This course will introduce students to the general principles of classical mechanics with an introduction to Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics. Lectures will be used for discussion and presentations by myself and students of the ideals presented in the text. I will use Maple 13 software at times to illustrate the behavior of dynamic systems. It is important to be familiar with the computational techniques that modern computers have made possible. Use of Maple in this course will help to achieve this goal.
There are reading assignments from the textbook for each lecture period. The reading assignments can be found on the class calendar. Simply click on the lecture for each day to see the reading assignment. You are responsible for the reading. We will spend class time discussing as much of the reading material as possible. We will not have time to discuss everything in the reading.
Homework assignments will be posted for each chapter on the course calendar. You will be responsible for completing these assignments. The best way to improve in any activity is to practice. Homework problems are practice in the Physics world. The homework assignments will be fairly expansive. You will have ample time for each assignment. We will use the homework assignments to drive some classroom discussion. The homework assignment will also provide exam ideas. Do not wait until the last minute to begin an assignment. There are Computer Problems at the end of each chapter. You will receive at least one of these on each assignment. Maple is available in the Mathematics Department computer lab.
There is no laboratory component to this course. However, you should treat the homework assignments as a laboratory assignment. Simply writing down mathematical expressions is not enough. You need to explain in writing what you have done and why you have done it. This will help to develop understanding. It takes longer, but it also tends to stick longer too.
I encourage you to use Maple on the home work when you can. See me for information on obtaining a student copy of this software. I caution you to make sure that you understand what the program is doing. Do not use Maple as a black box that you ask a question and out pops an answer. This will not help you to learn. I also encourage you to work together on the home work. You will find that you can learn a lot from your fellow students. Again this comes with a caution; if you use your classmates to get your homework done and do not contribute, you will gain very little from the exercise.
I want you to keep a "Homework" journal. All of your solutions to the assigned problems need to be kept (in order) in a three ring binder. I will periodically pick this up to check it for completeness (do you have a solution worked out for each assigned problem)? I will also check over the work to assure that you are including the "physics" of the answer as well as the mathematics. Some of the homework problems will be presented in class. You can use your journal at these times for reference. If you are using Maple for your homework, you will be able tom maintain an electronic journal. Keep in mind that you will need the ability to "draw a picture" at times that you will need to import into your Maple journal. There is a very nice drawing package included as part of the Open Office suite of programs. They are free and can be used inj place of the most current MS Office suite. This package will allow you to draw your picture and save it as a .jpg file.
Your homework grade will be determined partly by your journal, partly by your performance on problems presented in class, and partly on your score on randomly selected problems. I will randomly select problems from each assignment to scrutinize more closely. These will not be problems presented in class.
There will be 3 exams during the semester. The dates for the exams are noted on the calendars on the course web sites. You should plan to be here on those days. Each of these exams will have a take-home component. Your exam score (45% of your grade) will be the average of the three exams. The final exam will be a comprehensive in-class/take-home exam. The final exam will count for 20% of the final grade.
We will use the last chapter covered (Chapter 12) as inspiration for group projects. Groups of three or four students will work on a 40 minute presentation covering material in two (or more) of the sections in Chapter 12. Your presentation must draw from sources beyond the textbook. The library has a large number of books that can be used as references. Presentations will be made during the last three lectures. Your presentation format is flexable. Projectors will be available is requested. A bibliography will be due prior to the project presentations.
There will be extensive classroom participation points given for in-class activities. These will make-up 15% of your grade. If you are not in class you will not get the points. There is no make-up for classroom participation.
Grade Scale |
90 |
- |
100 |
A |
|
|
|
|
Grade Makeup |
|
Tutorials |
15% |
|
80 |
- |
89 |
B |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Homework |
30% |
|
65 |
- |
79 |
C |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Take-Home Exams |
35% |
|
50 |
- |
64 |
D |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Final Exam |
20% |
|
49 |
- |
0 |
F |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I will expect you to be in class every day. There may be times when you are unable to attend. If you know this ahead of time, let me know. I will not take attendance in lecture (except during the first week). I will keep records for class participation, and if you are not in class you will not receive credit.
The policies and procedures detailed in the UCA 2006-2007 Student handbook (www.uca.edu/divisions/student/handbook/) are also part of this syllabus. Particularly, but not limited to, those pertaining to Academic Policies (beginning on page 37 of the handbook) and the Sexual Harassment Policy (beginning on page 118 of the handbook).
The University of Central Arkansas adheres to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you need an accommodation under the Act due to a disability, contact the UCA Office of Disability Support Services at 450-3613, Student Health Suite 212 (www.uca.edu/disability).