Exercises and Solutions
Practice problems from the Boise State ME 380 course archive, grouped by topic. Every entry has a corresponding solution in the archive. Chapter numbers refer to the current lecture decks.
Selected solutions means that only the named questions or parts have solutions. Some original PDFs contain additional unsolved questions; those are not part of the listed selection. Handwritten work and historical assignment numbering have been preserved.
Mathematical background
Linear algebra worksheet
Background
Matrix products, linear systems, norms, angles, and linear independence; includes explanations.
Linear algebra and coordinate frames
Background and Chapter 5
Ancillary Week A: Grashof warm-up, basis changes, vector algebra, and polynomial inner products.
2017 skills test: linear algebra
Background
Selected solutions: Question 1(a–g). Question 2 on statics/dynamics has no written solution in this packet.
Mobility and mechanism classification
Mobility and transmission angle
Chapter 2–3
Selected solutions: Ancillary 1, Questions 1–3, including link counts, mechanism types, and transmission angles. The programming task in Question 4 is not covered.
Eight mobility examples
Chapter 2
Norton Problem 2-21(a–h), with mechanism diagrams and worked mobility counts. The key contains the problem statement.
Grashof criterion
Chapter 3
Ancillary 2: Questions 1–3 match Questions 1–3 of the older Homework II key; later key questions belong to that older assignment.
Homework I: mechanism fundamentals
Chapter 2–3
Older assignment: mobility, mechanism identification, transmission angles, and Grashof classification.
Homework II: classification and slider-cranks
Chapter 3–4 / 6
Grashof ranges, transmission-angle limits, offset slider-crank motion, and Newton iteration.
Rigid-body motion and position analysis
Rotations and translations
Chapter 5
Ancillary 3: worked mathematics for Questions 1–6 and 7(c). The key does not supply the code requested in 7(a–b).
Selected rigid-body-motion exercises
Chapter 5
Solutions are available for Problems 9, 15, 16, 21, 35, 36, and 37 only. The combined packet includes a broader question bank; solutions begin on PDF page 7.
Displacement analysis and Newton iteration
Chapter 6
Ancillary 4: vector-loop, cross-product, two-loop, and slider-crank problems. The key’s handwritten heading says “Ancillary Material 3”; its four problems match this assignment.
Stephenson linkage worksheet
Chapter 6
Position-level loop equations and Newton iteration.
Homework III: position analysis
Chapter 5–6
Vector closure, slider-crank positions, four-bar analysis, and rotation-matrix properties.
Homework IV: position and velocity
Chapter 6–7
Double-slider loop equations, sliding contact, four-bar velocity, and speed-ratio plots.
Velocity and acceleration
Angular velocity
Chapter 7
Ancillary 5: skew matrices, rotation derivatives, the Furuta pendulum, and the matrix exponential.
Velocity and acceleration analysis
Chapter 6–7
Ancillary 6: five worked problems, including the plotted result for Question 3.
Selected velocity problems: 3.28 and 3.34
Chapter 7
The requested vel_problems_w_partial_solns.pdf packet. Worked solutions cover only 3.28 and 3.34 (PDF pages 9–14). Use the revised 3.28 solution linked below in place of the older one.
Worked velocity examples
Chapter 7
Handwritten lecture examples with diagrams and derivations for moving points and rotating frames.
Homework V: mechanism kinematics
Chapter 6–7
Position, velocity, and acceleration analysis; includes forward and inverse pantograph kinematics. The matching key is stored as an older Ancillary 6 solution file.
Mass properties, forces, and dynamics
Static and dynamic analysis
Chapter 8–10
Ancillary 7: plate inertia, free-body diagrams, and pantograph statics/dynamics. After the plate solution, Questions 2–4 correspond to Questions 1–3 of the appended Homework VI key.
Homework VI: equations of motion
Chapter 9–10
Planar-mechanism free-body diagrams, pantograph force analysis, and simulation formulation.
Gears and cams
Gear trains and cam design
Chapter 12–13
Ancillary 8: planetary and compound trains plus a double-dwell cam. The key contains Homework VII solutions and additional handwritten cam derivations; the four prompts match.
Past exams with solutions
Midterm I, 2017
Chapter 2–7
Mobility and linkage kinematics; the standard October 17 paper and matching key.
Midterm I, 2018
Chapter 2–6
Mobility, position analysis, and coordinate frames.
Midterm I, 2020
Chapter 2–6
Mobility, frames, a dual-crosshead mechanism, and a robot-leg bonus problem. Handwritten key.
Midterm I, 2021
Chapter 2–6
The October 5 paper and its handwritten solution packet.
Midterm II, 2018
Chapter 6–7
Mechanism and sliding-contact analysis, plus a rotating hoop. The problem and key headers have different November dates; the three prompts match.
Midterm II, 2020: worked paper
Chapter 6–7
Self-contained four-question key dated November 12, covering mechanism kinematics and a moving bead. Use the prompts inside this key; nearby makeup papers are different.
Midterm II, 2021
Chapter 6–7
The November 2 paper and its handwritten solution packet.
Final examination, 2017
Chapter 4 / 6–10 / 12–13
Whitworth quick return, toggle-linkage dynamics, epicyclic gears, and cam design.
Final examination, 2018
Chapter 4 / 6–10 / 12–13
Quick return, linkage dynamics, epicyclic gearing, and cams. Point allocations differ in the key; use the matching problem statements.
Final solutions, 2020: worked collection
Chapter 6–10 / 12–13
Self-contained five-question collection: kinematics, dynamics, gears, cams, and a double pendulum. It does not match the separately stored four-question final paper exactly.
Double-pendulum take-home final
Chapter 8–10
The questions and solution derive double-pendulum dynamics. Both PDFs are dated 2018, although stored in the repository’s 2019 folder.