This course emphasizes a systematic approach to the mathematical formulation of mechanics problems and to the physical interpretation of the mathematical solutions. Topics covered include: Newton's laws of motion, kinematics and dynamics of a single particle, vector analysis, motion of particles, and gravitation. Recommended background: PH 1110, PH 1120, PH 1130, PH 1140, MA 1021, MA 1022, MA 1023, MA 1024 and concurrent registration in or completion of MA 2051. (The more important courses are in bold.)

The concepts of PH 1110 serve you very well for PH 2201. The problems in this course are more challenging, however, and emphasis is placed on your problem-solving skills and effective communication of your solutions. PH 2201 problems tend to be very practically oriented. If you continue on to PH 2202, you will learn new, more theoretical physics.

The text is "Classical Mechanics", by J.R. Taylor, available in the bookstore. The supplementary text is "An Introduction to Mechanics", by Kleppner and Kolenkow. There will be a few copies of K&K on reserve in the Gordon Library, and as many copies as I can gather together in the Physics Library, in the care of Mrs. Malone. Give your WPI ID to her and ask to borrow one during business hours. PH 1111 students will also have copies.

We meet in OH 223 on MTThF at 9:00. Instructor: Professor NA Burnham, nab@wpi.edu.

Grading

Approach to assignments

Email

Before the second class, I would like you to buy the book, read this syllabus, log onto myWPI, print a copy each of the Reading Summaries, Computer Work, and the Homework Assignments, then email me (nab@wpi.edu) your answers to the following questions. Five homework points are at stake.

1.    What do you hope to learn from this course?
2.    What do you hope to do with this new knowledge?
3.    What are your previous math and physics courses?
4.    What is your goal for this course?
5.    Did you have any problems printing from myWPI?

Feel free to add anything else you would like me to know.

Reading summaries

Reading summaries provide you with a chance to preview upcoming material. Because the quality of hand writing varies so much, please use a word processor to typeset them. Each reading summary should be 300 to 600 words in length, with the word count listed at the end. Use no equations or symbols. Here is an example summary of Taylor Sections 1.1 to 1.5.

Mechanics is the study of motion. Its history dates from Galileo and Newton and was developed further by Lagrange and Hamilton. About a hundred years ago, scientists started to develop relativistic mechanics and quantum mechanics, and to distinguish among them, the traditional form of mechanics has become known as "Classical Mechanics".

Newton's famed three laws of motion are based upon ideas that concern space, time, mass, and force. Space can be described by coordinate systems, the simplest one being the cartesian coordinate system, which has three orthogonal axes. The position of an object can be determined by a position vector, and the next few pages of the text reviews vector algebra. After further reminders of time, reference frames, mass, and force, Newton's laws are introduced.

The First Law says that a particle moves with a constant velocity unless acted upon by an external force. The Second Law states the relationship between mass, a scalar, and acceleration, a vector. Their product equals the vector sum of all the forces acting on a particle. Since acceleration is the second derivative of position with respect to time, the Second Law is a differential equation. Newton's Laws hold in what are called inertial reference frames. They do not always hold for relativistic or quantum systems. Nonetheless, they are valid over a wide range of scales in size and speed and are thus worthy of study.

The Third Law states the relationship between "action" forces and "reaction" forces. They are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, but act on two different bodies. From the Third Law, which considers only one particle, one can construct a theory for many particles. Internal forces in a multiparticle system have no influence on the total momentum. In other words, if the external forces are constant, then momentum is conserved. Taylor gives an example where, apparently, the Third Law is violated, but then explains that mechanical momentum is not the only form of momentum. It can, for example, be electromagnetic. However, Taylor assures us that for the rest of his text, we will consider situations only in which the Third Law holds.

353 words

The list of reading summaries can be found at myWPI, under Assignments.

Computer work

Based on freshman mechanics, the computer work is a means for you to review introductory mechanics. If you get a significant number of the questions wrong, that is a warning! It means that you are missing fundamental concepts from Physics I. It is unlikely you will do well in this course if you are still learning last year's material. Take the time to review your freshman mechanics book, if needed. There are plenty of them in the physics library, OH 118, a good place to study. The doors of Olin Hall remain open until 21:00 during the week.

Download the computer work assignments from myWPI, under Documents. Please print a copy of each assignment to help you prepare to submit your responses at myWPI. There are ten multiple-choice questions for each of the seven assignments (ten possible points per assignment). You should bring the paper copies of the assignments to class, where we will go over the more difficult problems. You must submit your answers by 8:00 a.m. on the due date. If you have network problems, you may bring the answers to class on a piece of paper and submit them at the beginning of class. (Email answers not accepted.)

Homework assignments

There are eight homework sets of three problems each (fifteen possible points per assignment), none of which will be accepted late. If you can not or choose not to attend class, I expect to see your work in my mailbox (near the Physics Department office) at 9:00 the day that it is due. If you are not able to perform your homework on time, I still recommend that you do it, as exam problems will be similar. Far fewer problems are assigned than should be, due to limitations on grading time. The homework assignments are available under the Assignment section of PH 2201 at myWPI. I will give the grader the grading scheme above. You are encouraged to collaborate on the homework problems, but you must each write up your own solutions.

Summary for assignments (due dates given on calendar below):

Activity	Submission	#	Pts each	Total points
Email	email	1	5	5
RS	paper	7	5	35
CW	myWPI	7	10	70
HW	paper	8	15	120
			Total	230

Exams

Help

Communication and office hours

Syllabus

Educational research has shown that:

1. The most learning occurs in an environment characterized by high expectations and respect and care for individual students, and where the value of collaboration is stressed over competition.
2. The most learning occurs in an active classroom environment where students take responsibility for learning rather than being passive receptors of the professor’s knowledge.
3. Students can learn as effectively or more effectively from peers than from a professor.
4. Facilitating development of students’ communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills is as important as helping them learn physics.
5. Professors and students are equals in the learning process. I have as much to learn about teaching and people as they have to learn about physics.

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