PHYSICS 321 - Classical Mechanics I - Spring 2004

Prof. Jon Pumplin

E-mail:  pumplin@pa.msu.edu

Office:  3240 BPS, 355-9200 ext. 2126

 Click here for the homework and exam schedule

Course Information

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-4:00pm, or by appointment. 
Lectures: MWF, 3:00-3:50pm, Room 1420 Biomedical and Physical Sciences (BPS) 
Required Text: Classical Dynamics, J.B. Marion and S.T. Thornton, 4th edition
Homework: There will be 11 assignments due on Wednesdays at the beginning of class.  The lowest homework score will be dropped when calculating your final grade.  You are welcome to consult with your peers when doing your homework, but you are responsible for completing the problems yourself.  Copying someone else's homework is not educational and not acceptable.
Grader: Taejin Hwang, hwang@pa.msu.edu (office hours by appointment)
Exams:  There will be 3 midterm exams and a final.  The dates for the midterm exams are Feb. 16, March 22, and April 19.  The final exam is Monday, May 3 at 3:00pm.  All exams are closed book.  The final exam will be cumulative.
Grades: Homework      25%
Midterm #1     15%
Midterm #2     15%
Midterm #3     15%
Final Exam      30%
Course Outline: We will cover chapters 1-5, 8, and 9 of Marion and Thornton.  Some of the subjects we cover will be familiar to you from Physics 183 or 193H, but will be treated here at a higher level of mathematical sophistication.  Some topics, such as nonlinear oscillations and chaos, will probably be completely new to you. 
Last updated 5/5/2004