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SYLLABUS FOR INTERMEDIATE MECHANICS

PH301 Spring, 2011


Instructor: Dr. Carol L. Strong Phone: 824-2832
Office: Optics Building, Rm 238 (Do not call me at home!)
Office hours: MWF 3:00-4:45pm Class hours: TR 11:10am-12:30pm
TR 2:15-4:00pm in MSC104
or by appointment
Email: strongc@uah.edu

TEXT: “Classical Dynamics”, 5th edition


by Thornton and Marion; Student Solutions Manual is available
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND GOALS:
PH301 Intermediate Mechanics is a junior level courses designed to expand on the
rudimentary mechanics topics presented in the general physics survey course, PH111.
Intermediate mechanics includes topics such as Newtonian and Lagrangian mechanics,
oscillations, gravitation, orbital motion, rotation and waves.
Students are expected to be fluent in the mathematical representations of
geometry, trigonometry, algebra and linear algebra, calculus and vector calculus, plus
methods of solving differential and partial differential equations. They are also expected
to be proficient at problem solving and to have a working knowledge of the units
quantified in the introductory physics courses PH111-113.

GRADING: Course grade will be computed as follows:


Homework 25%
Test #1 25%
Test #2 25%
Final 25%
Random quizzes Quiz grades may be used as extra credit in your final average.

Letter grades will be assigned as follows:


90 - 100 A
80 - <90 B
70 - <80 C
60 - <70 D
below 60 F
Note the inequalities! I do not round up.

SCHEDULE: The assignment, exam, quiz and lecture schedule can be found on the
ANGEL Calendar for this course. You can create a printout of this calendar by doing the
following. Log on to ANGEL, click PH301, click Calendar, next to “Format” click List.
Fill in the dates for the semester. Highlight the results that you wish to print and do
CTRL-P, Selection.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS: Assignment handouts will be listed under the
Lessons section on ANGEL for this course. Homework must be submitted by 5pm on the
due date. Late homework may be submitted with a penalty of 25% per day late; written
excuses from an appropriate authority required for no penalty.

GRADING POLICY: No work = No points! I mean it and my grader will follow my


instructions! Show your work for full credit. Also, I expect you to work together on your
homework assignments, but I will not accept anything that resembles a Xerox copy or a
copy of the solution in Thorton’s solutions manual (which I know you can find!).

EXAMS: Exams reflect homework, Sample problems in the text, and derivations and
problems that we work in class. Exam grades may be scaled to give a class average of
75%. No early exams. Notification of absence for an exam must be made within 24
hours of exam time. There is an answering machine on my office phone and my email
for this purpose; leave your name and a phone number where you can be reached so
that I may schedule a makeup for you. Makeup exams, which may be oral or more
difficult, will only be given for absences with a written excuse from the dean.

RETURNS: Homework assignments will be returned in class within two class periods.
If you are absent when assignments are returned, you can retrieve them from a box
marked "PH301" outside my office. Exams will also be returned in class within two class
periods or can be picked up from me during office hours after the second class period. I
do not leave exams in the box.

SOLUTION SETS: After the homework due date, solutions to homework assignments
will be posted on ANGEL.

ATTENDANCE: I do not require attendance; however, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY


to keep up with class lectures and announcements. Changes in homework assignments
and exam dates generally do not occur, but will be noted on ANGEL’s calendar if
necessary. Also, lectures will be easier to follow, and homework and in-class
assignments easier to work, if you read each chapter before the lecture begins!
Quizzes may be given randomly to determine your reading comprehension and your grasp
of fundamentals presented in previous lectures.

GRADE REPORTING: I will report your grades to you on the ANGEL site after each
exam:
https://angel.uah.edu/frames.aspx
You’ll find current grade status reported after each exam. If you find errors in your grade
report, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to contact me and inform me of the error.
CELL PHONES / LATE TO CLASS: No cell phone usage in class! If a phone goes
off during lecture, the owner must sing for the class. (See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsB2UdymKAM ) If the owner will not sing, I will
leave class and the class is responsible for any material that I might have covered. If a
phone goes off during an exam, the owner will be asked to leave the exam. If you are
late to class, enter quietly please.

COMPLAINT PROCEDURE: If you have difficulties or complaints related to this


course, your first action usually should be to discuss them with me, the instructor. If such
a discussion would be uncomfortable for you or fails to resolve your difficulties, you
should contact Professor Gary Zank, Chair of the Department of Physics. Professor
Zank's office is OB 201 B and his telephone number is 824-2482. If you still are
unsatisfied, you should discuss the matter with the Dr. Daniel Rochowiak, Associate
Dean of the College of Science. Dean Rochowiak's office and telephone number are MSB
C206 and 824-6605.

KNOW YOUR INSTRUCTOR


Dr. Carol L. Strong has an A.S. from Pensacola Junior College, a
B.A. in Mathematics and a B.S. in Physics from the University of West
Florida, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Alabama
in Huntsville. Her specialty is applied optics, particularly optical sensors.
She worked for three years at Northrop Corporation’s Electro-Mechanical
Division in Anaheim, CA, modeling and testing sensors. Her graduate
dissertation project was the development of a fiber-optical sensor that
measured current flow in an auroral plasma.
Dr. Strong’s other academic interests include astronomy and
inquiry-based science education. This year she’ll be teaching Introductory Physics with Calculus
I & II, Intermediate Electricity and Magnetism I & II, Intermediate Mechanics, Frontiers in
Science, and Physics of Light for education majors. She has taught most of the other
undergraduate courses. Her teaching methods have won her recognition by students and faculty
alike. Her awards include the Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching, 1999 and 2010,
the SGA Freshman Professor of the Year Award, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 and two
honors from Alpha Lambda Delta. (She missed SGA’s 2005 award due to brain surgery!) She
was nominated twice to represent UAH in a state and nationwide contest for U.S. Professor of
the Year.
After normal hours, Dr. Strong keeps busy giving lectures at the Von Braun
Astronomical Society’s planetarium, doing “gee whiz” physics demonstrations for grade school
students and offering professional development for K-12 teachers in science. If that’s not
enough, you’ll also find her training at the UAH gym, snorkeling, reading, walking her very
demanding dog and, for fun, making contemporary quilts and jewelry and teaching quilting both
locally and nationally.

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