Iakov Afanassiev

Office: C4060 Phone: 737-2500 E-mail: yakov@physics.mun.ca http://www.physics.mun.ca/~yakov/

· The textbook

The textbook for this course, copies of which are available in the bookstore, is Analytical Mechanics, by Fowles and Cassiday, 5th (or 6th) edition (Saunders, 1993)

I shall adhere as much as possible to the general sequence with which this text covers the subject matter, and to the notation adopted, but I will sometimes add material of my own. It will be helpful for you to have read upcoming sections of the text in advance of the lecture. Then at the lecture you need only take marginal notes to expand your understanding or clarify something you found difficult on first reading.

· Schedule of topics

The sequence of topics, corresponing roughly to the sequence of chapters in the text, and the number of lectures tentatively planned for each, is as follows:

Chapter	Topic	# of lectures
8	Mechanics of rigid bodies.Planar motion.	6
9	Motion of rigid bodies in three dimensions.	6
10	Lagrangian mechanics.	8
11	Dynamics of oscillating systems	6
	Special theory of relativity.	3

· Problem assignments

I will regularly assign sets of problems. Please strive to give neat legible answers, that display your thinking clearly. Sample answers to some of the assigned problems will be discussed in class or posted on a notice board after handing back the assignment, and you should carefully review these to see where your solutions can be improved. For more practice, work some of the problems at the end of each chapter in the text. Solving problems is really the only way to become familiar with, and competent in, the ideas and applications of classical mechanics.

The tentative schedule of problem assignments is:

#	Issued	Due
1	7 Feb	21 Feb
2	21 Feb	16 March
3	16 March	28 March
4	28 March	6 April

· Evaluating your work in this course

The evaluation scheme is as follows:

-four assignments, of 4 to 6 problems each, altogether worth 30% of the total mark;

-two mid-term 50-min tests, altogether worth 30% of the total mark, scheduled for 19 February and 26 March;

-the 2-hour final examination, worth 40% of the total mark.

Students are permitted to bring one page (both sides) of aids to memory (formulae, etc) into the final examination (but not into the mid-term test). This weighting scheme may be slightly altered before final grades are submitted, if that seems to be the students advantage.

· Appointments

Students are welcome to drop by my office (preferably in the afternoon) without an appointment. If I find that a lot of you want to talk to me I may have to set aside regular hours each week for seeing students.

Iakov Afanassiev