2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Fundamental concepts in mechanical engineering curriculums are the foundation for building advanced education topics. Topics such as proper empirical data collection and evaluation methods, variable sensitivity, uncertainty, and verification vs validation are essential to the engineer's toolkit. However, it can be difficult to impart the criticality of such topics to undergraduate students in the early years, especially to Freshman students overwhelmed with new experiences and responsibilities. Even students who successfully learn these skills will quickly forget them, inhibiting the synthesis of those skills with future lessons.
An entertaining, hands-on laboratory activity centered on the quadrant tool from antiquity can be effective in teaching those crucial skills. The Mariner’s Quadrant is a historical nautical tool that navigators used to measure celestial body altitude, the forerunner to modern sextants, surveying equipment and remote measurement devices. There are many variants of the quadrants throughout history for different purposes, including measuring planetary movements, aiming cannons during battle, or surveying the land.
This paper presents a customizable Quadrant Lab Activity and illustrates how students learn a variety of critical engineering concepts through experiential learning. Students assemble the quadrant tool and then venture outdoor to determine the height of a tall structure through remote measurement. Upon return to the classroom, the students compile their data into a large set for analysis. Through this activity, students begin learning best practices in data collection and assessment and see the impact of limited precision data first-hand. Through data assessment, variable sensitivity and uncertainty are evaluated, and students must identify the sources of uncertainty in the physical world. Once the activity results have been fully analyzed and a solution is obtained, the students must both verify and validate the solution. These concepts are memorable due to the engaging nature of the activity and produce an appreciation for historical engineering methods as a resource. The analogue nature of the tool appears to improve the understanding and synthesis of the lesson, as opposed to memorizing a procedure.
This paper provides a valuable and customizable lab activity for educators and curriculum developers seeking to improve Freshman/Sophomore mechanical engineering lab courses. The Quadrant Activity supports ABET learning outcomes 1 (solve complex engineering problems), 4 (recognize ethical responsibility/make informed judgements), 5 (ability to function on a team), 6 (develop and conduct appropriate experimentation), and 7 (ability to acquire and apply new knowledge). The efficacy of this lab activity is shown through qualitative and quantitative assessment, via instructor observation and a pre- and post-activity assessment.