University of Hawaii Physics 311  

Theoretical Mechanics II - Spring Semester 2015

Course Information and Syllabus


Classes: Monday,Wednesday and Friday 0930-1020 in 114 Watanabe Hall, UH Manoa

See schedule below.. updated 10 February 2015 (fixed Good Friday date)

Prerequisites:  Physics 151 or 170, and Math 232 (concurrent alright), and Physics 310 or equivalent (see instructor for exceptions).

General Information and Comments:

  1.  Newton's Laws of  Motion   
  2. Projectiles and Charged Particles
  3. Momentum and Angular Momentum
  4. Energy
  5. Oscillations
  6. Calculus of Variations
  7.  Lagranges's Equations
  8. Two-Body Central Force Problems
  9. Non-Inertial Frames
  10. Rotation of Rigid Bodies
  11. Coupled Oscillators and Normal Modes
  12. Chaos
  13. Hamiltonian mechanics
  14. Collision Theory
  15. Special Relativity
  16. Continuum Mechanics

 


Schedule: These dates and some problem numbers may change, but the schedule will remain roughly the same…

 

Month

Date

 Week

Day

Topic in Class

Assign due this Class Day

Assign #

Jan

12

1

Mon

Introduction  

 

   14

Wed

10

Read Chapter 10

 

16

Fri

10

10.2, 10.12

1

19

2

Mon

MLK Holiday

 

21

Wed

10

10.6,  10.16

2

23

Fri

10

10.18, 10.25

3

26

3

Mon

10

10.33, 10.38

4

28

Wed

10 

10.45, 10.47

5

30

Fri

10

10.55, 10.57

6

Feb

2

4

Mon

11

Read 11

 

4

Wed

11

11.1, 11.2

7

6

Fri

11

11.5, 11.12

8

9

5

Mon

11

11.14, 11.20

9

11

Wed

11

11.24, 11.29

10

13

Fri

11

11.32, 11.35

11

16

6

Mon

President’s Day

 

18

Wed

First mid-term

Chapts  10,11

 

20

Fri

12

Go over exam, Read Chapt. 12

 

23

7

Mon

12

12.1, 12.5

12

25

Wed

12

12.6, 12.7

13

27

Fri

12

12.10, 12.13

14

Mar

2

8

Mon

12

12.20, 12.27

15

4

Wed

12

12.32

16

6

Fri

13

Read 13

 

9

9

Mon

13

13.1, 13.3

17

11

Wed

13

13.7, 13.11

18

13

Fri

13

13.18, 13.23

19

16

10

Mon

13

13.25, 13.35, Read 14

20

18

Wed

14

14.1, 14.2, 14.7

21

20

Fri

14

14.9, 14.12, 14.18

22

23

x

Mon

Spring Break

 

25

Wed

Spring Break

 

27

Fri

Spring Break

 

30

12

Mon

14

14.20, 14.23

23

Apr

1

Wed

14

14.27, 14.29

24

3

Fri

Good Friday Holiday

 

6

12

Mon

Second Mid-Term

Chapts   12,13,14

 

8

Wed

15

15.2, 15.3, 15.5, 15.7

25

10

Fri

15

15.14, 15.28

26

13

13

Mon

15

15.35, 15.46, 15.48

27

15

Wed

15

15.53, 15.59, 15.78

28

17

Fri

15

15.79, 15.90, 15.109

29

20

14

Mon

16

Read 16

 

22

Wed

16

16.1, 16.2, 16.5

30

24

Fri

16

16.9, 16.12, 16.17

31

27

15

Mon

16

16.25, 16.26, 16.28

32

29

Wed

16

16.31, 16.32

33

May

1

Fri

16

16.36, 16.38

34

4

    16

Mon

Review

 

6

Wed

Last Class

 

8

Fri

Study Day

 

   11

    17

Mon

Exam Week

 

13

Wed

Exam Week

 

15

Fri

Final Exam

? 9:45-11:45 114 Watanabe Hall

 

 

Student Learning Outcomes-

 

At the successful completion of this course a student is expected to have:

1)       modest facility with the mathematical methods needed for this level of course;

2)       mastered Newtonian Mechanics;

3)       come to appreciate the importance of oscillations in phenomena, and

4)          carry out simple calculations with the simple harmonic oscillator;

5)       mastered first level applications in Newtonian gravitation;

6)       understood some methods in the Calculus of Variations;

7)       gotten beginning appreciation of, and facility with, Lagrangian Dynamics

8)       and perhaps most important, have made progress in learning to “think like a physicist’’.

 


teacher: Prof. John G. Learned
office: 327 Watanabe Hall, UHM
office phone: begin_of_the_skype_highlighting(808)-956-2964end_of_the_skype_highlighting

email: jgl  at phys.hawaii.edu
office hours: after class until lunch time, and other times by appointment.

Back to John Learned's Home Page

Department of Physics and Astronomy


Call

Send SMS

Add to Skype