2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Many instructors allow students to use equation sheets on tests, either provided by the instructor or constructed by the student. The length and format of such sheets varies, with some instructors providing or allowing more material than others, based on personal teaching philosophy as well as on the specific subject matter in the course. In this paper, equation sheets are examined in the context of a senior-level mechanical engineering course. Students were asked to fill out a survey and share their equation sheets from the specific class. In accordance with the approved IRB protocol, no personally identifiable information was collected, and students had the option to give a copy of their equation sheet to another instructor for safekeeping until the final course grades were submitted if they were concerned about identifying information that might be in it. Due to the small number of students in the course, data analysis relies heavily on qualitative data rather than statistical analysis. While the study is small in scope, it gives student perspectives on the helpfulness of different types of equation sheets, and provides insight to instructors when deciding on their own policies for equation sheets in their classes.