Rich Hewitt

MATH10222: Course material

Learning outcomes

  1. Define the basic properties of a mechanical system.
  2. State and apply Newton's laws of motion and gravitation.
  3. Formulate a mathematical problem from a description of a mechanical system.
  4. To solve problems that rely on conservation laws and classify the predicted behaviour.
  5. Use the mathematical methods of the first half of the course (and semester 1) to solve and analyse equations of motion.
  6. To interpret mathematical results in the physical context of the mechanical system.

Lecture notes

Chapter 1, Introduction
Chapter 2, Newtonian dynamics
Chapter 3, Planetary motion

Problem sheets

Material will be posted here as the course progresses. You are expected to attempt ALL questions, not just the starred ones. The star is to indicate which questions will fit into a one-hour small-group supervision class discussion.

Example sheet 1 for week 8
Example sheet 2 for week 9
Example sheet 3 for week 10
Example sheet 4 for week 11

Solution sheets

Material will be posted here as the course progresses.

Solutions to sheet 1
Solutions to sheet 2
Solutions to sheet 3

Other material

Visualiser notes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Sample examination

A sample examination paper is available for my half of the course.

More past papers are available (University log-in needed).

Solutions to the sample paper will be made available at the end of the course. The best approach to learning the material in this course is to read the notes!. Attempting past papers is only useful once you are confident that you understand the material.

Solutions to my part (section B) of the sample paper are now available here .

Examination Feedback

Feedback on the most recent exam paper is available.

Getting started

This course makes heavy use of vectors, solution of ordinary differential equations and complex numbers. You should be familiar with all of the content of MATH10121 (Calculus and Vectors), and the first half of MATH10222.
You do not need to have done any `mechanics' courses before taking this part of MATH10222, this course is quite different from the usual A-level mechanics material. You do not need to buy a textbook for this course.

Read this for (very) basic revision

Getting help

All students have small-group feedback classes for this class. As a first point of contact, ask your supervisor for help with any problem sheets or concepts. If you cannot resolve your problem in this way, feel free to discuss it with me at the end of a lecture, email me for an appointment, or come along to my office hour during the semester.