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PHY
3221 - Mechanics I
Fall Term 2006
Time and Place: Monday,
Wednesday and Friday, Period 6 (12:50-1:40 pm), New Physics Building
(NPB) room 1101.
Final Exam: Take home, electronic, due Monday
Dec. 11 by midnight
Instructor: Greg Stewart
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday
period 8, 3:00 pm-3:50 pm. At other times, please email/call and
confirm that I'm there shortly
before you want to come by.
Textbook:
The required text is S. T. Thornton and J. B. Marion, Classical
Dynamics of Particles and Systems, Fifth Edition. The Student
Solutions Manual, by S. T. Thornton, is optional.
Prerequisites:
Introductory physics with calculus at the level of Halliday
and Resnick and multivariable calculus. A course in
differential equations is recommended but not required.
Synopsis:
This is the first of a two semester sequence on classical mechanics. We
will cover Chapters 1-3 and 5 of Thornton and Marion,
with supplemental materials to be posted on this web site/handed out in
class. Topics to be
covered include: kinematics in one and
two dimensions, Newtonian mechanics for a single particle, conservation
laws, oscillations (forced and damped, resonance, some simple Fourier
analysis), dimensional analysis and units, gravitation (conservative
forces, gravitational potential,
tides).
Grading policy:
There will be approximately one homework assignment per week, due on
Wednesdays in class (except for the last 3, see web site) and will be
returned to the student the following Monday (except Labor Day). Make
your solutions neat, concise, and intelligible. Points may be deducted
if it is difficult to find and/or understand the solutions. Late
homework: 75% credit for up to 1 day late, 50% credit for up to 2 days
late, 0%
thereafter. Students may work on the homework together.
In addition to the homework assignments, there will be
two in class
tests, tentatively scheduled for September 29 and November 3, and the
to-be-done-at-home electronic final exam. Details about the exam
formats will be announced in class.
The homework is 30% of your grade, the in-class tests
20% each, and the final is 30%. Possibilities for extra
credit will be discussed in class.
Here is a guideline
for your final grade, as a percentage of the total number of points
(scaled as above): 85-100, A; 65-84, some type of B; 50-64, some type
of C; below 50, will be a D or E. These numbers will not be raised.
Grader: Y. Wu
Holidays (no classes):
Labor Day, Sept. 4; Homecoming, Oct. 6; Veteran's day, Nov. 10,
Thanksgiving, Nov. 23-24. |
