Which course is better to take to satisfy an engineering elective? McEng 227 or IDE 140?

IMO, IDE140 is a rehashed version of Phys 23. It's not that bad.

I agree. Dr. Flori is an excellent teacher. On top of that, he posts all of the homework online. All he asks is that you put forth the effort to do it yourself first.

I'm in 227 now, and while the lectures ramble on and on through seemingly irrelevant topics, the exams (which are the only things your grade is dependant on) are very easy.

What are you majoring in? What would you like to do in the Real World (TM)?

My guess is he is an EE, CompE, or Mining Engineer. I think we are the only ones that have the option to take 140. Don't get the combined book, it sucks to carry it. If you have a friend in statics, just by the dynamics book (IDE 150) and borrow your friend's book.

It's Dr. Grantham-Lough teaching BE140 this semester. Its not too bad. One of the first comments she made on the first day of class said she realizes that no one in the class would ever need this again, so she was going to teach it that way. The reason you need to take it, is for the EIT, so she is only teaching the important stuff from each class for that test.

i am majoring in EE

Then I would probably take the course in thermo, unless you intend to go into sensors and controls (for physical systems that move, think: dynamics).

A lot of circuit components change behavior as they heat up and cool down (diodes, transistors, etc.). Being able to analyze how a system dissipates heat while running might prove handy... especially if temperature affects its operation...

Word on the street is thermo is a little tougher, though.

Also, I've heard the EIT isn't very difficult -- so I wouldn't let it influence my cirriculum. For an EE, I'm not sure if scoring poorly on it will have a negative impact on you (though it might reflect poorly on UMR).