Course outline:

Classical mechanics and waves

Prerequisites:

MTH133 or MTH153H or LBS119 or concurrently

Instructor:

Prof. Krzysztof Starosta
Office: W-107 Cyclotron Laboratory,
Phone: 324-8138

Teaching Assistant:

Mr. Chi Zhang
Office: 100 Cyclotron Laboratory,
Phone: 333-6489

Lectures:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10:20-11:10,
BPS 1415.

Recitations:

Tuesday, 10:20-11:10,
BPS 1415

Office hours:

Office hours will be held at the BPS1248 (Charles J. Strosacker Lerning Center)

Krzysztof Starosta: Friday, 2:00 - 3:00 PM and by appointment.

Chi Zhang : Monday, 1:00 - 2:00 PM and by appointment.

Course computer framework:

MSU's LONCAPA (http://msu.loncapa.org) system will be used for the course e-mail communication, homework and quizzes. One of the advantages of the LONCAPA system is that students may enter solutions to questions and problems and know immediately if they are right. Incorrect answers may be entered many times without penalty and credit is earned if the correct answer is entered within a prescribed number of trials prior to the due date. The LONCAPA system is accessible via most of web browsers, in particular using computers in the Charles J. Strosacker learning center, BPS 1248.

Textbook:

Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 3^rd Edition
by P.M. Fishbane, S.G. Gasiorowicz and S.T. Thornton,
Prentice Hall,

Options:
Full text (Ch. 1-40), ISBN: 0-13-142094-1,
Volume 1 (Ch. 1-20), ISBN: 0-13-141883-1,
Extended version (Ch. 1-45), ISBN: 0-13-035299-3.

A copy of the textbook is at the BPS Library on 2h reserve.

Reading:

Students are expected to read the chapters listed in the course schedule prior to each lecture. There will be LONCAPA-based quizzes on the reading assignments posted following each lecture, with a due date at 9:00 AM on the day of the forthcoming lecture. The reading quizzes will, in particular, provide an opportunity to communicate to the lecturer difficulties with physics understanding of the material covered in the reading assignments; special attention will be dedicated to the problematic topics during the lecture. By default there is only one try for any single quiz question. Maximum reading quizzes contribution the final grade is 7%. There will be no make up for missed quizzes.

Quizzes:

In addition, there will be unannounced short quizzes during lectures and recitations. For quizzes and exams you will need a calculator and a #2 pencil.

Homework:

There will be 12 LONCAPA homework assignments, which are due on Wednesdays at 9:00 am (see course schedule). By default there are 10 tries for each homework problem. Maximum homework contribution the final grade is 20%. There will be no make up for missed homework.

Exams:

There will be three, one-hour long, in-class exams and one, two-hour long, final exam. Maximum in-class exam contribution the final grade is 13% each, 39% total. Maximum final-exam contribution the final grade is 36%. Make up for missed exams may be considered only for special, well justified cases, indicated to the instructor prior to the scheduled time for the exam.

Course schedule:

Detailed course schedule with deadlines for the assignments can be found here

Disabilities and other
special needs:

Students with learning disabilities or/and any other special needs should identify themselves to the instructor in the first week of classes. Individual arrangements will be made to accommodate these needs on a case-by-case basis.

Help:

The Teaching Assistant for the course is Mr. Chi Zhang. The TA's job is to assist students in homework assignments by solving example problems at the recitations. TA is available for regular office hours (one hour per week) and also is accessible via e-mail at zhangc15@msu.edu or for individual appointments (for up to three hours per week).

The help room is BPS1248 (Charles J. Strosacker Center).

In addition, there is a discussion forum within LONCAPA where students can post and answer questions.

Final grade contributions:

The final grade will be calculated based on contributions given below.

Contribution to the final grade

Homework assignments

20 %,

Quizzes

7%,

Midterms (13 % each)

39 %,

Final exam

36 %.

This adds up to 102%, and includes 2% bonus points for potentially missed quizzes or homework.

Final grades:

The final grades are going to be calculated based on the following thresholds:

% of total points

Final grade

from 90 to 100

4.0

from 83 to 89

3.5

from 76 to 82

3.0

from 70 to 75

2.5

from 64 to 69

2.0

from 58 to 63

1.5

from 52 to 57

1.0

from 0 to 51

0.0