Your best bet for doing well in this course is to attend all of the lectures and do all of the assigned homework. Reading the text will provide a different perspective on the topics covered in the lectures. Don't expect to do well by putting off the homework and cramming for tests. You must stay on top of the subject. Don't get behind--if you are having trouble with the material get help immediately. The material builds on itself and getting behind early will make it very difficult to catch up.

Textbook
"Classical Mechanics" 3rd ed. by Goldstein, Poole, and Safko.

This is an extensive book and we will not try to cover everything in it in one semester. Precisely what will be covered will depend on how the semester progresses but we will definitely cover Lagrange's equations, Hamilton's Principle, the special theory of relativity, and canonical transforms.

There are an amazingly large number of errors in the book given that it is a third edition and is now in its 8th printing.  Many of these errors are documented here.

I also strongly recommend that you get a book with a table of integrals and other math formulas. I use the Schaum's Outline: "Mathematical Handbook of Formulas and Tables". There is also an online version. Just go to the library's on-line catalog, enter the title, and follow the links. For reference and background material I also strongly suggest that you have access to a copy of Marion's "Classical Mechanics of Particles and Systems".

Another very useful reference is "Theoretical Mechanics of Particles and Continua" by Fetter and Walecka.

Instructor
Brian A. Raue Office: CP 217
Office Hours: M 1:00-4:00, TWTh 4:00-5:00,  or by appointment
Phone: 305-348-3958
E-mail: baraue@fiu.edu

Lectures
Tuesday & Thursday 11:00-12:15 in GC 272

Exams
There will be two midterm exams and a final exam. Each will count as 25% of your final grade. There are no makeup exams unless there was an extreme emergency or if you have contracted me prior to the test with a legitimate reason for missing it.
--Midterm Exam 1: Thursday October 1 (tentative)
--Midterm Exam 2: Tuesday October 29 (tentative)
--Final Exam: Stay tuned

Homework
Every week there will be a homework assignment to be turned in and graded. Homework will count as 25% of your grade. Problems will be taken from your textbook, other books or will be made up by myself. Solutions to assigned problems will be posted on the web after the due date. I encourage you to work with your classmates on the homework but make sure that you understand it and aren't just copying it. This will be revealed on the exams. Do your homework on time. Follow this link http://www.fiu.edu/~baraue/teaching/mechanicsHW.html  to the online homework page. This page will also have a tentative schedule for topics to be covered.  Late homework will be receive half credit for up to one week after the due date. After that, it is simply not accepted.

Grades
A letter grade will be assigned only at the end of the semester but I will attempt to give you an idea approximately where you are throughout the semester. The grading system is based on the following scale although I reserve the right to "curve" as I see fit:
A: 87.5-100%
B: 75-87.5%
C: 60-75%
D: 45-60%
The upper three points of each scale will be given a "+". I generally don't assign "-" grades.

Academic Integrity
Cheating is considered a very serious offense and offenders will be dealt with very harshly. The minimum penalty for cheating on an exam will be a zero on the exam with the possibility of automatic failure for the course or a recommendation of expulsion from the university. All students should be familiar with the FIU Student Code of Standards.