ORGANIZATION

The course comprises two equally important components that operate in parallel. 1) Lectures that cover the conceptual aspects of the material. 2) Workshop sections that are devoted to applications, questions and problem solving. The course also has been designated to carry one unit of upper-level writing credit.

Lectures normally will be given on Monday and Wednesday 1025 - 1140 hours in B&L106. The first formal lecture will be presented on Monday 31 August 2015 at 1025 hours in B&L106. Prior to the start of classes the lecture notes will be distributed as a 590 page textbook to minimize taking notes in order to make classes more of a learning experience. Demonstrations will be given in class. Attendance of lectures is obligatory since there is considerable experience that shows that the most successful students in courses are those with the best attendance records. If unable to attend a lecture then contact the instructor to ensure that the missed material is covered.

Workshops will be an integral part of this course. You will meet once per week, for up to two hours, with a group of about ten other students plus a leader. The basic idea of the workshop concept is to institutionalize the study group with the addition of some leadership and supervision. At the workshop sessions, students will work through sample questions and conceptual exercises designed to elucidate the material taught in class, while the recitation component will address solving homework problems. The purpose of the workshop leader is to facilitate the discussions rather than lecture or provide answers. The workshop leaders will record your attendance plus the level of participation at workshop sessions and this will be taken into account in the final course grade. Workshops are scheduled as follows:
Tuesday 1650 - 1850 in Morey 205
Tuesday 1855 - 2055 in Lattimore 431
Wednesday 1415 - 1615 in Meliora 218
Workshops
will commence the week of September 7. You MUST already be signed up for a workshop section by Monday 31 August. Send an email to Cline@pas.rochester.edu listing your full name, ID, class year and major if you have not signed up with the Registrar for one workshop section. Workshop sections may be moved in time to accommodate schedule conflicts.

Problem sets will be assigned weekly to illustrate and enhance the understanding of material taught in class. They will be posted on the P235 web page. Lectures will emphasize concepts while the problem sets and workshops will emphasize quantitative problems. It may be necessary to grade only a selection of the questions for each homework problem set due to manpower limitations; it is felt that instructor time is better spent providing guidance during workshops rather than grading homework. Solutions to the problem sets will be posted on the P235 website one week after the assigned deadline. Note that examinations will emphasize quantitative problems, thus it is crucial that you take the time to learn to solve the assigned problems every week, prior to looking at the solutions. You will seriously reduce the chances of a high grade in this course if you do not expend the consistent effort needed to learn how to solve quantitative problems.

A Term paper will be assigned that requires you to write a ~ 10 page paper that applies what you have learned in classical mechanics to one specific application of your choice. The topic must be approved by Professor Cline to ensure that the topic and scope are appropriate to P235W. The term paper also forms the basis for satisfying one unit of upper-level writing credit. Satisfaction of the upper-level writing credit component requires the checking of the topic and scope of the paper for approval by Professor Cline. Students must meet with a Writing Fellow from the Writing center to discuss the format and quality of the first draft term paper prior to submitting the final term paper for grading.

Reading Assignments will be given prior to each lecture. The knowledge gained from this pre-lecture reading should enable you to extract more from each lecture. Completion of the assigned reading of the class notes will greatly improve your comprehension since the notes include more material plus worked examples that cannot be covered during class due to time constraints. It is crucial that students keep up with the material since each lecture is based on understanding material presented in prior lectures. Five topics, matrix algebra, calculus of scalar and vector fields, gravitation, introductory oscillations, and introductory special relativity will be covered as reading assignments since this material should be familiar to you from earlier courses. All of the required reading material is included in the textbook provided.

Office Hours. Contact your workshop leader, or Professor Cline, whenever you need help and arrange mutually convenient times to meet. Office hours will be posted on the P235 web page, but help will be available at other times. Students should take advantage of the office hours and help provided by the instructors. Professor Cline will schedule each student to meet with him for a one-on-one discussion of the course.