Southern Illinois University

Lecture 1

In this lecture, we will discuss the over-all plan for the class, grading policies etc. A brief introduction to the materials will be given.

1.1 Course Content, Evaluation and Grading Policies
1.2 Basic Introduction to the Course Content
1.3 Few things to Note

1.1 Course Content
TEXT BOOK: Classical Dynamics of Particles and System- THORNTON and MARION (5th Edition)
COURSE CONTENT:

Chapter 2: Newtonian Mechanics - Single Particle
Chapter 3: Linear Oscillations
Chapter 5: Gravitation
Chapter 6: Calculus of Variations
Chapter 7: Lagrangean and Hamiltonian Dynamics
Chapter 8: Central Force Motion
Chapter 9: Systems of Particles
Chapter 10: Non-Linear Reference Frames
Chapter 11: Rigid Body Motion
Chapter 12: Coupled Oscillations

Evaluations:

Homework will be assigned from each chapter, and will be graded carefully. Solutions to the homework will be uploaded in this website.
There will be occasional in-class quizzes.
There will be two mid-term exams and a final exam.

Midterm Exam I (Chapters 2,3 & 5)
Midterm Exam II (Chapters 6, 7, 8, & 9)
Final Exam: Comprehensive

Grading:

Homework & Quizzes : 30%
Midterm Exam 1: 20%
Midterm Exam II : 20%
FInal Exam : 30%
Total : 100%

Final Grades:

A - 90% - 100%
B - 75% - 89%
C - 60% - 74%
D - 50% - 59%
F - Less than 50%

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1.2 Basic Introduction to the Course Content

In this lecture, we will give a brief introduction to Classical Mechanics.

What is Classical Mechanics and what are the goals of this course?

Classical mechanics is one of the most fundamental branches in Physics. The knowledge of classical machanics is applied in many other areas; even in small scale: for example, to understand molecular reactions, atomic vibrations etc. In PHYS 310, starting with the knowledge you have gained in earlier classes, we develop the knowledge of force, energy, angular momentum, torque etc.

Our goal is to understand the motion of objects. The world around us is a mixture of so many types of motions. These motions keep changing. Some stay in a (relatively) uniform motion. Some objects stop, speed up, slow down, take turns etc. We use the knowledge of force, energy, angular momentum, torque etc. to find out the details of motion of an object.

In this class we discuss how to evaluate the motion of an object quantitatively.

In particular, Can you evaluate the state of the object at a later time?. In other words, how does the state of the object evolve with time?

What information you need to find those details? What methods are available for this evaluation?.

This is basically the scope of the class. We will discuss different types of motions, such as Single Particle Motion, Oscillations, Central Force Motion, Rigid Body Motion, etc.

In order to get the information: The first thing we need to do is to gather the information and write the equation of motion. Few approaches are available in this task. Some approaches have their limitations. Depending on the nature of the problem, we have to select which approach is applicable. Once we write the equation of motion, we solve it for finding out the details of the motion, such that, we can know the state of an object at any given future time and at any given past time.

The methods we are going to discuss in the class are:

Kinematic Equations (Very quick review, This was done in the 205 class)
Newtonian Mechanics
Lagrangean Mechanics
Hamiltonian Mechanics

From the next lecture, we will be starting with Quick review of Kinematic Equations followed by the introduction to Newtonian Mechanics.

1.3 Few things to note

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Few Things to Note:

As we always tell, Physics classes should train the students for solving problems. The goal of this class is to give a student a thourough knowledge of Classical Mechanics and also to increase student's Problem Solving Skills.

I, as an instructor will bring up materials to motivate your interest. I will also utlize interactive computer simulations.

Ultimately, it is the Student's responsibility to get yourself engaged. Remember... Learning is an interaction in your Brain, I have less control over.

Try to attend every class. I solve lot of problems in the class. You can learn a lot by participating in classes. Remember, occassionally, there will be quizzes, that will count towards your grade.
If your Homework is 2-days late: you get only 50% of the grade for that particular Homework. After 2-days from the due date, no homework will be accepted.
You are encouraged to come to my office hours to clarify the problems.
I will occasionally use Mathematica to solve some problems, and sometimes I will have interactive simulations uploaded in the website. Instructions to work with Mathematica codes will be given separately for each of these simulations. Computers in the Physics Department Computer Labs have Mathematica installed. Come and talk to me, if you dont know how to access that.
On a personal note: After teaching this class for 2 semesters previously, I have learned one important thing.......

Starting the day at 8.00 am for 4 days per week, is the best way to effectively utiliize the time

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DEpartment of physics

THUSHARI Jayasekera - ASSistant Professor

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