ChE Tulsa University

 
           

ChE 1013 Chemical Engineering Problem Solving
Required course for ChE Program

Catalog Description:   Problem-solving strategies, emphasizing the use of personal computers.  Introduction to chemical engineering design problems, including economic analysis and solution by numerical techniques.  Programming using VBA for Excel. 

Prerequisite: ChE 1002 or permission of instructor.

Corequisite: Math 2014.

Prerequisites by Topic:   Engineering calculations; units, dimensions, and unit conversions; derivatives, integrals.

Recent Textbook:   Spreadsheet Tools for Engineers: Excel 2000 Version by Bryon S. Gottfried, McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. and Power Programming with VBA/Excel by Steven C. Chapra, published by Prentice-Hall 2003. 

Other Required By the end of the course the student should be able to demonstrate that they are able to 1 use email in a professional manner; 2 use Microsoft Word to prepare documents; 3 to create a presentation on PowerPoint; 4 conduct an experiment to gather engineering data and have analyzed this data to draw meaning from the data; 5 make a classroom presentation;  6 use Microsoft Excel to do basic engineering calculations, unit conversions, graphing and simple statistical analysis including curve-fitting, finding roots of equations and systems of equations, use if-then-else logic, numerical differentiation and integration; and 7 write functions and subroutines with VBA for Excel which use If-Then-Else or Select Case decision structures and Do-Loop or For-Next looping structures.

Major Topics Covered in the Course:   Introduction to Word; memorandum writing; introduction to Excel; formulae, formatting, and plotting; economic analysis; laboratory experiment and design project; interpolation and extrapolation; numerical integration and differentiation; solving equations for single and multiple roots; data fitting and sorting; solving simultaneous linear and nonlinear equations; introduction to Visual Basic for Excel.

Class/Laboratory Schedule:  Lecture meets for three 50-minute sessions each week for 14 weeks.

Professional Component Contribution:  This course introduces computer programming skills and relates them to mathematics and basic engineering calculations.  One design project is assigned in this course.

Relationship to Program Outcomes: 

  • Outcome a:  Problems in this course build on a background of basic mathematics, chemistry and physics.
  • Outcome b:   Several homework problems require analysis and interpretation of experimental data.  The design project required the students to design an experiment and analyze the data from that experiment.
  • Outcome c:  The design project required the students to design a system that would meet specific physical constraints and meet safety requirements.
  • Outcome d:  Several homework problems were done in teams. The design project was done in a team.
  • Outcome e:  A variety of homework problems are assigned each class so that students will develop the necessary problem solving skills.
  • Outcome f:  Ethical behavior is required in the course. 
  • Outcome g:  Communication skills are required for the design project experimental proposal, team evaluation, letter of recommendation for a teammate.
  • Outcome i:  The students learn that they are learning skills that will be built on throughout their education and career. 
  • Outcome j:   Current events relating to the course are introduced as appropriate. 
  • Outcome k:  Students are required to use computers to solve problems throughout the course.  Excel with VBA is required.   

Prepared by:  Christi L. Patton May 5, 2005