PHYS 411 – MECHANICS
Course Information
(http://www.uoregon.edu/~haydock/Phys411info.html)
CRN 25034 January 9, 2012
This course covers the fundamental principles of Newtonian and Lagrangian mechanics, together with applications including conservation laws, planetary motion, small oscillations, systems of particles, rigid bodies, and rotation. The prerequisite for this course is MATH 282 (Calculus of Several Variables). The goal of this course is to learn to solve a wide variety of mechanics problems using these methods. The course is based on the assigned questions and problems for which each student is required to submit answers. The grade will be determined by the midterm and final examination.
Classes:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays 12:00 to 12:50 in Room 318
Instructor: Roger Haydock, 172
Text:
Analytical Mechanics by G.R. Fowles and G.L. Cassiday, (Thomson
Brooks/Cole,
Homework: Each student is required to submit answers to the homework questions and problems listed on the accompanying page. To satisfy this requirement either the complete assignment or work showing at least eight hours of effort must be submitted. In order for the homework to be corrected, it must be in the 411 box in the Physics Office by 2 PM on the day it is due. Students should prepare for each class by reading the relevant material from the text, and identifying difficulties. After each class, the material should be reviewed again to make sure that the difficulties have been resolved. The effort required for this course is nine hours per week in addition to attending class.
Midterm: There will be a midterm on Monday, February 6, in class covering Chapters 1-5. It will consist of several short-answer questions and two problems, similar to those assigned for homework. The midterm is intended to monitor progress in the course and will only be averaged into the final grade if it will improve the final grade.
Final
Exam: 10:15-12:15 on Monday, March 19, in Room 318
Grading: The final grade for this course will be determined by the score on the final, or 2/3 of the score on the final plus 1/3 of the score on the midterm, which ever is greater. A score of 67% will receive at least an A-, 50% at least a B-, and 34% at least a C-.
Weather: If the weather becomes too bad for the class to meet (very unlikely), there will be a message to this effect on 346-5221. If the telephone system is down, there will be no class.
Course Plan
Date Assigned Text and Topics
January
9 Course Introduction and Dimensional Analysis
11 Chapter 1: Vector Algebra and Calculus
12 First Homework Due
13 Chapter 2: Newtonian Mechanics
16 No Class (Martin Luther King Day)
18 Kinds of Forces
19 Second Homework Due
20 Chapter 3: Harmonic Motion
23 Damped and Forced Harmonic Motion
25 Chapter 4: Motion in Three Dimensions
26 Third Homework Due
27 Constrained Motion
30 Chapter 5: Non-Inertial Frames
February
1 Rotating Systems
2 Fourth Homework Due
3 Review of Chapters 1-5
6 Midterm, in class covering Chapters 1-5
8 Chapter 6: Central Forces
10 Orbits
13 Chapter 7: Systems of Particles
15 Collisions
16 Fifth Homework Due
17 Chapter 8: Rigid Bodies
20 Examples of Rigid Body Motion
22 Chapter 10: Variational Calculus
23 Sixth Homework Due
24 Lagrangian Mechanics
27 Applications of Lagrangian Mechanics
29 Chapter 9: Motion of Rigid Bodies in Three Dimensions
March
1 Seventh Homework Due
2 Euler’s Equations
5 Chapter 11: Many Degrees of Freedom
7 Normal Coordinates
9 Examples of Interacting Systems
12 Eighth Homework Due
12 Review of Chapters 1-5
14 Review of Chapters 6- 8
16 Review of Chapters 9-11
19
Final Exam: 10:15-12:15 in Room 318