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Introduction to EngineeringPaper



  • Introduction

    EngineeringPaper.xyz is a tool that evaluates complex mathematical expressions while keeping track of the units for you. EngineeringPaper also has the capability to solve systems of equations. Once you have your calculation the way you want it, you can easily save or share your sheet with others by creating a shareable link. This sheet introduces you to the basics of using EngineeringPaper. A video tutorial for EngineeringPaper.xyz is available as well. We also have an EngineeringPaper.xyz Reddit community where you can ask questions, share your calculations, and stay up date with the latest EngineeringPaper.xyz developments.


    Cell Types

    An EngineeringPaper sheet consists of documentation cells and math cells. This cell is a documentation cell and the three cells after this cell are math cells. There are two primary math statement types that appear in math cells, an assignment statement and a query statement. For an assignment statement, a parameter name is provided on the left hand side and an expression is provided on the right hand side. Here are some examples of assignment statements:









  • Specifying Units

    Anytime a numerical values appear in an expression, units may be provided in square brackets immediately after the numerical value. If no units are provided, numerical values are treated as unitless. EngineeringPaper will keep track of the units throughout all of the calculations and will generate an error if units are not consistent.


    Querying Results

    A query statement is used to obtain the result of a calculation. A query statement consists of a expression on the left hand side and the right hand side is left blank. When a query statement is encountered, EngineeringPaper knows that the results of a calculation are desired and it will automatically fill in the right hand side. Here are some examples of query statements:







  • Specifying Result Units

    Note that the result units default to SI base units. To display results in different units, the desired output units my be specified in square brackets on the right hand side of a query statement. This capability is demonstrated in the following example:





  • Automatic Calculation Ordering

    EngineeringPaper will automatically perform calculations in the correct order independent of the order of the math cells appear in the sheet. See the following example:









  • Automatic Cell Updates

    All edits update the impacted cells immediately. Change the value of h in the above cell to see the volume update as soon as the edit is made.


    Saving and Sharing Sheets

    If you would like to save a sheet for future use or share a sheet with someone else, use the Get Shareable Link button on the top toolbar to create a shareable link. The link is private unless you choose to share it with someone else. Anytime you would like to save changes to a sheet, it is necessary to generate a new shareable link since sheets are not automatically saved. To start a new sheet, use the New Sheet button on the top toolbar.


    Plotting and Function Notation

    EngineeringPaper also supports using function notation to evaluate expressions at specific values. For example, the following expression can be defined:





  • Any values that won't change, they can be set using an assignment, as was done previously. For example, let's set the gravitational constant:





  • Now, we just need to specify InitialVelocity, theta, and x to evaluate the projectile height at position x. We could set those like we set the gravitational constant, but then the values would be fixed for the entire sheet. To allow us to evaluate y for different sets of input values, we can use the function notation as shown below:





  • The parameters can be in any order. Notice the use of units with the parameters passed to the function. If we want the solution in feet instead of meters, we just need to specify the desired output units:





  • Of course, specifying the height at a single x value isn't very useful. It would be better to plot over a range of x values. When using the function notation, if one of the inputs is given as a range, a plot will be displayed as follows:



  • 01k2k3k4k5k6k7k8k9k10k02k4k6k8k10k
    $ x\: \left[yards\right] $$ y\: \left[feet\right] $


  • Plots are a powerful way to compare different scenarios. For example, the impact of changing launch angle from 45 to 20 degrees can be clearly illustrated by adding a second plot expression:



  • 01k2k3k4k5k6k7k8k9k10k02k4k6k8k10k
    $ y $ $ y $ $ x\: \left[yards\right] $$ y\: \left[feet\right] $


  • EngineeringPaper.xyz can also be used to solve equations and systems of equations. For more information, see this example sheet.