Sophomore Engineering Curricula	Introduction	Conservation and Accounting Framework	Curriculum Structure: Texas A&M four-course structure	Curriculum Structure: Texas A&M Five-Course Structure
	Curriculum Structure: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Sophomore Engineering Curriculum	Example Problems	Student Performance/Faculty Reactions	Conclusions

Example: Ice Skater

Imagine an ice skater on the edge of an Olympic-size rink.  She pushes off the wall and glides toward the center of the ice.  Here are two questions that often cause confusion for first-year and sophomore students.

• Does the skater gain energy by pushing off the wall?
• Is the linear momentum of the skater changed by pushing off the wall?

Students often indicate that the skater gains energy because they notice that the kinetic energy of the skater in motion is greater than when at rest.  However, when students are asked to describe the mechanism through which energy is transferred from the surroundings to the skater, they pause. After prodding, they admit that the skater does not gain energy by pushing off the wall because the force of the wall on the skater is exerted through zero distance.  After realizing that there is no mechanism through which the skater gains energy from the surroundings, they conclude that potential energy stored in the muscles of the skater was transformed to kinetic energy.  However, the force of the wall on the skater does change the magnitude and direction of the linear momentum vector so that it now points to the center of the ice.  Distinguishing linear momentum from energy, understanding that one is a scalar quantity and that the other is a vector quantity, and understanding how linear momentum and energy may be transferred across the boundaries of a system and applying the knowledge of the transfer mechanisms are all areas coursework in the engineering sciences is designed to improve.

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References

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2.   Harris, Eugene M. DeLoatch, William R. Grogan, Irene C. Peden, and John R. Whinnery, "Journal of Engineering Education Round Table: Reflections on the Grinter Report," Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 83, No. 1, pp. 69-94 (1994) (includes as an Appendix the Grinter Report, issued in September, 1955).
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7. Pollock, Thomas C., Properties of Matter, 3rd edition, New York: McGraw-Hill College Custom Series, 1992
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