SYLLABUS FOR PHY630/PHY330 – Classical Mechanics
Fall 2010
Time: MWF 10:00-10:50 AM
Location: S281
Instructor
Thomas E Wilson, Ph.D.
Office: S153
Lab: S154
Phone: (304) 696-2752
Email: wilsont@marshall.edu
Office Hours
(Tentatively) MWF 3-4 pm
If you are unable to make these times, I am happy to meet with you at any time when I am not
preparing for class or in class (teaching schedule will be posted on my door).
Text
th
Classical Dynamics, 3 ed., Goldstein, Poole and Safko, Addison-Wesley Publishing.
(ISBN: 0-201-65702-3) Most of the homework will be drawn from the text, with some
ancillary material taken from other sources. We will plan to cover the first eight chapters
in succession.
Overview
The goals of this course are twofold. First we wish to make the student familiar with the
techniques and methods of solving problems in classical mechanics. The level of the course
will be aimed at students who have completed the introductory calculus-based physics sequence
and an undergraduate course in classical mechanics. In particular we will pay attention to the
areas of classical mechanics that are relevant to other areas of physics. For example,
Hamiltonian mechanics forms the foundation for quantum mechanics. The second goal of the
course is to introduce the student to advanced mathematical methods and problem-solving
techniques that will be useful in areas of physics outside of classical mechanics.
Attendance
Attendance of all class meetings is expected, but allowance will be made for extenuating
circumstances. Students are responsible for material presented in lecture, whether they are in
attendance or not.
Special Needs
Students with special needs (as documented by the Office of Disability Services) should identify
themselves at the beginning of the semester. Every effort will be made to accommodate the
special needs of these students.
Disruptive Behavior
Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that creates a productive learning
environment for all members of the class. To this end, disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.
Disruptive behavior is any behavior that interferes with the normal conduct of lecture,
including sleeping. In particular, electronic devices (cell phones, pagers, etc.) should be turned
off before entering the class.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to abide by the following statement on academic honesty:
Learning and teaching take place best in an atmosphere of intellectual fair-minded
openness. All members of the academic community are responsible for
supporting freedom and openness through rigorous personal standards of honesty
and fairness. Plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty undermine the
very purpose of the university and the value of an education.
Complete information on the academic integrity policy can be obtained from the Dean of
Students.
Withdrawal
Students may withdraw from the course with no record by 4 pm August 27th at the Registrar’s
office. Students may withdraw from the course and receive a W on their transcript before October
29th. Students who are considering withdrawing from the course are encouraged to discuss their
standing with me first.
Lecture
This will be a traditional ‘talk and chalk’ based lecture (little to no use of in-class PC).
However, one of the things I hope to do is to use software to do numerical calculations. The
plan is to use MathCad as the software package; in order to do this; we will also need to discuss
numerical methods of solving differential equations.
Grades
Grades for the course will be determined as follows:
Homework: 10%
In-class exams (3) 3*20%
Final exam 30%
A = 90% or above, B=80% or above, C=70% or above, D=60% or above,
F=less than 60%
Homework
Homework will be assigned weekly and will be due approximately one week after it is
assigned. Although you might benefit by very general discussions of homework problems
with others, you should realize this is meant to be a solo effort with no collaboration on the
details of obtaining problem solution with other students. Problem solutions should be
presented in a legible, coherent manner on stapled, standard size paper. The process of solving
the problem should be explained along with any calculations that are done. If the calculation
is done on a computer, the program used should be discussed as well, and results interpreted
in light of the physics involved. Most assigned problems will be taken from end of the chapter
from the text, but there will be additional problems based on material discussed in class.
Exams
There will be three in-class exams during the semester, along with the final. The dates for the
exams (all on Mondays) are given below.
Exam 1: September 20th
Exam 2: October 18th
Exam 3: November 15th
Final Exam: December 13th (10:15-12:15)
The exam format will be closed book, and the student will be asked to solve problems similar to the
problems assigned for homework.