ChE 121 Engineering Computation (S14)

Chemical Engineering
University of Waterloo
Course Description:
Introduction to digital computers, hardware and software organization. Programming
fundamentals. Algorithms and control structures. Computer communication. Plotting, fitting
data, building new functions, and making iterations and loops. Use of MATLAB for problem
solution, plotting, and creating complex programs in a programming environment. Iterations and
loops using MATLAB. Elementary numerical methods.

Instructor:

Dr. Chandra Mouli R. Madhuranthakam

cmmadhur@uwaterloo.ca
office: E6 5018

Office hours: Tuesday 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm (otherwise by appointment)

Teaching Assistants: Ushnik Mukherjee (E6 1112)
Sahraei Mohammad (E6 3110)
Al-Sheikh Farooq (E6 3114)

u3mukher@uwaterloo.ca
mhsahrae@uwaterloo.ca
faalshei@uwaterloo.ca

Matlab for Engineers, by Holly Moore, 3rd Edition, 2011 Pearson

Education, Inc., (available in the book store)

Textbook:
References:

Applied Numerical Methods with Matlab by S.C. Chapra, McGraw-Hill, 3rd edition
Also: If you need extra help, feel free to e-mail the TAs to schedule an
appointment.
Scheduled Sessions:
Lectures:

Lab:

Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Monday

10:30 am 11:20 am
10:30 am 11:20 am
10:30 am 11:20 am
2:30 pm - 4:20 pm

CPH 1346
CPH 1346
CPH 1346
CPH1346 (Extended till 5:20 pm)

Major Topics:
1. Introduction to Programming
2. MATLAB Fundamentals (Chapter 2)
3. Built-in MATLAB Functions (Chapter 3)
4. Manipulating MATLAB Matrices (Chapter 4)
5. User Controlled Input and Output (Chapter 7)
6. User-Defined Functions (Chapter 6)
7. Plotting and Graphing (Chapter 5)
8. Logical Functions and Selection Structure (Chapter 8)
9. Repetition Structures (Chapter 9)
10. Numerical Techniques (Chapter 13 and lecture notes)
Course Goals:
Upon completion of this course, the student should be able to:

Understand fundamental programming concepts,

Apply concepts of problem solving to engineering problems,

Be able to design and implement simple computer programs in MATLAB to solve

engineering problems,

Understand how to approach other computer languages,

Learn how to design and write programs and to use the computer effectively in solving
problems in engineering, and

Have an understanding of using basic numerical techniques for solving nonlinear

equations, systems of linear equations, and performing numerical integration in
MATLAB.

Course Grading Breakdown:

Labs

8%

Quizzes

7%

Midterm Exam
(Wednesday, June 18,
2014,1:30 3:30 pm)

25%

Final Exam

60%

You must pass the final exam to pass the course. If you fail in the final exam, you will
receive that grade as your overall course grade.
Both midterm and final exams are closed book exams. You can use a single 11" x 8.5"
double-sided, hand written cheat sheet for both exams.
You are allowed to use a non-communicating scientific calculator.
Calculators:
Please note also that only non-programmable calculators are permitted during exams. If
you are not sure whether your calculator is acceptable, have it checked well before the
exam.
Students are expected to know and follow academic integrity guidelines and avoid academic
offenses. Any questions regarding this policy and what is considered an academic offense should
be directed to the professor or the Undergraduate Associate Dean. For other information
regarding these policies please see: Policy 70, Student Grievance, Policy 71, Student Academic
Discipline and http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~ugoffice/course_responsibilities.html.