Hello, I’m new here. I’m going to start community college in the fall (way cheaper) and I’m looking to become a mechanical engineer.
I like math and physics is really interesting. But someone told me that on one of his ME final exams there was only one problem and that you have to love word problems.
I’m not very good at math word problems… I more memorize how to do each word problem instead of how to figure it out.
My question is if you have to love and be very good at word problems to be a successful mechanical engineering student?
Absolutely… understanding word problems is very important if you want to become an engineer. Essentially, you’re trying to translate/break-down real-world problems into smaller, more manageable chunks so that you can solve them using established math and science techniques.
When you are assigned projects as an engineer, they will often be complex, and in word form (i.e. Engine X is getting too hot when we run it at 24,000 rpm… how can we fix that?) You will be expected to read between the lines and figure out how to convert that word-based problem into equations that you can solve using techniques you learned in school. Furthermore, once you solve the problem using math/science, you will often need to translate the answer back to word-solution.
Virtually every one of your tests/quizzes will be in word-form as well. Thermodynamics is notorious for having challenging word problem tests/quizzes…
Keep practicing!
@fractalmstr
That’s somewhat troubling. Mainly because I can do word problems, but I don’t really like them.
Do you have any advice on how to get better at them?
So pretty much to be any engineer you have to really like word problems?
The world is word problems. You have to take something you observe in the real world and translate it into a mathematical model. That’s a large part of engineering. There’s no way around that.
@boneh3ad
Thanks for your help. Do you have any advice on how to get better at word problems and understand them more?
Not really. It’s just a matter of understanding what various mathematical concepts actually mean, such as a derivative being a rate of change. If you understand what the math concepts really are, it’s easier to recognize their applications to real-life phenomena. Then practice if you need to, though drilling doesn’t seem to be the right approach for everyone. You just have to avoid learning how to do it purely based on pattern matching because then you won’t be as readily able to move to a different application.
“I like math and physics is really interesting” - What aspects interest you? That may help us give more ideas.
Well, engineering problems are word problems. Someone wants something designed, and the engineer has to translate the wish list into a design problem.
Thanks! @boneh3ad
@colorado_mom I love how physics applies to everyday life, how it helps you understand natural phenomenon, how it explains many things in the universe, and I just find it really interesting. If I may ask, does that help? If so, what does it tell you?
@ucbalumnus The designing part sounds incredibly appealing. I like solving problems. It’s more that I find the problems in the math I’ve done (trig is the highest I’ve done) are boring and well I’d rather just do a real math problem. I don’t hate them by any means. I think a big part of it is that I don’t find them very useful or meaningful. It’s better in physics where you can see the real world use.
Keep an open mind. As you learn more about calculus, you’ll get a feel for whether you like Engineering. If yes, great. If no, the course are likely to transfer easily into other majors (which usually have more course flexibility).
I started in Civil Engineering. Back then the coursework included surveying. That used A LOT of trig!
@colorado_mom
Thanks for the advice! When will you know if you can do engineering? Like after a certain calculus or…?