some connectors are used to express contrasting information between two things. This
information can be in the form of contrast, restriction, or alternative.
Prepositions

Conjunctions

Adverbs

Contrast

Unlike

But
Although

However

Restriction

In spite of
Despite
Except for

While
Whereas

On the other hand

Alternatively

Alternative

Instead of
Rather than

(rather than)

Instead
Rather
On the contrary

1. A US sack of cement weighs 94 lb, unlike a UK bag, which weighs 50 kg precisely.

(preposition)
2. A US sack of cement weighs 94 lb, while a UK bag weighs 50 kg precisely. (conjunction)
3. A US sack of cement weighs 94 lb. However, a UK bag weighs 50 kg precisely.
(sentence adverb)
The preposition/conjunction rather than introduces the rejected alternative, whereas the
adverb rather introduces the preferred alternative.
4. Distance signs in UK roads are not in the metric system. Rather, signage legislation only
allows displaying imperial units (, instead).
5. It is normal practice to write 4 mm rather than/instead of 4mm.
Adverbs convey different degrees of contrast. Use them appropriately.
6. A tonne or metric ton is defined as 1,000 kg. On the other hand, a ton is
differentiated between short and long ton.
7. Both the long and short ton are defined as 20 hundredweights. However, a
hundredweight is 100 pounds in the US system (short or net hundredweight) and 112
pounds in the imperial system (long or gross hundredweight).
8. A long ton is equivalent to 1.106 metric tons. On the contrary, a short ton is equivalent
to 0.907 tonnes only.

11

Fill in the gaps with a suitable connector from the list above.
A. Contrast.
1.
plastic deformation, which is permanent, elastic deformation is
temporary.
2. The magnitude of 1 K is exactly the same as the magnitude of 1 C.
they differ in their zero: the freezing point of water is 0 C,
it is 273.15 K
B. Restriction.
1. Woven geotextiles have higher tensile strengths,
have better filtration characteristics.
2.
completed on time.

non-woven

geo-textiles

the bad weather, the final stage of the installation project could be

3. A tower is a self-supporting structure.

, a mast is stabilised by stays or guys.

4.
the Celsius, all the other measurement units are written in lower case,
as with ampere, volt or coulomb.
5. In some cases, a breakdown of the power line is only a costly problem,
in other cases it will be catastrophic.
C. Alternative.
1.
625 million to build.

the promised 5 years and 168 million, the project took 15 years and

2. A Boeing 767-233 was refuelled in Montreal using 22 300 pounds of fuel

22 300 kilograms, so the plane ran out of fuel mid-flight.
3. In the US, metric units are used almost universally in science.
predominate in household use.
4. Dead loads have fixed magnitudes and positions.
no fixed magnitude or position.

, customary units

, live loads are dynamic, with

The car of the future, the Hy-wire, looks something like this: It has no engine, no steering
column and no brake pedal. It requires no gasoline and emits no pollution. Instead of an
internal-combustion engine, it is powered by fuel cells.
No smelly exhaust, no smog, no greenhouse gases. Gone
too are the cables and mechanical links that have held
together cars for a century. Instead, the steering and
braking are fully electronic. In place of the steering
column is a small color screen and two handgrips. Instead
of a rear view mirror, theres a camera that projects an
image of the road you have traveled, along with driving
data. Eliminating all the mechanical controls frees up the
space where an engine would normally reside. Without a
steering column, designers can place the controls anywhere in the car for maximum comfort
and safety even in the backseat. The heart of the Hy-wire prototype, however, is the
aluminium skateboard-like chassis. Nestled within it are the fuel cells, an electric motor, tanks
of compressed hydrogen and all the electronics.

12