MECHANICS
Origin and development of classical mechanics; mathematical techniques, especially vector analysis; conservation laws and their relation to symmetry principles; brief introduction to orbit theory and rigid-body dynamics; accelerated coordinate systems; introduction to the generalized-coordinate formalisms of Lagrange and Hamilton.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: ( PHYSICS 202 , 208 , or 248 ) and ( MATH 234 , 321 , or 376 ), or graduate/professional standing Course Designation: Core GenEd - Natural Science & Wellness + Lab Breadth - Physical Science Level - Advanced L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Fall 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Use Newton's laws of motion to solve advanced problems involving the dynamic motion of classical mechanical systems. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Apply differential equations and other advanced mathematics to solve dynamic motion of classical mechanical systems. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Analyze and solve dynamics problems using conservation of energy and linear and angular momentum. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Calculate properties and behaviors of rigid body motion and motion of continuous media. Audience: Undergraduate 5. Derive the equations of motion for complicated mechanical systems using the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of classical mechanics. Audience: Undergraduate 6. Apply the Lagrangian formulation to analyze the motion of constrained systems. Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Use Newton's laws of motion to solve advanced problems involving the dynamic motion of classical mechanical systems. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Apply differential equations and other advanced mathematics to solve dynamic motion of classical mechanical systems. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Analyze and solve dynamics problems using conservation of energy and linear and angular momentum. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Calculate properties and behaviors of rigid body motion and motion of continuous media. Audience: Undergraduate 5. Derive the equations of motion for complicated mechanical systems using the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of classical mechanics. Audience: Undergraduate 6. Apply the Lagrangian formulation to analyze the motion of constrained systems. Audience: Undergraduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027