UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-CLEAR LAKE

SYLLABUS – Spring 2014

PHYS 4231 Intermediate Mechanics

MW 5:30-6:50 PM Bayou 1311

INSTRUCTOR: David Garrison

OFFICE: BAYOU 3531-2

EMAIL: garrison@uhcl.edu

TELEPHONE: 281-283-3796

Course Description: This course is an undergraduate study of the classical motion of particles according to Newton’s Theory. In this course we study Rectilinear motion, Oscillations, Non-inertial Reference Systems, Central Forces, Systems on Particles and Rigid Body Motion.

Prerequisites: PHYS 3031 Univ. Phys. I

Textbook: Thornton & Marion, Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems, 5th Edition

Policies:

1. Office Hours: M W 2:30-5:30 pm and by appointment

2. Measurements: Two in-class exams & take-home problem sets

Date Percent

Problem Sets 25

Mid-term #1 Feb. 19 25

Mid-term #2 Apr. 2 25

Final May 5 25

3. Grading: The grade boundaries will be (whichever is lower):

A – 90% or more than one standard deviation above the mean

B – 80% or class average

C – 70% or one standard deviation below the mean

D – 65% or one and a half standard deviations below the mean

F – 60% or more than two standard deviations below the mean

Refined letter grade system, including “+” or “-“, will be used

4. Honesty Code: I will be honest in all my academic activities and will not tolerate dishonesty.

5. Make-ups: Make-up exams are not recommended. If you know ahead of time that you will be unable to attend an exam, please let me know in advance so that we can make other arrangements.

6. Disability Accommodation Statement: If you are certified as disabled and are entitled to accommodation under the ADA Act., sec 503, please see the instructor as soon as possible. If you are not currently certified and believe that you may qualify, please contact the Coordinator of Disabled Services, at 283-2627, in Health and Disability Services.

7. 6 Drop Rule Limitation: Students who entered college for the first time in Fall 2007 or later should be aware of the course drop limitation imposed by the Texas Legislature.  Dropping this or any other course between the first day of class and the census date for the semester/session does not affect your 6 drop rule count.  Dropping a course between the census date and the last day to drop a class for the semester/session will count as one of your 6 permitted drops.  You should take this into consideration before dropping this or any other course. Visit www.uhcl.edu/records for more information on the 6 drop rule and the census date information for the semester/session.

8. Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students should be able to solve problems in the areas listed below.

Week	Topic	Chapter(s)
1	Intro, Vector Analysis review	TM1
2	Vector Analysis, Newtonian Mechanics	TM1, TM2
3	Energy Conservation	TM2
4	Oscillations	TM3
5	Non-linear Oscillations, Chaos	TM4
6	Gravitation, Exam #1	TM5
7	Calculus of Variations, Lagrangian Dynamics	TM6, TM7
8	Generalized Coordinates & Hamiltonian Dynamics	TM7
9	Spring Break – no class
10	Canonical Equations of Motion, Viral Theroem	TM7
11	Central Force Motion, Orbital Dynamics	TM8
12	Dynamics of a System of Particles, Exam #2	TM8, TM9
13	Collision, Scattering Cross Section	TM9
14	Motion in a Noninertial Frame, Coriolis Effect	TM10
15	Dynamics of Rigid Bodies	TM11
16	Euler Angles	TM11