<p>I've been studying for mechanics of materials over the summer, and I am getting stuck on chapter four, then tried to skip to torsion only to be thrown back in to multivarible calculus as I needed to refresh polar coordinates. The book i am using is the seventh edition of R.C. Hibbler Mechanics of Materials. It is about axial loading member and using the compatibility equation to determine the internal loading on a member and strain upon axial loading. I messed up statics bad but I want to turn it around and get an A- at least. Is there anything I can use to study to make studying over the summer better i.e. videos or other books. </p>
<p>I usually read the book, do problems then check them. I have the answer key so I can know what I am doing right or wrong. Studying this way worked for chemistry and calculus but killed me in statics. Any ideas?</p>
<p>Are you studying for the sake of learning how to procedurally solve problems? Or are you studying to conceptually understand the problems? Both are equally as important for that course…especially when you start dealing with 14x14+ matrices. You need to be able to perform proofs quickly and efficiently, but also understand the physics and math behind the equations you’re using (i.e. why you need to incorporate this or that into your analysis if your reference frame changes or for varying materials).</p>
<p>I Want to learn the material for conceptual purposes. If I know the concept behind the problems then it will naturally follow that I can get it right. I don’t know where matrices come in unless your doing FEM which I am not doing until my senior year.</p>
<p>Anteat3r, I don’t know what you covered in intro to mechanics of materials but I don’t think it is standard to use any 14x14+ matrix operations. He is not taking continuum mechanics or trying to master stress tensors. Anyway, intro to mechanics of materials basically builds upon the principals of statics to determine stresses and displacements in beam and basic structural problems. My advice, Nutz, would be to try to really understand statics before jumping into mechanics. Knowing how to balance forces and determine shear and bending moment diagrams will be important. If you struggled with statics, go back and try and cover what you didn’t grasp. It will make your life easier later on. You might be surprised to know that even graduate level mechanics courses build upon some of the most basic principles covered in these intro courses.</p>