2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Frequently engineering dynamics courses and textbooks introduce the concept of dependent motion applied to pulley kinematics with simple examples and a single theoretical concept: the length of a rope does not change. Students are left with a convoluted generalized procedure to apply to unique and novel pulley scenarios. This classroom ready innovation (CRI) provides a procedural and algorithmic approach to pulley kinematics that is easy to explain, remember, and apply. Traditional derivation and pulley presentation are documented alongside a novel approach to analyzing pulley kinematics. By using the three languages of engineering, students describe the pulley system with words, sketch the pulley system including sign convention and rope count, and write mathematical expressions describing position, change in position, velocity and acceleration. When coupled with other kinematic relationship equations, students then solve for the kinematic properties of various moving points in a pulley system.