Course:PHYS216/Syllabus

Course Outline

This is an approximate schedule of topics we will discuss. It may change as the course progresses.

Week 1: Review of units, vector algebra, velocity, acceleration, Newton’s laws

Week 2: One-dimensional motion, harmonic oscillator, potentials, turning points

Week 3: Rigid pendulum, damped and driven oscillators, resonance

Week 4: Three-dimensional motion, curvilinear coordinates, vector operators

Week 5: Non-inertial frames, Coriolis force

Week 6: Newtonian gravity, Kepler’s Laws

Week 7: Two-body motion, scattering, effective potential

Week 8: Planar motion of solid bodies

Week 9: Formulation of Lagrangian mechanics

Week 10: Examples of Lagrangian mechanics

Week 11: Coupled oscillators, normal mode, eigenvalues, vibrating systems

Week 12: Introduction to the Hamiltonian formulation of mechanics

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to

- Set up and solve problems involving forces and motion by applying vector calculus

- Apply Newtonian mechanics and Kepler's laws to solve problems in celestial mechanics

- Understand and apply conservation laws and conservative forces

- Solve problems involving damped and forced oscillations, resonance and coupled oscillators

- Understand the concepts of rigid body motion and apply these to solve problems involving angular kinematics and dynamics

- Understand the principle of least action, and the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of mechanics

Tutorials

Students will be required to attend one tutorial per week. These will include help in setting up and solving complex problems, and also short biweekly quizzes.

Homework

Homework assignments will be posted at the beginning of each week and will be due the following week. They will test the student's problem-solving ability.

Grading scheme

Homework (weekly, individual) 20%

Tutuorial quizzes (biweekly, individual) 10%

Midterm exam (individual) 20%

Final exam (individual) 50%