PHYS 60203

PHYS 60203 - Classical Mechanics Spring 2018

Lectures: TR 9:30 AM - 10:50 AM @ SWR 313

Instructor: Dr. Yuri M. Strzhemechny

Office: SWR 373

Phone: 817-257-5793

Web: http://personal.tcu.edu/ystrzhemechn/

Office Hours: T 8:00-8:50 AM, F 4:00-6:00 PM & by appointment

Recommended textbook: “Classical Mechanics”, 3rd Edition, by Herbert Goldstein, Charles P. Poole, Jr., and John L. Safko (ISBN: 0201657023), Publisher: Addison-Wesley

Lecture notes and assignments will be distributed via the internet (including TCU Online).

Course Description: This is a one-semester graduate-level physics course covering such aspects of classical mechanics as Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms, central force problem, rigid body motion, small oscillations, deterministic chaos, special theory of relativity, etc. We will cover most of the textbook chapters plus some extra material that will be distributed in class.

Grading: The course grades will be determined as follows:

A: 100 – 90 pts., B: 89.9 – 80 pts., C: 79.9 – 70 pts., D: 69.9 – 55 pts., F: 54.9 and below.

Homework-based quizzes: 15 %

Test 1: 20 %

Test 2: 20 %

Test 3: 20 %

Final Exam: 25 %

One-problem quizzes (very similar to the homework problems) will be given during the semester and will include homework material from previous weeks. Final exam will be cumulative, but the emphasis will be given to the chapters not covered by the three tests. The tests and the final will contain conceptual questions and problems. Make-up tests will be provided to students having an Official University Absence. Students with valid reasons for missed tests (e.g. doctor's note) will have to contact me regarding make-up tests as early as possible.

Homework: It is crucial for you to learn how to apply conceptual knowledge for problem solving. The textbook provides solid guidelines for you to acquire this skill. You are strongly encouraged to go through the solutions of all the relevant sample problems. In addition, for each chapter, I will supply a number of problems for your homework. It is in your best interest to solve those problems in a timely manner for several reasons. First, it will provide additional training in self-education. Second, homework problems will be very similar (sometimes identical) to those given in the quizzes. Third, homework problems will be related to those offered in the tests and in the final. If you are having difficulty solving the homework problems you may want to contact me during my office hours. It is in your best interest not to copy the homework from your peers, although a certain degree of creative cooperation is OK.

You will have an option of getting up to 10% of additional credit for an extracurricular research. Such assignments will be given on request from a pool of topics on a ‘lottery’ basis.

Academic Misconduct: I would like to remind you about policies and procedures regarding your rights as well as responsibilities that are published in the TCU Code of Student Conduct. You may have a paper copy but it is also available online at https://tcu.codes. Specifically I would like you to review sections dealing with academic misconduct, i.e. cheating, plagiarism, etc.

Disabilities statement: Texas Christian University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 regarding students with disabilities. Eligible students seeking accommodations should contact the Coordinator of Student Disabilities Services in the Center for Academic Services located in Sadler Hall, 11. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodations. Further information can be obtained from the Center for Academic Services, TCU Box 297710, Fort Worth, TX 76129, or at (817) 257-7486.

Adequate time must be allowed to arrange accommodations and accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible in the academic term for which they are seeking accommodations. Each eligible student is responsible for presenting relevant, verifiable, professional documentation and/or assessment reports to the Coordinator. Guidelines for documentation may be found at http://www.acs.tcu.edu/disability_documentation.asp.

Students with emergency medical information or needing special arrangements in case a building must be evacuated should discuss this information with their instructor/professor as soon as possible.