An Example of Inquiry-Based Learning for Undergraduate Mechanical Vibrations

Laboratory or practical work is considered a crucial learning component for students of science and technology. It will be argued in this paper that the trend for inquiry-based learning that is beginning to percolate through classroom teaching can be brought to the design of laboratory tests. A project based on the free vibration of a one-degree-of-freedom pendulum serves as an example to show the integration of guided inquiry-based learning in a mechanical engineering curriculum. The goal is to design a pendulum system with a certain frequency of vibration and the challenge is to do it with specific elements and restrictions which, as the student needs to find out, do not lead to a solution just based on selecting a suitable pendulum length. In this laboratory teaching session, students were required to: identify the problem, model the system, derive governing equations, simulate, design, build, test, evaluate and share the solution. They are also required to experimentally measure the natural frequency and damping ratio of the system they built and adjust models and simulations accordingly. On the other hand, the session involves, albeit simplified, many of the common activities that the practicing mechanical engineer undertakes: design, develop, manufacture, assemble and test mechanical devices, including tools, engines, and machines.