University of Hawaii Physics 310  

Theoretical Mechanics I - Fall Semester 2012

Course Information and Syllabus


Classes: Tuesday and Thursday 0900-1015 in 114 Watanabe Hall, UH Manoa

See schedule below.. update 18 October 2012… see change in second exam date

Prerequisites:  Physics 151 or 170, and Math 232 (concurrent alright), 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

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

Aug

21

1

Tues

Introduction     

Read Chapt. 1

23

Thur

Chapter 1

1- 10, 13, 19, 22

28

2

Tues

1

1- 23, 24, 25, 36

30

Thur

 1 

 1- 41, 45, 48

Sep

4

3

Tues

2

2- 1, 5, 7, 11

6

Thur

2

2- 12, 13, 14, 15

11

4

Tues

2

2-18, 24, 27, 28

13

Thur

3 - 1, 2, 4, 8, 11

18

5

Tues

3

3 - 13, 21, 25

20

Thur

3

3 - 27, 31, 35

25

6

Tues

4

4- 2, 3, 4, 8, 15, 26

27

Thur

4

4 - 31, 34, 36, 41, 46

Oct

2

7

Tues

Review

4

Thur

First mid-term

Chapts 1-4

9

8

Tues

5

11

Thur

5

5 - 2, 5, 6, 7

16

9

Tues

5

5 - 12, 13, 26, 29, 35

18

Thur

6

5 - 43, 44, 45, 50

23

10

Tues

6

6 - 1, 2, 5 ,11

25

Thur

6

6 - 24, 25, 27

30

11

Tues

Review

Nov

1

Thur

Second Mid-Term

Chapters 5-6

6

12

Tues

Election Day Off

8

Thur

7

7- 2, 8, 9, 14

13

13

Tues

7

7- 21, 22, 23

15

Thur

7

7 – 29, 31, 44, 51

20

14

Tues

8

8 - 3, 5, 6

22

Thanksgiving

27

15

Tues

8

8 - 12, 15, 17

29

Th

8

8 - 18, 22, 25

Dec

4

16

Tu

8

8 - 28, 30, 35

6

Th

Review

Chapters 1-8

13

17

0945 - 1145

Final Exam, Chapters 1-8


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 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: (808)-956-2964
email: jgl  at phys.hawaii.edu
office hours: after class, until lunch time, and other times by appointment.

Grader:  TBA

Back to John Learned's Home Page

Department of Physics and Astronomy