Caveat Academy course · Grades 9 to 12

Mechanical Engineering: forces, machines and energy

Work the problems mechanical engineers solve every day: pick a design with a weighted decision matrix, check whether a shaft fits its hole, balance moments on a lever, gear a 1,200 rpm motor down for a robot wheel, find the stress in a steel rod and its factor of safety, size a hoist motor, multiply force with hydraulics and follow a piston through four strokes. Six modules at your own pace, ending with a car you design, test and improve.

Start the courseSee the modules
$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 13 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: What mechanical engineers do

    Apply the engineering design process with requirements, constraints and a weighted decision matrix, convert units and read tolerances and fits.

    • The field and the design process
    • Units, measurement and precision
    • Engineering drawings and tolerances
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Forces, vectors and moments

    Apply Newton's laws, resolve forces into components and compute moments to solve equilibrium problems.

    • Forces and Newton's laws
    • Vectors and components
    • Moments and torque
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Machines and mechanisms

    Analyze simple machines, gear trains, belt drives and linkages for mechanical advantage, speed, torque and efficiency.

    • Simple machines and mechanical advantage
    • Gears and gear trains
    • Belts, chains, linkages and cams
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Materials and strength

    Compare material families, compute stress, strain and stretch, and evaluate designs with a factor of safety.

    • Material families and properties
    • Stress, strain and Hooke's law
    • Failure and the factor of safety
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Energy, power and heat

    Compute work, energy, power and efficiency, and explain heat transfer and the laws of thermodynamics in machines.

    • Work, energy and power
    • Efficiency and energy conversion
    • Heat and thermodynamics
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Fluids, engines and design in practice

    Compute pressure and hydraulic forces, explain how engines and drivetrains work, and design, test and improve a prototype.

    • Pressure and hydraulics
    • How engines and drivetrains work
    • Careers and a design project
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 2 · Moments and torque

Worked example: balancing a seesaw

  1. A 300 N child sits 2.0 m from the pivot on the left. Where must a 400 N child sit on the right to balance?

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished first course in mechanical engineering: you can run the design cycle with requirements, constraints and a weighted decision matrix, convert units and read tolerances and fits, apply Newton's laws, resolve forces and balance moments, analyze levers, pulleys, gear trains, belt drives and linkages for speed, torque and efficiency, compare materials and compute stress, strain, stretch and factor of safety, compute work, energy, power and efficiency, explain heat transfer and the laws of thermodynamics, compute hydraulic forces, explain how an engine and drivetrain work and run a test-and-improve cycle on a prototype. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 9 to 12 who like taking things apart and figuring out how they work, students considering engineering, robotics or the skilled trades, students taking or about to take an engineering elective or physics, and homeschool families who want an applied math and physics course. Algebra and basic right-triangle trigonometry are enough math.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 13 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. OpenStax, College Physics 2e and University Physics, on forces, torque, work, energy, power, fluids and thermodynamics, free textbooks: openstax.org
  2. NASA, Mars Climate Orbiter mishap investigation board report, 1999: nasa.gov
  3. NIST, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI), Special Publication 811: nist.gov
  4. U.S. Department of Energy, on electric motor efficiency and how a gasoline engine works: energy.gov and afdc.energy.gov
  5. NCEES, the Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles and Practice of Engineering exams: ncees.org

Mechanical Engineering is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. It follows the sequence of a typical high school mechanical engineering elective but does not replace a school course, a shop class or supervised lab work, and awards no credit. Material properties and efficiencies are general figures for learning; real designs use published data and the codes for their field. Use blades, power tools, springs under tension and anything hot only with an adult present. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.