Calendar
The following is a tentative schedule that will change as the semester proceeds. Make sure to keep an eye on the Announcements page.
Key
- HW X : day homework X is assigned
- HW Y : day homework Y is due (start of class)
- CT Z : day computing task Z assigned
- CT Z : day computing task Z is due (start of class)
- G 1.1 : assigned reading from Goldstein section 1.1
- Week
- Topics and Assignments
- Reading
Week 1
- Aug 26
- Intro & Newtonian Mechanics
- G 1.1-1.2
- CT 1
- HW 0
- Aug 28
- Newtonian Mechanics
- G 1.3-1.4
- Aug 30
- Constraints & d’Alembert’s Principle
- G 2.1-2.3
- CT 1 DUE
- HW 1
Week 2
- Sep 02
- Labor Day Holiday, No Class
- Sep 04
- Euler-Lagrange Equations
- G 2.1-2.4
- HW 0 DUE
- Sep 06
- E-L example, Calculus of Variations
- G 2.4-2.6
- HW 1 DUE
- HW 2
Week 3
- Sep 09
- Calculus of Variations
- G 2.4-2.6
- Guest Lecturer - Noah Knutson
- Sep 11
- Lagrange Multipliers
- G 8.1-8.6, 13.7
- Guest Lecturer - Noah Knutson
- Sep 13
- Study Group
- Reading catch-up
Week 4
- Sep 16
- Noether’s Theorem
- G 13.7
- Sep 18
- Legendre Transformations and Hamilton’s Equations of Motion
- G 8.1-8.2, 8.4, 8.6
- HW 2 DUE
- CT 2
- Sep 20
- Canonical Transformations
- G 9.1-9.6
Week 5
- Sep 23
- Sep 25
- Poisson Brackets
- G 10.1-10.7
- CT 2 DUE
- HW 3
- Sep 27
Week 6
- Sep 30
- Oscillations
- G 6
- Oct 02
- HW 3 DUE
- Oct 04
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
- Oct 21
- HW 4 DUE
- Oct 23
- Oct 25
- No class
- G 4
Week 10
- Oct 28
- Oct 30
- Nov 01
Week 11
Week 12
- Nov 11
- Nov 13
- Sick Day
- G 5
- Nov 15
- HW 5 incl. CT 5
Week 13
- Nov 18
- Nov 20
- Nov 22
Week 14
- Nov 25
- Thanksgiving Holiday, No Class
- Nov 27
- Thanksgiving Holiday, No Class
- Nov 29
- Thanksgiving Holiday, No Class
Week 15
- Dec 02
- Torque-free Motion
- HW 5 DUE
- Dec 04
- Heavy Symmetrical Top
- Dec 06
- Float
Week 16
- Dec 9
- Final Exam: Noon - 3 pm [Lewis 104]