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Materials Engineering Lesson 4: “A Case Study – The Automotive Industry” (October 4-5, 2018)

This is the last Lesson in our introduction to materials engineering. Today we are going to take a look at how materials engineering has greatly improved the performance and durability of automobiles.

Please write a paper, which must meet all of the following criteria:

    1. To receive credit, your paper must be handwritten (normal sized printing), a minimum of one page long. Write in paragraph form, rather than an outline. Work independently on this assignment. It is not a collaborative project.

    2. Discuss the historical progression of materials used in the manufacture of cars. In approximately what year was the first commercial car designed? Who designed it? What materials were used in the past?
    3. In what direction is materials engineering taking the cars of the future?
    4. Name at least three types of new or improved materials being used/developed for new automobiles.
    5. For each of the three types of new or improved materials you listed above, explain HOW each new/improved material benefits the design of the car; and why this benefit is important. (Example: New alloys are more lightweight. More lighweight cars use less energy and produce less pollution, such as CO2).
    6. Name at least two types of new or improved materials being used/developed to improve automobile safety.
    7. In what ways are engineers and material science resources collaborating with suppliers and manufacturers all over the world to help achieve better fuel economy and sustainability in the automotive industry?

You can answer all of these questions by reading one or more of the following articles. But feel free to use any other sources other than Wikipedia. List all sources in brackets, within the text of your paper.

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