Unit Synopsis
This unit introduces Newtonian physics concepts governing the behaviour of stationary engineering systems. To determine design parameters, you will study forces applied to two and three-dimensional bodies under the static equilibrium state. You will determine internal forces, calculate support reactions, and develop Free-body, Shear Force and Bending Moments diagrams. You will also calculate sectional properties, including the center of gravity, centroid, and second moment of inertia. Upon completing this unit, you will understand the foundations of engineering statics enabling progress to advanced system/structural analysis and development of sustainable infrastructure
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Online Quiz(zes) | 20% |
| 2. Written Assessment | 20% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 20% |
| 4. Online Test | 40% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site .
Term 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 78.57% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 12.96% response rate.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE
Students praised the lecturer’s engaging teaching style, noting that it significantly improved their understanding of mathematics and statics concepts. Many found the explanations clear, well-structured, and informative, making learning more enjoyable.
Continue incorporating interactive teaching strategies and varied problem-solving approaches to reinforce learning and maintain engagement.
This practice is continued.
Source: SUTE
Some students experienced disruptions due to faulty equipment during streamed lectures/tutorials, temporarily impacting their learning experience.
Liaise with TASAC services before each session to ensure equipment is functioning properly. If issues arise, have a backup plan, such as pre-recorded content or alternative streaming options to minimise disruptions.
Communication has been maintained with TASAC services to minimise technical disruptions during streamed sessions. Alternative access options are investigated to ensure continuity of learning when technical issues occur.
Source: SUTE
Students appreciated the many clear and concise examples provided on Moodle, which helped reinforce their understanding of key concepts. They found the explanations well-structured and informative, making it easier to grasp complex topics.
Continue incorporating diverse problem types, including fundamental and varied problems from the textbook, to offer different perspectives on key topics.
This practice has been maintained and expanded, with additional worked examples and problem sets uploaded to Moodle to reinforce key concepts and support independent learning.
Source: SUTE
Students praised the clear, structured, and engaging teaching approach, noting that explanations and worked examples helped them understand challenging statics concepts.
This approach should be maintained, with continued emphasis on step-by-step explanations, worked examples, and interactive problem-solving during lectures and tutorials.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Some students, particularly those enrolled in non-civil disciplines (e.g. electrical engineering), reported difficulty seeing the future relevance of Engineering Statics to their degree.
Greater emphasis should be placed on cross-disciplinary applications of statics, including examples relevant to electrical, mechatronics, and systems engineering, to better demonstrate the unit’s foundational role across engineering disciplines.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Analyse two and three-dimensional force systems to determine resultant forces
- Apply static equilibrium concepts to bodies with external forces and moments, create Free-body diagrams and determine support reactions
- Analyse statically determinate structures, including beams, frames, and trusses, to calculate internal forces and create Shear-force and Bending-moment diagrams
- Calculate sectional properties such as center of gravity, centroid, and second moment of Inertia of simple structural forms
- Demonstrate a professional level of communication skills in written work.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Online Quiz(zes) | • | • | |||
| 2 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | ||
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | |||
| 4 - Online Test | • | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • | |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |