PHY 3221 : Intermediate Mechanics

Lectures: 9:05-9:55, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, in UPL 110.

Professor : Laura Reina, 510 Keen Building, 644-9282, e-mail: click here

Texts :

J.B. Marion and S.T. Thornton, Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems , Fourth Edition (Saunders College Publishing, 1995).
R.L. Greene, Classical Mechanics with Maple (Springer-Verlag, 1995). This text is listed as optional. I will be handing out notes which will detail how to use Maple to solve mechanics problems; you might find the additional material in this book useful.

Topics covered in this course

Objectives of this course

Prerequisites : PHY 2048C.

Corequisites : MAP 2302 or MAP 3305.

Office Hours. Thursday, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. You are also welcome to contact me whenever you have questions.

E-Mail. You can always contact me by E-mail. This is maybe the quickest way to get an answer on a specific problem, since I read my electronic mail frequently. Therefore I encourage all students to obtain a computer account with access to E-mail. ACNS should be able to provide everybody with an account. Moreover, all Physics majors can get a computer account from Prof. Wahl (Keen 512).

Homework.

Assignments. There will be one set of homeworks per week, assigned each Friday and collected at the beginning of class the next Friday. Solutions will be posted on this Web page the day of collection, so no late homework will be accepted except for excused absences (see below). I will normally return the corrected homework on Wednesdays. Since a significant portion of your final grade will come from the weekly assignments, the homework will be accepted and graded only if written in a neat and orderly fashion, and if the answers are justified by showing complete work. Here is an updated summary of the Homework grades. The homework can be done individually or in working groups, as long as everybody contribute and write out his/her own solution. It is important that everybody attempt the problems before asking a colleague or the instructor how to do it.

Using Maple.

In some cases you will be required to solve your homework using the algebraic manipulation and calculus capabilities of the Maple package. Maple will also be a useful tool in visualizing the solutions of some homework problems and you will have to do that when requested. Maple is installed on all the ACNS PC's on campus. Please let me know of any problem you may have in using Maple. Maple tutorials and more informations are available on the this Web Page.

Exams and Grades.

Tests. There will be two 50-minute midterm tests during regular class time, tentatively scheduled for Friday, Febrary 21 (here is the text and the solutions of the First Midterm Exam) and Monday, March 31 (here is the text and the solutions of the Second Midterm Exam). The second test will cover only the material covered in class since the first test. Both tests will consist of a few problems that has not been solved in class or assigned in any homework. A makeup for Midterm n.1 has been assigned on Friday, March 21 (find the text and the solutions here). Here is an updated summary of the Exam grades.

Final. The final exam is scheduled for Wednesday, April 30 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. (here is the text and the solutions of the Final Exam). It will cover all the material of the course, with more emphasis on the material presented since the second test. Here is a check list of topics that you want to review for the Final Exams. The problems given in the final exams of the last five years have been distributed in class, here are some of the Solutions. The remaining solutions are written on the copies made available in class.

Grading. Your grade will be 40% for the homework, 15% for each of the midterm tests and 30% for the final exam. Attendance, partecipation, and improvement will also be considered in defining small adjustements to your final grade. Approximately, the final grades will be determined as follows:

100-85% A or A-
84-70% B- to B+, or above
69-55% C- to C+, or above
54-40% D, or above
39-0% F, or above
Here is a s ummary of your grades, including your overall letter grade.

Attendance. A responsive and active attendance to class is highly recommended. I will keep track of and use it in determining the final grade for those cases that fall on the borderline between to grade ranges.

Absence. Please inform me in advance of any excused absence (e.g., religious holiday) on the day an assignment is due. If the absence is known in advance, you can hand the homework in early. In case of unexpected absences, due to illness or other serious problems, we will discuss the modality with which you will turn in any missed assignment on a case by case basis.

Tutoring. The Physics Department provides tutors; the schedule is given below. A list of graduate students who tutor for pay is available on the bulletin board outside of 307 Keen Building.

Monday and Tuesday : 5:30-7:30pm, UPL 105 -- Eddy Yusuf

Assistance. Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should: 1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC); 2) bring a letter to me from SDRC indicating you need academic accommodations and what they are. This should be done within the first week of class. This and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.

Honor Code. Students are expected to uphold the Academic Honor Code published in the Florida State University Bulletin and the Student Handbook. The first paragraph reads: The Academic Honor System of Florida State University is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility (1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work, (2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and (3) to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community.