CLASSICAL MECHANICS I, PHYSICS 321
FALL, 2023

Instructor: Scott Pratt
prattsc@msu.edu
FRIB #2133
(517) 908-7460

Scott's Photo

TIME AND PLACE
Lectures (3:00-3:50 PM):
Mon., BPS 1300 (not Aug. 28 or Sep. 18)
Wed. and Fri, BPS 1420 (plus Mon. Aug. 28 and Sep. 18)
Sep. 11, Nov. 6,8,10 ZOOM (instructor out of town): https://msu.zoom.us/j/91620681945?
(Password will be emailed)
Office Hours:
M,W,F 4-5:30 PM, #2133 FRIB
or by appointment
GRADESCOPE: for turning in homework, group work and project
TA, HW Grader
Joshua Nicholson, nicho732@msu.edu
LA, Exercise Grader
Kai Kurobe, kurobeka@msu.edu

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
  • HW assignments and dates are subject to change.
  • Dr. Pratt will be out of town Sep. 11,12 and Nov. 6,8,10.

    GRADING AND CALENDAR:

    There are two tiers of grading scales. Tier I grading does not use any of the exams (but does use corrections). Students can earn up to a 3.0 grade on Tier I alone. For grades of 3.5 or 4.0, students need to satisfy Tier II criteria. The second tier includes exams.
    TIER I Grading Criteria

    Homework

    35%

    Due on Wednesdays on Gradescope. Late assignments allowed until Dec. 10 but penalized 50%. Final HW grade based on 90% of possible HW points but capped at 100%.

    In-Class Group Exercises (Mondays)

    35%

    Due Friday at class time of that week on Gradescope, unless otherwise stated. One paper (with all names) per group. Final Group Work grade based on 90% of possible Group Work points but capped at 100%.

    Midterm and Final Corrections

    10%

    Corrections due on Gradescope following Wednesday by 3PM. No late submissions considered. If corrections grade is lower than midterm grade, midterm grade will be substituted.

    Programming Project

    10%

    Due Dec. 10 by email to Dr. Pratt. Each student turns in unique work, but students allowed to talk to one another. Posted later in semester.

    Final-Study Presentation

    5%

    Groups of 2-3 will be assigned along with times. Groups will create and present problem in class, along with emailing PDF to Dr. Pratt by presentation date (last 1-2 weeks of class).

    Office Hour Attendance

    5%

    Each student must visit Office Hours at least twice by October 1st.


    TIER I SCALE: 3.0(80%), 2.5(70%), 2.0(60%), 1.5(50%), 1.0(40%).

    TIER II Grading Criteria

    Midterms

    30% each

    Dates: Fri. Sep. 29 and Fri. Nov. 10

    Final

    40%

    Date: Mon. Dec. 11, 3-5PM, Location: BPS 1420

    Scoring about 50% on Tier II grade raises grade from Tier I by 0.5.
    Scoring about 75% on Tier II grade raises grade from Tier I by 0.5.
    For example, if one has 3.0 on Tier I grade, one can earn a final grade of 3.5 by earning 50% of Tier II points and can earn 4.0 by earning 75% of Tier II points.
    PRETEST
    A pretest will be given during lecture, Wednesday, August 30th. Up to 2% of extra credit can be earned toward the non-exam portion of your grade.
    DETAILS AND DATES:
  • HW Solutions are posted before due date, but it is highly recommended to first try yourself before using solutions.
  • Aside from midterms and final, students are encouraged to collaborate with one another on all assignments, including exam corrections and programming project.


  • SUGGESTED TEXTS:
    John R. Taylor, Classical Mechanics (Univ. Sci. Books 2005)
    S.T. Thornton and J.B. Marion, Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems (Cengage Learning 2021)
    Detailed lecture notes are provided but tend to be quite succinct, so a text should be useful. Plus, it is good to read material from multiple authors.

    LECTURE NOTES:

    Posted lecture notes are not meant to be a replacement for textbook. BEWARE! These are living documents and will change without notice.

    HOMEWORK: (due by beginning of class)
    may change as semester progresses -- so be careful about working ahead. Problems can be found in Lecture Notes.
    Homework solutions posted here (Warning: Try several times before peeking!)
    Set 1Wed. Sep. 6Chapter 1 (1-3,5,9,10,14)
    Set 2Wed. Sep. 13Chapter 2 (1-4)
    Set 3Wed. Sep. 20Chapter 2 (5-10)
    Set 4Wed. Sep. 27Chapter 2 (11-12), Chapter 3 (1,2)
    Set 5Wed. Oct. 4Chapter 3 (4,5)
    Set 6Wed. Oct. 11Chapter 3 (6-9), Chapter 4 (1)
    Set 7Wed. Oct. 18Chapter 4 (2-7)
    Set 8Wed. Nov. 1Chapter 4 (8-12)
    Set 9Wed. Nov. 8Chapter 6 (1-2)
    Set 10Wed. Nov. 29Chapter 6 (3-7)



    MONDAY GROUP EXERCISES
    Exercise 1 Date TBASolution
    Exercise 2 Date TBASolution
    Exercise 3 Date TBASolution
    Exercise 4 Date TBASolution
    Exercise 5Oct. 9Solution
    Exercise 6Oct. 17Solution
    Exercise 7Oct. 30Solution
    Exercise 8Nov 6,13Solution
    Exercise 9Nov 13,15Solution
    Exercise 20Nov 20,22See Example in Chapter 6 for solution.
    Exercise 8Nov 6,13Solution


    REVIEW PROBLEMS FOR FINAL:
    Each group of students should compose a problem, provide a written solution in PDF format, and present solution in class. Problem should be different than those previously seen and be appropriate for final exam.
    PRESENTATIONS:
    DATE STUDENTS MATERIAL SOLUTIONS
    Wed. Nov. 29
    Adibuah and Wallace
    Chapter 2. Velocity-dependent forces
    pdf
    Wed. Nov. 29
    Allen and Sun
    Chapter 2. Velocity-dependent forces
    pdf
    Wed. Nov. 29
    Arndt and Rodgers
    Chapter 2. Conservation of momentum
    pdf
    Fri. Dec. 1
    Baker and Pruden
    Chapter 3. Driven oscillator, particular solution
    pdf
    Fri. Dec. 1
    Biriouk and Plummer
    Chapter 3. Driven oscillator solve for complete solution
    pdf
    Fri. Dec. 1
    Cereghino and Philip
    Chapter 3. Periodic force
    pdf
    Mon. Dec. 4
    Chou and Majestic
    Chapter 4. Tidal Force
    pdf
    Mon. Dec. 4
    Dobson and Lee
    Chapter 4. Orbit oscillation
    pdf
    Mon. Dec. 4
    Gerhard and Hogan
    Chapter 6. Lagrangian -- small vibrations
    pdf
    Wed. Dec. 6
    Donda and Kohler
    Chapter 4. Experimental determination of differential cross section
    pdf
    Wed. Dec. 6
    Doddamreddy and Troye
    Chapter 4. Cross section absorption
    pdf
    Fri. Dec. 8
    Ehlert and Keenan
    Chapter 6. Lagrangian
    pdf
    Fri. Dec. 8
    Hayes
    Chapter 6. Lagrangian -- symmetries
    pdf

    PROGRAMMING PROJECT:
    Choose from one of the following 3 projects. (Note that the second one does not really involve programming). This counts for 10% of your non-exam grade.
    Particle in cone,
    Earliest sunset / Latest sunrise,
    Earth-Moon-Sun Orbit

    PREVIOUS AND PRACTICE EXAMS:
    Second Midterm (2023 Fall), solutions,
    First Midterm (2023 Fall), solutions,
    Final (2022 Fall) (solutions)
    Second Midterm (2022 Fall) (solutions)
    Second Midterm Practice (2022 Fall)
    First Midterm (2022 Fall) (solutions)
    First Midterm Practice (2022 Fall)
    First Midterm (2019 Spring), with solutions
    Second Midterm (2019 Spring), with solutions
    Final Exam (2019 Spring), with solutions
    First Midterm (2018 Fall), with solutions (part A)
    First Midterm (2018 Fall), with solutions (part B)
    Second Midterm (2018 Fall), with solutions
    Final Exam (2018 Fall),  with solutions
    First Midterm (2018 Spring), with solutions
    Second Midterm (2018 Spring), with solutions
    Third Midterm (2018 Spring), with solutions
    Final Exam (2018 Spring), with solutions
    Practice for First Midterm
    (with solutions)
    First Midterm (2014), with solutions
    First Midterm (2015), with solutions
    Practice for Second Midterm
    (with solutions)
    Second Midterm (2014), with solutions
    Second Midterm (2015), with solutions
    Final Exam (2014) with solutions
    Final Exam (2015) with solutions


    SOME PROGRAMS
    Simple skeleton python starter program
    Template for Newton's method
    Template for solving 1-D harmonic oscillator
    Template for differential cross-section group work project
    Template for paddle boat group work project
    Template for double pendulum problem
    Template for orbital trajectory project
    Template for Earth/Moon/Sun project (C++)