Physics 307 Syllabus, Fall 2008
St. Lawrence University
Daniel W. Koon, Instructor

TEXT: Classical Mechanics, Thornton and Marion, 5th Edition

ATTENDANCE POLICY: The instructor reserves the right to subtract one-half of a letter grade for each absence beyond the first three. I do not expect you to learn all of your physics from my magnificent lectures, just as I would not expect you to learn it all simply from reading every sentence of the text, or by doing every homework problem. However, each one of these items you miss diminishes the understanding you are likely to gain of the course material.

EXAMS: There will be two exams during regular class time during the semester, Thursday, Sept. 25 and Thursday, Nov. 13, plus a Final Exam (time and date to be announced).

GRADING POLICY: Your final average will be calculated from the following:
Homework 
30%
"Dailies"
10%
Two semester exams 
40%
Final Exam 
20%

THE LECTURES: (Topics and dates subject to change: check back often)
8.28: Ch. 2.1-2: Newton's Laws
9.2: 2.3-4: Reference frames, eqs. of motion for Uniform acceleration 9.4: 2.4, notes: 2D, problem solving, FBDs, Forces, Inclined planes
9.9: Notes + 2.6: Pulleys, 2-body, projectiles, Conservation, work & energy 9.11: 2.6, 9.11: Equilibrium
9.16: 9.11, pp. 58-71: Rocket motion 9.18: pp. 58-71, these notes, Ch. 3.1: Drag
9.23: Notes: Numerical integration: Euler & Runge-Kutta 9.25: EXAM I
9.30: 3.1-2: Hooke's law, energy of SHO 10.2: 3.3-4: 2D & 3D SHOs, phase diagrams
10.7: 3.5: Damped oscillators 10.9: 3.5: Under-, over-, critical damping
10.14: 3.6-7: Driven harmonic oscillator, resonance 10.16: FALL BREAK
10.21: 3.7-8: Electrical analogues, superposition, Fourier 10.23: 4.1-4: Nonlinear oscillators: plane pendulum
10.28: 4.5-7: Driven nonlinear systems, chaos 10.30: 5.1-4: Gravitation
11.4: 5.5: Tidal forces, tides 11.6: 6.1-3:Calculus of variation
11.11: 7.1-6: Lagrangian dynamics 11.13: EXAM II
11.18: 7.1-6: Lagrangian dynamics 11.20: 7.7-10: Hamiltonian dynamics
11.25: Thanksgiving Break 11.27: Thanksgiving Break
12.2: 8.1-4: Rotational motion, center of mass coordinates 12.4: 8.5-8: Orbital dynamics
12.9: 10.1-3: Rotating coord. systems 12.11: 10.4: Motion relative to Earth
Final Exam: Date and time TBA

Academic Honesty

The primary objective of the University is the promotion of knowledge. This objective can be furthered only if there is strict adherence to scrupulous standards of honesty. At St. Lawrence, all members of the University community have a responsibility to see that standards of honesty and integrity are maintained.
Students who respect academic honesty and who are orderly and meticulous in their treatment of both their own work and the work of others should anticipate no difficulty with cheating, plagiarism, or other forms of academic dishonesty. Borrowing ideas or language from others is acceptable scholarly practice and in many instances actively to be encouraged.

Academic dishonesty generally arises from one of two sources: either a student has knowingly cheated or plagiarized or he/she has been careless or slipshod in discriminating between his/her own work and that of others or in acknowledging sources accurately. These latter difficulties are easily circumvented. Any standard handbook on English usage or term paper writing manual will furnish a methodology as well as appropriate internal reference, endnote, or bibliographical forms (cf., for example, the Harbrace Handbook, A Guide to MLA Documentation, or Writers Inc.).

A major objective of the University is the pursuit of knowledge which can be achieved only by strict adherence to standards of honesty. At St. Lawrence, all members of the community have a responsibility to see that these standards are maintained.

Academic Dishonesty

  1. It is assumed that all work submitted for credit is done by the student unless the instructor gives specific permission for collaboration.
  2. Cheating on examinations and tests consists of knowingly giving or using or attempting to use unauthorized assistance during examinations or tests.
  3. Dishonesty in work outside of examinations and tests consists of handing in for credit as original work that which is not original, where originality is required.
The following constitute examples of academic dishonesty:
  1. Plagiarism: Presenting as one's own work the work of another person - words, ideas, data, evidence, thoughts, information, organizing principles, or style of presentation-without proper attribution. Plagiarism includes paraphrasing or summarizing without acknowledgment by quotation marks, footnotes, endnotes, or other indices of reference (cf. Joseph F. Trimmer, A Guide to MLA Documentation).
  2. Handing in false reports on any experiment.
  3. Handing in a book report on a book one has not read.
  4. Falsification of attendance records of a laboratory or other class meeting.
  5. Supplying information to another student knowing that such information will be used in a dishonest way.
  6. Submission of work (papers, journal abstracts, etc.) which has received credit in a previous course to satisfy the requirement(s) of a second course without the knowledge and permission of the instructor of the second course.
Claims of ignorance and academic or personal pressure are unacceptable as excuses for academic dishonesty. Students must learn what constitutes one's own work and how the work of others must be acknowledged.

St. Lawrence students are required to sign the following statement prior to registration for classes:

"I hereby acknowledge that I have read the above document and I understand my responsibility in maintaining the standards of academic honesty at St. Lawrence University."
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