RequiredHomeworkFormat

DepartmentofChemicalEngineering
AuburnUniversity
ApprovedbyCAPAC:073009

WhyIsThereaRequiredHomeworkFormat?

Effectivewrittencommunicationofcalculationsandproblemsolutionsisoneofthemostimportant
skillsanoviceengineermustmaster.Theformatdescribedinthisdocumentallowsengineersto
effectivelydocumentthemethodofsolutionoftypicalclosedendedproblemsaswellasallowother
engineerstodoublechecktheworkforcorrectness.Italsoallowsfacultyandgraderstobeeffectivein
locatingtechnicalerrorsandothertypesofmistakesandprovideeffectivefeedbacktothestudent
(developingengineer).Thedocumentalsoincludesinformationconcerningthestandardstobeapplied
tocalculation,tablesandgraphs.

Itisrecognizedthateachcompany,industryoragencymayhavedifferentrequiredformatsfor
recordingengineeringwork.Thefactthatthesevariationsexistdoesnotmakeoneformatcorrectand
theothersincorrectbutrathersupportstheideathatfamiliarityandadherencetoaparticularformat
facilitatesthecommunicationofengineeringwork.

HereinpresentedarethoseformatelementswhichtheDepartmentofChemicalEngineeringat
AuburnUniversityhasadopted.Thesestandardsshouldbeconsideredtobearequirementfor
homeworksubmittedinallcoursesofferedbythedepartment.
Ahomeworkproblemorassignmentthatdoesnotadheretotherequiredformatwillhavepoints
deductedfromtheproblemsorassignmentspointvalue.Attheinstructorsdiscretion,theamount
ofthedeductionmaybefrom20%to100%ofthevalue(regardlessofthecorrectnessofthework
submitted).
Itisrecognizedthatduringexaminationsandquizzes,timeconsiderationswillnotallowforall
elementsoftherequiredformattobefollowed.Professorswillindicatewhichformatelementsmust
befollowedontheirexamsandquizzes.Appropriatedeductionswillbemadeforfailuretoadhereto
thesespecifiedelements(regardlessofthecorrectnessoftheworksubmitted).
Note:Technicalreports,labreports,designreports,etc.mayhaveadditionalformatrequirements.
Thesewillbediscussedbytheinstructor.Again,appropriatedeductionswillbemadeforfailureto
adheretothesespecifiedelements(regardlessofthecorrectnessoftheworksubmitted).

GeneralAppearanceandIdentificationIssues

"Engineeringpaper"(National42182,5squareorequivalent)isrequiredunlesstheinstructor
hasapprovedtheuseoflinedpaper.
Allpapermustbeofthesamesize,rulingandcolor.

Donotwriteonthebacksideofthepaper.
Assignmentsmustbestaplediftheyconsistofmorethanonepage.LOOSEPAPERS,PAPER
CLIPS,DOGEARS,ETC.,ARENOTACCEPTABLE.Iftheassignmentisthickerthanstaplescan
secure,employappropriatebinderclips,etc.
PagesmayNOTberippedoutofnotebooks(leftedgeofpapermustbesmooth).
PapersshouldNOTbefolded.Submityourworkasflat8x11pages.
Homeworkassignmentsmustbeturnedinatthebeginningofclass.
Onthefirstpageoftheassignment,putthefollowingidentifyinginformationontheupperleft
sideofthepage(shownonEngineeringpaper):
o Name(FirstLast)
o CourseandSection
o AssignmentInformation(listeitherthespecificproblemsortheassignmentnumber)
o DateDue

Staple

MaryDoe
CHEN2100Sect002
Felder25,7,8
Due:12/31/08

Beginworkingfirst
problemofassignment
here(underneath
assignment
identification
information).

Felder25(initials)
Noteinitialsabove(onall
pages)

1/6

Thisidentification
informationonlygoes
onfirstpageofthe
assignment.

Onsubsequentpages,do
notprovidethis
identification
information.

Provideyourinitialsoneachpagetotherightontheproblemnumber(incasepapersget
separated).
Placetheproblemnumber(e.g.,Felder25)oneachpageofyoursolutionasindicatedinthe
exampleabove.
Starteachproblemonanewpageunlessseveralshortproblemscanbedisplayedonasingle
page.
Numberallsheetsconsecutivelyintheformat:2/6(e.g.,page2of6totalpages)
Inthecaseoflargetablesorfigures,orientthetableorfiguresuchthattheholesarelocatedon
topedge.

WritingIssues

Theworkpresentedtoyourprofessorisanengineeringcommunication.Yourgoalshouldbeto
clearlyshowyouranalysis,results,conclusions,andrecommendations.
Yourworkmustbelegibleandneat.Writingmustbeofsufficientdarknessandsizetobeeasily
readable.
Workmaybedoneinpencilorpen.
Strikeoutsandobviouserasuresarenotallowed.
Allstraightlinesmustbedrawnwitharuler,triangleorstraightedge.Itissuggesteda6inch
clearplasticrulerbepurchasedforthispurpose.Thisrulerisalsoanaidforreadingtablesand
figures.
Atemplateofcommondrawingshapes(squares,circles,etc.)isalsorecommended.
Circlesandothercurvedshapesshouldbedrawnwithatemplateorotherinstrument(e.g.,
Frenchcurve,shipscurve,etc).
Freehandcurvesandfreehandstraightlinesarenotacceptable.
Finalanswersmustbeclearlyidentifiedbyeitherunderliningtheresulttwiceorboxtheresult
(asshownbelow).
Finalanswersconsistofsymbol,value,andappropriateunits.

T1=102.3K

AccuracyandPrecision
Inperformingrigorousdataanalysis,formalrulesshouldbeemployedtodeterminethecorrectnumber
ofsignificantfigurestoemployinexpressingintermediatecalculationsandfinalanswers.Thoserules
arebeyondthescopeofthisdocument.ThesematterswillbefullydiscussedinCHEN3820and
CHEN4860UnitOperationsLabs.

Thefollowinggeneralguidelinesshouldbeusedinperformingstandardhomeworkcalculations.

Recognizethatthereisadifferencebetweenwhatyourcalculatorshowsonthedisplayand
whatonewritesdownonhomeworkorareport.Carryallsignificantfiguresduringcalculations
toavoidroundoffandtruncationerrors.

Storeintermediatecalculationsinyourcalculatorsmemoryratherthanreenteringa
lowerprecisionvaluethatwaswrittendown.
Supposeyouhavean8inchdiameterpipeandneedtoconvertthisvaluetofeet.The
exactvaluewouldbeD=8/12=0.666666666666666666Ifyouwritedownandthen
lateremployinsubsequentcalculationD=0.66(orD=0.67),theaccuracyofthose
calculationsisincorrectby0.006outof0.66666666666667oralmost1%.Hence,no
morethan2significantdigitsofaccuracycanbeclaimedalthoughtheoriginaldata
valuewasexact.
Whenyoureportintermediatecalculationsorvalues,avoidwritingdownexcessivesignificant
figuresfromyourcalculator.Generally45significantfiguresisappropriate.
Dataitemssuchasphysicalconstants,molecularweights,conversionfactors,etc.)shouldbe
writtendownandenteredincalculationsusing45significantfigures.
Finalanswersshouldreflectnogreaterthan0.1%accuracy(i.e.,34significantfigures).

3Significant
Figures
345.
3.45
0.0345
3.45x105

4Significant
Figures
1.070
107.0
0.0001070
1.070x1013

UnitsandConversions
Manyunnecessarymistakesoccurwhenstudentsfailtoproperlyuseunitsincalculations.Thisdoesnot
meanmerelywritingdowntheunitsbut"usingthem"(i.e.,cancelingunitstodeterminethefinalunits).

Themethodusedtoconvertand/orcancelunitsiscalledtherailroadtrackmethodorfactorlabel
method.Thisformat(includingshowingcancellationofunits)mustbeusedinallcalculations.

Startbydrawingahorizontallineandaddverticallinestoseparatethevariousunitconversions.
Placethebasenumberincludingunitsatthebeginningoftherailroadtrack.
Ineachsubsequentspace,placeanappropriateconversionfactorandcancelunits.

Invertconversionfactorsasnecessary.

1h
Example:Ifdividingby60min/hitisenteredas:
60min

Putcomplexconversionfactors(thosewithmultiplelevelsinthenumeratorand/or
denominator)intosinglenumeratordenominatorform.
Example:Supposeyoulookupthefollowingconversionfactor:

First,writethenumeratoranddenominatorseparately(invertingthedenominator):

1lb m3
ft3 16.018kg

Thencombinetheseasasinglefactorinyourunitconversion:

1lbm3
16.018ft3kg

Example1:
Convert9.8mileskilometers

9.8mi
5280ft
12in
2.54cm
1m
1km
= 15.77km*

1mi
1ft
1in
100cm
1000m

*Note:Theparticularconversionfactorsemployedmadethismuchharderthannecessary.

Example2:
Convert8.3scfperminuteofagascontaining107.2ppm(partspermillionbyvolume)NOxgrams
NOxperhour.

Note:MWNOx=46.01andscf=standardcubicfoot

107.2scf 8.3scf
60min
46.01lb
453.6g
1lbmole
= 2.936gNOx/h
6
10 scf
1min
1h
lbmole
1lb
379.48scf

ProblemSolvingMethodology
Usingarationalstandardizedapproachtosolvingproblemsallowsonetoobtainthesolutionwitha
minimumofeffort.ItalsoallowsfacultyandGTAs(andreviewersinindustry)toeasilyfollowyour
methodofsolutionandtoassessthecorrectnessofyouranswers.
TheparticularmethodologyrequiredbythedepartmentiscalledtheGivenFindSolutionAnswer
(GFSA)format.Itiswidelyfollowedbymanyengineeringdepartmentsaswellaspracticingengineers.
Note:Variationsonthismethodareemployedindifferentcourses(forexample,seeGeneralProcedure
forSingleUnitProcessMaterialBalanceCalculations,FelderforCHEN2100)butthegeneralprinciples
presentedhereshouldbeappliedtoallcourses.
Given:

Find:
Solution:

Answer:

Restatesignificantinformationfromproblemstatement.
Donotrepeattheentireproblemstatementverbatim.
Includethegivenproblemsketch(ifprovided)onlyifneededtoclarifytheproblem
statement
Stateunknownsthataretobedeterminedandassignasymbolicrepresentationfor
each.Forexample:Findtheoutlettemperature,Tout
Drawanappropriatesketchshowingthemajorfeaturesoftheproblem.
Drawadditionalsketchestoshowdetailsorotherfeaturesoftheproblemas
necessary.
Useanomenclaturethatisconvenientandwellaccepted.
Stateassumptions.
Listrequiredphysicalpropertiesandotherrelateddata(statingsources).
Referenceanytablesandfiguresusedtodetermineproperties.
Writegoverningequation(s).
Simplifyequationsalgebraically.Donotsubstitutevaluesintoequationsuntilthe
equationissolvedforthevariableofinterest.
Substituteknownvaluesforsymbolicvariablesintofinalequations.
Solveforunknownquantities(completecalculations).
Workproblemintheunitsystemgiven.Donotneedlesslyconvertfromonesystem
toanotherandthenbacktotheoriginalsystem.EngSIEng
Underlinemajorintermediateanswers.
Aftercompletecalculations,highlightanswerinboxordoubleunderline.
Includesymbol,answer,andunitsinyouranswer.
THINKandREFLECT!!

Whatdoyoursolutionsindicate?
Areyourresultsreasonable?

Graphs,PlotsandOtherFigures
Themajorformatelementsofagraph(figure)areshownintheexampleonthenextpage:

Usetheappropriategraphaxes(e.g.arithmetic,semilog,loglog,etc.)toaidthereaderin
obtainingaccuratedatafromthegraph.Usuallythiswillbeobtainedbyselectingaxeswhich
"straightenout"curvesasmuchaspossible.

Whendrawinggraphsforhomework.youmayusegraphingsoftware(suchasthebuiltin
graphingcapabilityofMSExcelotherapprovedgraphingprograms)orprovidehanddrawn
graphs.Handdrawngraphsshouldbedrawnneatlyusingstraightedgeandcurveguide
instruments.Freehandcurvesarenotallowed.

Eachgraphorfiguremustbeappropriatelylabeled.Providethefigurenumberandadescriptive
titlecenteredunderneaththefigure.
Appropriate:Figure1EnthalpyconcentrationdiagramforH2SO4H2O
Inappropriate:Figure1Enthalpydiagram.(Notsufficientlydescriptive)

Sourcesforfiguresorgraphicalinformationexternaltotheassignmentmustbeidentifiedbyan
appropriatecitation(seeReferences)

0.35

Dryingrate,(g/min)

0.30
0.25
0.20
0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00
0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Time,(min)

Figure3Dryingratevtime(experimentaldatafromGroup3Run4)

Measureddatapointsareindicatedbysymbols(e.g.,circles,triangles,squares).

Donotconnectthemeasureddatapointsdottodotwithstraightlines.

Theoreticallinesandregressionlinesareplottedassmoothcurvesorstraightlines.Donot
showthecalculatedpointsusedtodrawthecurve.

Completelylabeleachgraphaxis,includingtheplottingvariablenameanditsunits.

Ifacalculationisgraphicalinnature,themethodofusageofgraphsshouldbeclearlyindicated
byanexamplewiththeappropriatelinessketchedinandlabeledforillustration.

Tables

Themajorformatelementsofatableareshowninthefollowingexample:

Table1Datacollectedfrommanometerexperiment.

MercuryLevel
o
T( C)
Rightarm(mm)
Leftarm(mm)
42.7
138
862
58.9
160
840

68.3
77.9
88.6
98.3

182
213
262
323

818
787
738
677

Eachtablemusthaveanumberandadescriptivetitle.Centerthetablenumberandtitleabove
thebodyofthetable.

o Appropriate:Table1Integralheatsofsolutionandmixingat25oC.
o Inappropriate:Table1Results(Notsufficientlydescriptive)

Thebodyofthetableisusuallydelimitedbyhorizontallinesaboveandbelowit.Sometimes
theselinesareboldordouble.
Tablesneverhaveverticallinestodelimittheleftandrightedgesofthetable.
Thebodyisdividedintorowsandcolumns.Thecolumnsalwayshaveheadings,andthe
headingsmustincludeaverbaldescriptionofthequantitytabulatedanditsunits.Insome
tables,therowsalsohaveheadings.
Columnandrowheadingsareseparatedfromthetabulatedquantitiesbysolidhorizontaland
verticallines,respectively.Theverticallinesareoftendeletediftheymakethetabletoobusy
andinterferewiththereaderscomprehension.
Generally,columnheadingsandcolumndataarecenteredinthecolumn.Whenthedatahasa
decimalpoint,valuesshouldbealignedonthedecimalpoint.

References

Thesourceofalldataandinformationusedinyoursolutionshouldbereferenced,exceptfor
datacontainedintheproblemstatement.

Referencesmustcontainenoughinformationsothattheprofessororyoursupervisorcould
easilylookupyourreferenceddata.Forexample,(Felder,TableB.1)or(Perry'sHandbook,7th
Ed,p.154)aresufficientifunambiguous.

WebreferencesshouldcontainacompleteURLandprovidethedateaccessed,forexample:
http://www.ultrasmartstudents.com/cornflakes.html(January13,2008)