Which class is tougher?

Question

I am considering taking one of these classes, but was wondering which one in your opinion would be tougher? One is a junior level, 4000 level fluid mechanics class for Aerospace Engineering and the other is a 3000 level System Dynamics & Control or otherwise known as Modeling & Analysis of Dynamic Systems class for mechanical/electrical engineering. Which one sounds tougher?

Answer 1

I agree with the above.

Fluid mechanics is one tough subject.  Based on my friends, fluids was much harder.

Answer 2

Well I wasn't an Aero major but I was a Mechanical, and I took both Fluids and Controls, so here's my thought:

As with everything else, it's up to what you think is tough.  Both will have work in Calculus and a good amount of math in general.  Fluids will have a lot of work on partial derivatives, and long, complex formulas, and add some physics in there.  Controls will use more linear algebra, matrix math, and mathematics in general (like laplace transforms), with a sprinkling of electronics.  

Fluids is theoretical in a way because you'll make a lot of assumptions on a problem to make them easier (actual non-trivial fluid flow is incredibly complex and normal problems are solved with computational fluid dynamics [CFD] programs), but I found Controls to be much more abstract and harder to practically understand.  Having said that, I found the problems themselves in Controls were easier to do, such as on an exam or for homework.  Both sets of work will contain extremely long and tedious problems.

In my experience, Controls was a lot easier, but I had a crappy professor for Fluids.  If you're planning on focusing on something to do with fluid flow or aerospace, I guess take fluids, otherwise take Controls.  That's my two cents.

Hope this helps.