PHY3221: Intermediate Mechanics - Spring 2009

The course is aimed mainly at physics majors, for whom this course is the first ‘serious’ mechanics course. As such, the material covered in this course will be assumed knowledge for many of your future physics courses, some of which will develop the ideas that you have met here further. Students are therefore expected to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the concepts that they encounter in this course.

In this course, we will be attempting to analyze mechanical systems (as opposed to memorising them), beginning with systems consisting of a single particle. To do this, we will use certain tools. Among these tools, several branches of mathematics, including arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus, are indispensable. You are therefore expected to be comfortable with each of these areas in order to use them to solve physics problems.

Syllabus

• Title: Intermediate Mechanics, Physics 3221, Section 1, 3 credit hours
• Semester: Spring 2009
• Course Reference No.: 03716
• Instructor: Dr. W. Roberts
  • Room 605 Keen Building
  • (850) 644-2223
  • wroberts@fsu.edu
• Classroom: HCB 310.
• Time: 10:10 to 11:00, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
• Office Hours: (subject to change) Monday, Wednesday, 11:15-1:15, or by appointment
• Tuturial Session: Tuesday, 5 - 6 PM

Textbooks

Other references may be found on page 628 of the text by Thornton and Marion, and on page 595 of the text by Symon.

• S. T Thornton and J. B. Marion, Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems, Fifth

Edition , Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning, California, 2004.

• K. R. Symon, Mechanics. Some material for the course, as well as some of the homework problems, will be taken from the text by Symon.
• E. Butkov, Mathematical Physics.
• G. Arfken, Mathematical Methods For Physicists.

Grades

• Homework 30%
• 2 Mid-Term Quizzes - 30%
  • Closed book, no calculators, with a single “cheat sheet”, 8 1/2” × 11”, allowed
  • Friday, February 6th, 2009
  • Friday, March 20th, 2009
  • No ‘make-up’ examinations will be given.
• Final Exam - 40%
  • Monday, April 27th, 2009, 5:30 to 7:30, HCB 310
  • The final exam will also be closed book, no calculators, with a single ‘cheat-sheet’ (8.5” × 11”) allowed.

Topics

• Coordinate systems and vectors
• Newton’s Laws
• Galilean transformation and inertial coordinate systems
• Noninertial coordinate systems
• Principle of relativity
• One-dimensional particle dynamics
• Conservation of energy, conservative forces
• Falling bodies
• Linear and nonlinear oscillating systems
• Energy balance in damped oscillating systems
• Forced oscillator, transient and driven response
• Mechanical resonance, phase and amplitude response
• Principle of superposition
• Two- and three-dimensional particle dynamics
• Coordinate systems and vectors
• Gradient, divergence, curl
• Conservative forces in 3D
• Conservation of energy and the work-energy theorem
• Planar kinematics
• Three-dimensional kinematics
• Conservation laws: linear momentum, angular momentum, energy
• Central forces, center-of-mass coordinates
• Properties of central forces, specific examples
• Inverse-square central force, Kepler’s laws, classification of orbits
• Systems of particles
• Conservation laws for linear and angular momentum, energy
• Specific examples, variable mass systems
• Classical gravitation
• Center of gravity
• Gravitational fields and potentials
• Fields from general mass distributions