Adigrat University

College of Engineering
Pre-engineering Program
Introduction to Engineering Skills (GEng1031) Notes
1. Introduction to Science, Technology and Engineering
After completing this chapter students will be able to:
1. Define Engineering, Science and Technology
2. Interpret the nature, domain and relationships of science and technology education
3. Understand the core concepts and guiding principles in science technology and engineering
4. Describe the role and purposes of science, technology and engineering

1.1 What is Engineering?

Science is often paired with the arts (and Humanities and Social Sciences) in the College of
Arts and Science of a traditional university.
Engineering is the creation, maintenance, and development of things that have not existed in
the natural world and that satisfy some human desire or need. A television set does not grow on a tree.
It is the creation of human ingenuity that first fulfilled a fantasy of a human need and then went on to
change the very society that created it. The term "things" is used because one should include
computer programs, organizational paradigms, and mathematical algorithms in addition to cars,
radios, plastics, and bridges.
Science is the study of what is and engineering is the creation of what can be. Only recently
has engineering developed the set of characteristics that make it a legitimate academic discipline. A
more illuminating comparison might be between the humanities and engineering. One might find
more similarity in style (not content) between English literature and engineering than between science
and engineering.
Both literature and engineering are the study of human created artifacts. Both teach creation
in the form of creative writing and engineering design. Both teach analysis in the form of literary
criticism and engineering analysis. Both are intimately connected with the needs and desires of
individuals and society. A similar analogy could be made between art and engineering looking at
studio art, art criticism, and art history. Most scientists (but not all) feel there is some unique
objective truth behind the physical phenomena they are studying. Their goal is to find it and describe
and explain it, and this truth is unique although the approaches and approximations to it are certainly
not. In literature and engineering, the designed entity is not unique to the situation, but it is a creation
of the particular writer or designer and perhaps unique to the creator.
The boundary between science and engineering can be and often is murky. Many items of
study in science are influenced if not literally created by people. This is obviously true in biology and
the life sciences but also true in physics where certain elements in the periodic table do not exist in
nature. Perhaps, therefore, the areas of pure science are very limited. On the other hand, since
people are members of our natural system, an argument can be made that their products are as natural
as anything else and, therefore, the areas of pure scientific study are very broad. Clearly
engineering is constrained in what it can create by the laws of science as everything is. Nevertheless,
there is a difference in spirit in the two disciplines worth trying to delineate. Engineering is concerned

with the application of science and thus cannot be studied to an appreciable level without a suitable
understanding of science (which is provided for on your school curriculum and in the early stages of
the degree) you may not fully understand what engineering is all about. However, if you are taking
some science subjects, these are the foundations of an engineering career since engineering is
concerned with converting ideas into reality. Earlier, engineering often was viewed only as the
application of natural science. Now, engineering has developed its own engineering science for the
study of human made things to supplement natural science which was developed to study natural
phenomena. Parts of computer science are wonderful examples of that. Engineering is more than
applied science now. Engineering has its own philosophy and methodology and its own
economics. We differentiate science and engineering, not because their difference is great, but
because, in many ways, it is small. Science could not progress without technology and
engineering certainly could not flourish without science and mathematics.
Development of Engineering
Until the Industrial Revolution there were only two kinds of engineers. The military engineer
built such things as fortifications, catapults, and, later, cannons. The civil engineer built bridges,
harbors, aqueducts, buildings, and other structures. During the early 19th century in England
mechanical engineering developed as a separate field to provide manufacturing machines and the
engines to power them. The first British professional society of civil engineers was formed in 1818;
that for mechanical engineers followed in 1847.
In the United States, the order of growth of the different branches of engineering, measured by
the date a professional society was formed, is civil engineering (1852), mining and metallurgical
engineering (1871), mechanical engineering (1880), electrical engineering (1884), and chemical
engineering (1908). Aeronautical engineering, industrial engineering, and genetic engineering are
more modern developments.
The first schools in the United States to offer an engineering education were the United States
Military Academy (West Point) in 1817, an institution now known as Norwich Univ. in 1819, and
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1825.
Yesterday
In early times, the practice of engineering was that of a trade or craft with training occurring
through some form of apprenticeship. As it developed into a profession and more recently as an
academic discipline, it took on the shape of other academic disciplines, with preparation being an
education rather than training.
An important turning point in the United States was the land grant college act (Morrill act) of
1862 which established an institution for the teaching of agriculture and the mechanical arts
(engineering) in each state. This officially legitimated engineering in higher education although it
still had the form of training. Interestingly, this act came into being during the American Civil War
and was signed by Abraham Lincoln.
World-War II was the second turning point when it was discovered that many of the
technical innovations necessary for that effort came from scientists, mathematicians, and
theoretically educated engineers rather than traditionally trained engineers. Most engineers
prior to that time had been trained to develop and apply ideas already in existence, not to create
new solutions to new problems. After WWII, the university curricula in engineering became much

more scientific and mathematical. It took on more elements of an education rather than training. It
slowly became a real academic discipline in its own right rather than only an application of
other disciplines. However, it retains the integrating role of applying the physical and life sciences
using some of the tools of the social sciences, law, and policy and the values derived from the
humanities, letters, arts, and business.
Today
We are now going through a third transition in engineering in response to many factors in
society and in technology itself. In the larger picture, society went through the agricultural phase, the
industrial phase, and now the information phase. These three phases of civilization created and were
created by the most powerful and applicable technologies of the time.
Tomorrow
Engineering is and will be the creative element in the information age as it has been in
preceding ages. Engineering is more than a discipline or a career. It's a way of thinking. It is an
approach to solving problems, and inventing new and better ways of doing things. Engineers draw
upon science and mathematics, communication and interpersonal skills and their own ingenuity
- to make the world a better place.

1.2 The Nature, Domain and Relationships of Science and Technology Education
The Nature of Science
Science may be described as the attempt to give good accounts of the patterns in nature. The
result of scientific investigation is an understanding of natural processes. Scientific explanations are
always subject to change in the face of new evidence. Ideas with the most durable explanatory power
become established theories or are codified as laws of nature. Overall, the key criterion of science is
that it provides a clear, rational, and succinct account of a pattern in nature. This account must be
based on data gathering and analysis and other evidence obtained through direct observations or
experiments, reflect inferences that are broadly shared and communicated, and be accompanied by a
model that offers a naturalistic explanation expressed in conceptual, mathematical, and/or mechanical
terms. Here are some everyday examples of patterns seen in nature:
The sun appears to move each day from the eastern horizon to the western horizon.
Virtually all objects released near the surface of the earth sooner or later fall to the ground.
Parents and their offspring are similar, e.g., lobsters produce lobsters, not cats.
Green is the predominant color of most plants.
Some objects float while others sink.
Fire yields heat.
It is beyond the scope of this document to examine the scientific accounts of these patterns.
Some are well known, such as that the rotation of the earth on its axis gives rise to the apparent
travel of the sun across the sky, or that fire is a transfer of energy from one form to another.
Others, like buoyancy or the cause of extinction, require subtle and sometimes complex accounts.
These patterns, and many others, are the puzzles that scientists attempt to explain.
Science has its own philosophy with an epistemology, esthetics, and logic. Science has its
own technology in order to carry out its investigations, build its tools, and pursue its goals.
Science has its organizations, culture, and methods of inquiry. Science has its "scientific method"
which has served as a model (for better or for worse) in many other disciplines.

Science came out of antiquity, developed in the middle ages, blossomed in the renaissance,
was the tool of the enlightenment, and came into its present maturity in modernity. Indeed, the
history of science is, in some ways, a history of intellectual development. This is certainly only true
in conjunction with many other strains of philosophical, economical, theological, and technological
development, but science is a central player in that story.
The Nature of Technology/Engineering
Technology/engineering seeks different ends from those of science. Engineering strives to design and
manufacture useful devices or materials, defined as technologies, whose purpose is to increase our
efficacy in the world and/or our enjoyment of it. Can openers are technology, as are microwave
ovens, microchips, steam engines, safety glass, zippers, polyurethane and bridge. Each of these, with
innumerable other examples, emerges from the scientific knowledge, imagination, persistence, talent,
and ingenuity of practitioners of technology/engineering. Each technology represents a designed
solution, usually created in response to a specific practical problem that applies scientific principles.
As with science, direct engagement with the problem is central to defining and solving it.
The Relationship between Science and Technology/Engineering
In spite of their different goals, science and technology have become closely, even inextricably,
related in many fields. The instruments that scientists use, such as the microscope, balance, and
chronometer, result from the application of technology/engineering. Scientific ideas, such as the laws
of motion, the relationship between electricity and magnetism, the atomic model, and the model of
DNA, have contributed to achievements in technology and engineering, such as improvement of the
internal combustion engine, power transformers, nuclear power, and human gene therapy. The
boundaries between science and technology /engineering blur together to extend knowledge.
Technology/engineering works in conjunction with science to expand our capacity to understand the
world. For example, scientists and engineers apply scientific knowledge of light to develop lasers and
fiber optic technologies and other technologies in medical imaging.
The Domain of Technology
Lifelong learners are able to understand and apply the design process and the use of technology in
society.
Technology
1. Human innovation in action that involves the generation of knowledge and processes to develop
systems that solve problems and extend human capabilities;
2. The innovation, change, or modification of the natural environment to satisfy perceived human
needs and wants.
Technology Education A study of technology, which provides an opportunity for students to learn
about the processes and knowledge related to technology that are needed to solve problems and
extend human capabilities.
Technology and Science
Common:
Technology is intimately connected to science and they are combined in a framework in that
Both adopt a reasoned approach to the world; both rely heavily on mathematics; and
Both are best learned through Inquiry.
Science and Technology domain

Lifelong learners are able to use the methods of inquiry to participate in scientific investigation and
technological problem solving.
Science:
Science involves the discovery of fundamental relationships that help explain the natural world.
The Domains of Science fundamental questions include
"What do I observe?" "What is its nature?" and "What if?"
Domains of Science
Lifelong learners are able to understand and apply the principle, laws and fundamental
understandings of the natural sciences.
Technology:
Technology, on the other hand, creates tools that expand our capacities and help us solve
problems we face. It extends human potential for controlling the natural and human-made
environment.
The Domain of Technology asks fundamental questions such as
"How does this work?" "How can this be done?" and "How can this be done better?"
Interaction of Science and Technology:
The progress of science is dependent on technology. From bolts to bytes, science research relies so
heavily on technology that most scientific advances can be traced to improvements in technology.
Similarly, technical advances often occur when scientific understandings have been applied to a
particular problem. More centrally, both science and technology are practices based on inquiry:
asking questions, making conjectures, predicting, designing tests, solving problems, and
rethinking ideas.

Cellular phones, televisions, and computers; process machineries many of today's children's toys; and
systems that create special effects in movies, more important well designed processed and packed
healthy safe and nutritious food and drinks for our daily need. Each of these came about as the result
of recognizing a need or problem and creating a technological solution.
Summary on Science and Technology:

Finally and most importantly, science and technology are not abstract subject areas but integral
parts of our daily lives, and they have significant impact on human life and the life of the planet.
Questions like
"What are the implications of this?"
"Who benefits and who suffers?" and
"What should my town do about this?"
These are basic questions for those seeking
A balance between economic well-being,
Stewardship of the earth, and
Quality of life.
"No so long ago, most Americans did not worry about their environment. Now, with the global
population explosion, worldwide industrialization, increased use of natural resources and
degradation of rain forests and agricultural land, students need to develop skills to analyze the
environmental issues that face them today and that will challenge them tomorrow."
Science, Technology and Human Affairs
Lifelong learners understand questions and problems of science and technology in the context of
human affairs. Science and Engineering- are separate but very closely disciplines. One of the first
distinctions that must be made is between science and engineering. It is not a simple distinction
because the two are so interdependent and intertwined, but whatever difference there is needs to be
considered.
Science is the study of natural phenomena.
It is the collection of theories, models, laws, and facts about the physical world and the methods
used to create this collection. Physics, chemistry, biology, geology, etc. try to understand,
describe, and explain the physical world that would exist even if there were no humans. It is
creative in building theories, models, and explanations, but not in creating the phenomena that
it studies.

1.3 The Core Concepts and Guiding Principles in Science, Technology, Engineering and
Engineering Technology
CORE CONCEPT in Science and Technology
Owning the Questions
If students are to come to know and own the questions of science and technology, they need to engage
with them the way scientists and technologist do.
They
Wrestle with contradictions
Puzzle through paradoxes
Evaluate evidence, and
Search for connections.
These pursuits require students to deal with the
"Real world" -- both natural and human-made -- and they often find that one question just lead
to another.
Habits of Mind

 Curiosity
Open Mindedness Balanced with Skepticism
A Sense of Stewardship and Care
Respect for Evidence
Persistence
Guiding Principles of Science and Technology
1. Significant science and technology learning builds on students' curiosity and intuitions.
2. Investigation and problem solving are central to science and technology education.
3. Students learn best in an environment that acknowledges respects and accommodates each learner's
background, individuality and gender.
4. Assessment in science and technology is an opportunity for student learning, a tool for guiding
instruction, as well as a way to document student progress.
5. Science and technology connect with other disciplines, and have a particularly integral relationship
with mathematics.
6. A comprehensive PreK-12 Science and Technology program includes all sciences every year.
Emphasis on the underlying principles of each discipline and their connections across the domains of
science is critical.
7. Science and Technology study in grades PreK-10 becomes differentiated in grades 11 and
12 based on students' interests and career goals.
8. Communication and collaboration are essential to teaching and learning in science and technology.
9. Access to the expertise of others is needed in order for teachers to implement the cross-domain and
interdisciplinary approach advocated in this framework.
Engineering technology
Engineering Technology (ET) is a field of study which focuses on the applications of engineering
and modern technology, rather than the theoretical.
Education
In the United States, Engineering Technology programs are accredited through the Technology
Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Depending
on the institution, associate and/or bachelor degrees are offered, with a few institutions also offering
advanced degrees. The type, length, and quality of education offered can vary greatly depending on
the educational institution and the specialty pursued within Engineering Technology.
Worldwide Perspectives
The Sydney Accord is an agreement among the signatory nations acknowledging the academic
equivalence of accredited Engineering Technology programs.
Professional Engineer Licensure
Many U.S. states allow Engineering Technology graduates from accredited programs to sit for the
Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam to become an Engineer Intern (E.I.), and the Principles and
Practices of Engineering (PP) exam to become a Professional Engineer (P.E.), but they require several
additional years of experience before doing so.
Typical Positions

Positions vary according to the degree received. Graduates acquiring an associate's degree or lower
typically find careers as Engineering Technicians.
Those acquiring a bachelor's degree or higher ...often are hired to work as technologists or applied
engineers, not technicians. Entry-level positions such as product design, testing, development,
systems engineering, technical operations, and quality control are all common positions for
Engineering Technology graduates.

1.4 The role and purposes of science, technology and engineering?

The role of science technology / Engineering
Science, engineering, and technology (SET) literacy is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for
active and informed citizenship. As the global economy expands and workforce demands change, the
need to improve the knowledge and application of these disciplines will only grow.
The Purpose of Science and Technology/Engineering Education
Investigations in science and technology/engineering involve a range of skills, habits of mind, and
subject matter knowledge. The purpose of science and technology/engineering education in is to
enable students to draw on these skills and habits, as well as on their subject matter knowledge, in
order to participate productively in the intellectual and civic life of the society and to provide the
foundation for their further education in these areas if they seek it. Science, Technology and
Engineering for the development and welfare of the people.
Investigations in science and technology/engineering involve a range of skills, habits of mind, and
subject matter knowledge.
The purpose of science and technology/engineering education is to enable students
To draw on these skills and habits, as well as on their subject matter knowledge, in order
To participate productively in the intellectual and civic life of the society and
To provide the foundation for their further education in these areas if they seek it.
Engineering versus Engineering Technology Programs
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology describes the difference between
engineering and engineering technology as: "Engineering and technology are separate but
intimately related professions.
Here are some of the ways they differ:
Engineering undergraduate programs include more mathematics work and higher level
mathematics than technology programs.
Engineering undergraduate programs often focus on theory, while technology programs
usually focus on application.
Once they enter the workforce, engineering graduates typically spend their time planning,
while engineering technology graduates spend their time making plans work.
At ABET, engineering and engineering technology programs are evaluated and accredited by
two separate accreditation commissions using two separate sets of accreditation criteria.
Graduates from engineering programs are called engineers, while graduates of technology
programs are often called technologists.
Some U.S. state boards of professional engineering licensure will allow only graduates of
engineering programs-not engineering technology programs-to become licensed engineers."
The National Society of Professional Engineers describes the difference between engineering and
engineering technology: NSPE

"Engineering programs are geared toward development of conceptual skills, and consist of a
sequence of engineering fundamentals and design courses, built on a foundation of complex
mathematics and science courses. Engineering technology programs are oriented toward
application, and provide their students applied mathematics and science courses, and only a
qualitative introduction to engineering fundamentals. Thus, engineering programs provide their
graduates a breadth and depth of knowledge that allows them to function as designers. Engineering
technology programs prepare their graduates to apply designs."
The work of an engineer is well summed up by Paddy Purcell, former director general of the
Institution of Engineers of Ireland (IEI):
"There would be a perception of the hard hat on a rainy day on a building site with rain
trickling down the back of your neck or an engineer with his or her head stuck into a rusty
engine. Most images are so far from the reality. It's a high-tech, inter-personal profession, with
a large amount of teamwork with colleagues, the use of computers, of high-tech equipment,
financial analysis and planning. It's very far removed from the stereotype."
Engineering
Engineering involves the knowledge of mathematical and natural sciences (biological and physical)
gained by study, experience, and practice, applied with judgment and creativity to develop ways to
utilize the resources of nature and convert in to manufactured product for the benefit of mankind as
follows.
1. Resource In a technological system, the basic technological resources are energy, capital,
information, machines and tools, materials, people, and time.
Material The tangible substance (chemical, biological, or mixed) that goes into the makeup of a
physical object. One of the basic resources used in a technological system.
Matter, states of Matter ordinarily exists in one of three physical states: solid, liquid, or gas. A given
object's state depends on what the molecules are doing at the object's current temperature and
pressure, i.e., are the molecules not holding together at all, holding together weakly, or holding
together so tightly that they are locked into a stationary position. The transition between the states
occurs at definite temperatures and pressures. A fourth state of matter, plasma (ionized gas in which
the electrons are separated from the nuclei), can exist at extremely high temperatures. Plasma is found
on the sun and other stars.
2. System A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements or parts that function
together as a whole to accomplish a goal.
3. Engineering Design The systematic and creative application of scientific and mathematical
principles to practical ends such as the design, manufacture, and operation of efficient and
economical structures, machines, processes, and systems.
4. Process
1. Human activities used to create, invent, design, transform, produce, control, maintain, and use
products or systems;
2. A systematic sequence of actions that combines resources to produce an output.
5. Manufacturing The process of making a raw material into a finished product; especially in large
quantities.
Engineering Disciplines
Engineering is a highly diversified field of study than an ordinary person can imagine
Chemical engineering deals with the design, construction, and operation of plants and
machinery for making such products as acids, dyes, drugs, plastics, and synthetic rubber by
adapting the chemical reactions discovered by the laboratory chemist to large-scale

production. The chemical engineer must be familiar with both chemistry and mechanical
engineering.
Civil engineering includes the planning, designing, construction, and maintenance of
structures and altering geography to suit human needs. Some of the numerous subdivisions
are transportation (e.g., railroad facilities and highways); hydraulics (e.g., river control,
irrigation, swamp draining, water supply, and sewage disposal); and structures (e.g.,
buildings, bridges, and tunnels).
Electrical engineering encompasses all aspects of electricity from power engineering, the
development of the devices for the generation and transmission of electrical power, to
electronics. Electronics is a branch of electrical engineering that deals with devices that use
electricity for control of processes. Subspecialties of electronics include computer
engineering, microwave engineering, communications, and digital signal processing. It is the
engineering specialty that has grown the most in recent decades.
Industrial engineering, or management engineering, is concerned with efficient production.
The industrial engineer designs methods, not machinery. Jobs include plant layout, analysis
and planning of workers' jobs, economical handling of raw materials, their flow through the
production process, and the efficient control of the inventory of finished products.
Mechanical engineering is concerned with the design, construction, and operation of power
plants, engines, and machines. It deals mostly with things that move. One common way of
dividing mechanical engineering is into heat utilization and machine design. The generation,
distribution, and use of heat is applied in boilers, heat engines, air conditioning, and
refrigeration. Machine design is concerned with hardware, including that making use of heat
processes.
Computer Engineering (or computing science) is the study and the science of the
theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and
application in computer systems. Computer engineers are engineers who have training in the
areas of software design and hardware-software integration.
Textile engineering is a profession that deals with application of scientific and engineering
principles to the design and control of all aspects of fiber, textile materials, textile chemistry,
products and machinery. These include natural and manmade materials, interactions of
materials with machine, safety and health, energy conservation and waste and pollution
control. Additionally the professionals are enabled to do textile plant design and layout, textile
manufacturing and wet processing design improvement and designing and creating textile
products.
Other engineering: - Aeronautical engineering is applied in the designing of aircraft and
missiles and in directing the technical phases of their manufacture and operation. Mineral
engineering includes mining, metallurgical, and petroleum engineering, which are concerned
with extracting minerals from the ground and converting them to pure forms. Other important
branches of engineering are agricultural engineering, engineering physics, geological
engineering, naval architecture and marine engineering, and nuclear engineering.
Sample Questions
1. Describe the nature of science, technology and engineering
2. Describe the domain of science, technology and engineering
3. Explain the relationship between science, technology and engineering
4. What are the guiding principles of science and technology?
5. Explain the role and purposes of science, technology and engineering.