Year No. Offer Mode Description Cred. Pts 97 E0001 S2 X COMPUTERS IN ENGINEERING 1.00
Computers and related technology have become an integral part of engineering, both as a tool for analysis and design and as a system for embedding in an application. They enable problems to be approached in many different ways, for example a simple computer simulation can often give more insight than a complex algebraic solution. Students must of course be made aware of the fundamental technology and terminology and be able to make good use of wordprocessing and spreadsheets. More demanding is the ability to formulate engineering problems in a way which can be readily programmed on desktop machines in well structured understandable code. Students will be given a fundamental understanding and aptitude in a simple structured programming language and will learn to express engineering problems in software terms. They will learn the use of iteration to simulate the solution of differential equations and to display the results with graphics. In the process, they will learn the fundamental "grammar" of computing from arithmetic assignment through looping and conditional control to structures including subroutines and functions. They will be introduced to background topics including the history of computing from and engineer's perspective and the relationships between various programming languages, such as C, Fortran, Algol, Pascal and Visual Basic and between operating systems such as MSDOS and UNIX as they are employed in current engineering practice.
On successful completion of this unit students will be able
to:
Description Weighting(%)
- Use of a desktop computer, MSDOS fundamentals 5.00
- Simple computer operations relevant to engineering and 35.00 surveying problems (in the Qbasic environment)
- Formulation of an engineering problem in computer 30.00 terms and its solution including the use of graphics
- Use of wordprocessing and spreadsheet packages 10.00
- Computer terminology and background, memory, 10.00 addressing and other hardware topics, supercomputers, benchmarks, number systems and logical operations, computer communications methods and standards
- Comparison of languages and operating systems commonly 10.00 used in engineering and surveying
Either
Shelley G B, Cashman T J, Waggoner G A and W C, "Using Computers : A
Gateway to Information", Boyd and Fraser, 1995 (recommended for
degree students or students with prior knowledge of computers).
or
Meyer M & Baber R, "Computers in Your Future", QUE College (Prentice
Hall), 1995 (recommended for Associate Diploma and Bachelor of
Technology students or students with no prior knowledge of computers).
Matherly, Donna & Winters, Patti, "EXCEL 5 for Windows Essentials",
QUE College, 1995.
Note this is an optional book for students who will be using EXCEL 5
as their spreadsheet package and feel they need a text reference.
You MUST have access to: (1) either QBasic (included as part of DOS 5
or 6, to QuickBasic 4.5 or to Visual Basic for DOS. These packages all
have HELP facilities: (2) a word processing and spread sheet package
eg Microsoft Works.
Tuesday's Australian Computer Section, or equivalent daily newspaper
coverage. Magazines such as BYTE, PC World, PC Magazine, Australian
Personal Computer.
Perry G, "Qbasic by Example", 1993 Edition (Special), QUE,
Indianapolis.
ACTIVITY HOURS Directed Study 63 Private Study 74 Examinations 3 Assessments 35
No *F/S Marks Due Description Wtg(%) LBL 1 S 30.00 08/08/97 ASSIGNMENT 1 3.00 Y 2 S 70.00 12/09/97 ASSIGNMENT 2 7.00 Y 3 S 200.00 24/10/97 ASSIGNMENT 3 - GRAPHICS 20.00 Y 4 S 100.00 07/11/97 ASSIGNMENT 3 - SPREADSHEET 10.00 Y 5 S 600.00 END S2 3 HOUR CLOSED BOOK EXAMINATION 60.00 N
1 Because it is normal practice to release model answers promptly
after the due date the penalty for late submission of any
assessment is normally the loss of all marks for the assessment.
2 In order to successfully complete the unit, a student must
normally obtain 50% of the marks awarded for the examination. In
addition, the student must submit all of the required assignments
and must attain 60% of the aggregate marks awarded for the
assignments.
3 In order to complete the assignment work in this unit, students
will require access to a computer. All Study Centres have IBM
compatible computers and assignment work can be completed on
these machines. Students may also be able to gain access to a
suitable computer at their place of employment or at a local high
school. Students must complete the assignments by the due dates
specified in the assessment details section.
4 Students need access to an IBM or IBM compatible micro- computer
with a minimum of 640K bytes of memory and two floppy disc drives
(or a hard disc with one floppy drive). EGA or VGA cards will
allow use of graphics packages on the computer. Students must
also have access to printing facilities.
5 There is an optional residential school component for this unit.
6 The Faculty of Engineering and Surveying will NOT accept
submission of hand written or typed assignments by facsimile,
email or computer diskette. Students in remote locations who do
not have regular access to postal services may be given special
consideration.
7 A minimum standard of communication skills must be demonstrated
in order for a passing grade to be achieved.