This course will be administered via Canvas.

Instructor: Charles Torre , SER 232, 797-3426, Charles.Torre@usu.edu

Lectures: T-TH, 1:30 – 2:45, Engineering 201

Office Hours: TBA

Help Session: TBA

Text:  "Newton, Lagrange, and Hamilton: A Course in Particle Mechanics", by Mark Riffe.  To be Distributed via the Physics Office in January.

Final Exam:  Thursday, May 4, 1:30 pm – 3:20 pm

Goals: After completing this course you should:

• have a working knowledge of the Newtonian formulation of mechanics and an introductory knowledge of Lagrangian & Hamiltonian formulations of mechanics;

• begin to be well-versed in a suite of exactly soluble dynamical systems (e.g., the harmonic oscillator, the 2-body central force system, etc.);

• begin to have a solid understanding of conservation laws and their utility;

• begin to be proficient in mapping mechanical systems to mathematical representations and analyzing the resulting mathematical models;

• begin to be proficient with certain features of analytic geometry, vector analysis and ordinary differential equations;

• begin to be proficient in scientific exposition.

Miscellaneous information:

•  The plan is to cover: Newtonian mechanics, conservation laws, important soluble systems, variational principles, Lagrangian mechanics, Hamiltonian mechanics.

• My teaching strategy for this course will be to assist you in working through the text, with the principal goal being to solve the various assigned problems. 

* A good supplementary text is "Classical Mechanics" by Taylor. 

• There will be a number of problem sets. Your primary goal in this course is to solve these problems using material given in the lectures and in the text, additional references, collaboration with your colleagues, etc.  I cannot over-emphasize the importance of problem solving experience to the learning of classical mechanics (or any other subject in physics, for that matter). To help you agree with me, the bulk of your grade will come from exams which come directly from your homework. Don't neglect it!

• Your grade will be determined according to the following approximate scheme: Quizzes - 10%, Exams 90%. 
 
• Keep an eye on the Canvas web site, particularly the Announcements, for useful information.

Honor Code

The honor code will be strictly enforced in this course. Any suspected violations of the honor code will be promptly reported to the honor system. For more information please visit: http://www.usu.edu/policies/PDF/Acad-Integrity.pdf 

Disability Resource Center

            Students with ADA-Documented physical, sensory, emotional or medical impairments may be eligible for reasonable accommodations. Veterans may also be eligible for services. All accommodations are coordinated through the Disability Resource Center (DRC) in Room 101 of the University Inn. (435)797-2444 voice, (435)797-0740 TTY, (435)797-2444 VP, or toll free at 1-800-259-2966. Please contact the DRC as early in the semester as possible. Alternate format materials (Braille, large print or digital) are available with advance notice.