Physics 105A, Fall 2012
Analytical Mechanics:
Class Announcements
28 June 2016
Manuel Calderón de la Barca Sánchez
Announcements

Course Instructor:
Manuel Calderón de la Barca Sánchez:
– calderon@physics.ucdavis.edu
– Office Hours: W 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Phy 395
TA Rylan Conway
– Office Hours W 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM Phy 393 or 395

Course web page kept on smartsite
http://smartsite.ucdavis.edu
Syllabus and course details are found there.
 Text: Introduction to Classical Mechanics

David Morin
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
To be covered this quarter
Analytical Mechanics: From Newton to Lagrange
General Strategies for Solving Problems
Statics
Newton’s 2nd Law, differential eq., motion
Oscillations, SHO, Damped Oscillator, Coupled
oscillators
Conservation of energy, gravity, collisions
Lagrange approach
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– Hamilton’s Principle of Stationary Action, EulerLagrange Equations
– Generalized coordinates
– Constraints
– Noether’s Theorem.: Symmetry and Conservation Laws
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What to Expect
 Analytical Mechanics deals with some of the most basic,
fundamental concepts in Physics.
mass, length, time, Energy/Momentum conservation.
 In this course, you will strengthen the understanding
of many of the concepts you have learned.
 Reading and coming to lecture: necessary, but not
sufficient.
Solving problems :
part of learning.
This is where you really learn Physics.
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Problem Solving
 In previous classes, you have learned how to use a tool.
Geometry, Trigonometry, Algebra, Calculus, Differential
Equations, Linear Algebra...
 Here, challenge is to understand a Physical system.
It will be up to you to choose the right tool.
 No shortcuts to learn this!
There is no substitute for experience, for doing it yourself.
Would you get stronger at any skill without hard work?
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Grading

Homework :
1 Problem set per week, to be handed in on Thursdays.
Most important part of the course, and of your grade.

Midterm
November 1, 2012

Final Exam: Dec 12, 3:30-5:30 PM

Due to size of class, no makeup exams. Make sure you have no
conflicts!

Final Score out of 100 point scale:
40% Homework + 30% Midterm + 30% Final Exam = 100%
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105A Grade Distribution
 Past 5 Years, 301 grades
105 A Grade Distribution
35.0%
30.0%
Percentage
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
A
B
C
Grade
D
 Exams are designed to be challenging.
There is a difference between good and great.
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F
Reality check: Hard work is good!
 Data from 2007-2011: 301 students.
 Strong correlation between Homework and Final Exam.
105A Final Exam vs Homework, By Grade
120
100
80
A
B
60
C
D
40
F
20
0
0.0
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20.0
40.0
60.0
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80.0
100.0
120.0
The A’s
 Out of 301 Students:
 51 A’s : 17%
9 A+
14 A,
28 A-
105A Final Exam vs Homework, By Grade
120
100
80
60
A
40
20
0
0.0
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20.0
40.0
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60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
The B’s
 Out of 230 Students:
 92 B’s : 31%
30 B+
30 B
32 B-
105A Final Exam vs Homework, By Grade
120
100
80
60
B
40
20
0
0.0
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20.0
40.0
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60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
The C’s
 Out of 230 Students:
 59 C’s : 26%
23 C+
20 C
16 C-
105A Final Exam vs Homework, By Grade
120
100
80
60
C
40
20
0
0.00
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20.00
40.00
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60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
The D’s
 Out of 230 Students:
 34 D’s : 15%
16 D+
11 D
7 D-
105A Final Exam vs Homework, By Grade
120
100
80
60
D
40
20
0
0.0
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20.0
40.0
MCBS
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
The results are in...
 Those working hard at homework, are those who do well.
 Make no mistake, this will be hard work for most of you
But that’s because you can take it.
– only 7.8% of the world’s population has a college degree.
 (age 15+, 4.7 B people)
– 14.8% has no schooling.
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Welcome
to
the
real
world
World Educational Attainment
Population Aged 15+, 4.7B
Barro-Lee, 2012
30.0%
25.9%
25.0%
Percentage
20.4%
20.0%
15.0%
17.3%
14.8%
10.0%
7.3%
6.4%
7.8%
5.0%
0.0%
No
Schooling
Primary,
Primary Secondary, Secondary Tertiary,
Tertiary
not
Completed
not
Completed not comp Completed
completed
Completed
Highest Educational Level Attained
14.2% of world pop. age 15+ reached college.
 In the US, only 0.4% of all college degrees are in Physics.

Physics degrees: 2% out of Natural Science, Math, Engineering.
Source: American Institute of Physics
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Are you in the èlite 1%?
 If you are taking Physics in college, you are the 0.057% !
 You are the chosen few.
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My job, your choice
You are among the few who can understand “the language in
which the universe is written.” (G. Galilei)
 Walking in the footsteps of Newton, Galileo, Lagrange, is not
easy...

but ask yourself, why are you in this class? because it’s easy??
If I am not pushing you to your limit, I would not be doing my job.

Working hard and getting better: that’s the point! Choice is yours.
You can decide not to work hard...
– you can choose not to get any better.
Or you can decide to realize your potential.
Rise to the challenge:
to give your best in a tough,
but hopefully rewarding, Physics class.
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