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Fall 2000 (Intended to serve as a substitute for ENGR 2113 in the School of Meteorology Curriculum) |
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| Instructor: | Dr. Ming Xue (mxue@ou.edu, http://twister.ou.edu) Energy Center Room 1158 (Tel: 325 6037) Office Hours: Mon, Fri 1:30-2:30pm, Tue 2:00 - 3:00pm |
| Assistant: | Thomas Jones (tajones@ou.edu) Energy Center Room 1370 Office Hours: Monday 10:30 - 11:30am, Wednsday and Thursday1:30-2:30. |
| Prerequisite: | PHYS 2514 (Physics I) and MATH 2433 (Calculus and Analytical Geometry III). Please make sure that you have taken these courses before you take this course. You also must have made at least a C in both classes to enroll in this class! |
| Room/Time: | Room P207, Energy Center, 11:30 - 12:20 pm, MWF |
| Required text: | None |
| References Books: | Riegel, C.A. and A.F.C. Bridger, 1992: Fundamentals of
Atmospheric Dynamics and Thermodynamics. World Scientific, 496 pp. Spiegel, M.R., 1967: Theoretical Mechanics. Schaum's Outline Series. Schaum Pub. Co., 368pp. Holton, J. R., 1992: An Introduction to Dynamic Meteorology. Academic Press, New York, 511 pp. |
| Purpose: | This course introduces students to the quantitative aspects of meteorology and physical mechanics through application of fundamental concepts in physics and mathematics. A primary goal is to shore up conceptual and procedural weaknesses in math and physics in an effort to create a solid foundation for upper‑division meteorology classes, especially Dynamics I. Physical Mechanics for Meteorology covers the following topics: vectors and vector calculus, Newtonian particle mechanics, projectile motion, simple harmonic motion, stability, central‑force motion, moving and rotational coordinate systems, waves, and vortices. A key component of this course is problem‑solving; considerable emphasis will be given to structured approaches for setting up and solving quantitative problems. |
| Grading: |
Homework sets (lowest dropped) 20% |
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Any student in this course who has a disability that
may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should
contact the instructor personally as soon as possible so that accommodations
necessary can be made to ensure full participation and to facilitate your
educational opportunities.
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Class Policies
Students are expected to attend all lectures.
Homework is due by 5 pm on the date announced. Students will be assessed a 20% penalty per day for late work, and work will not be accepted 2 days beyond the announced due date.
Short, unannounced pop quizzes will be given periodically on topics drawn from recent lectures and reading materials. Missed quiz will be given zero grade unless there is an unusual reason.
You are encouraged to discuss homework problems with one another; however, cheating (e.g., copying) is strictly forbidden. You will get a zero grade if you copied from others. For university rules on academic integrity, consult http://www.ou.edu/provost/integrity/!
Two in-class examinations will be given during the regular lecture period (dates to be announced).
The final examination is comprehensive and will be held from 1:30 – 3:30pm on December 15. Everyone is expected to take the final, and only under extreme circumstances (e.g., death in the family), will a student be allowed to take a make‑up final.
You are encouraged to see me during office hours, or to make a special appointment, if you are having trouble with the material and/or homework. You can reach me at mxue@ou.edu.
Please take advantage of my office hours! Do NOT wait until the final exam to begin studying! The best way to ensure success is to keep up with the course material and to ask questions. Students who actively participate in lectures and take advantage of the office hours typically learn and retain the material at a much higher level.
Finally, HAVE FUN! You will find what you learned from the previous mathematics and physics classes applied to atmospheric / meteorological problems in this course. This course is also important for later Metr courses, particularly, the dynamics sequence.
Important Information to Keep Handy!
OU CourseNet: http://coursenet.ou.edu. I will use it to send e-mails to entire class. Make sure you received a test message from me sent on Saturday. If not, check to make sure you had your OUnet mail forwarding set up correctly (you can go to http://www.ou.edu/helpdesk/ to do so) so that it points to your regular mail server (e.g., yourid@rossby.metr.ou.edu).
WebCT: http://www.gcn.ou.edu:8900 This is where you will find your latest test, exams, and homework grades. I will also use it Calendar feature. Make sure your set up a WebCT account and include Physical Mechanics (METR2103) in your course list. Your METR2103's WebCT ID is in the OunetID 4+4 format, i.e., first four alphabets of your last name + last four digits of your OU ID (SSN). You should not need password the first time your enlist this course inside WebCT, but do assign a password if your don't want others to know your grades!
Physical Mechanics Course Content Home Page: http://twister.ou.edu/PM2000. You will need Adobe Acrobat (also called PDF) reader to read a lot of the material. It is recommended that you follow the link to this site through your WebCT page, so that I know you were working hard on this course 3am in the morning!
My personal home page: http://twister.ou.edu. Also linked to from SOM home page. Of course, e-mail: mxue@ou.edu.
You also have a TA (quarter time only, unfortunately), Thomas Jones reachable at tajones@ou.edu (yes, his e-mail says he is a TA).
Our office hours are listed in the Syllabus.
You are welcome to make appointments to meet me at other times. My office is on the 11th floor of SEC, away from the SOM crowd.
Important Dates:
No record of grade for dropped course: August 21 ‑ September 1
No refund on course dropped after September 1
Automatic grade of W for dropped course: September 4 – September 29
Grade of W or F for dropped course: October 2‑27
Petition to dean required to drop a course: October 30 ‑ December 8
Final date to change from credit to audit: October 27
For more details, consult Fall 2000 Class Schedule, also found at http://www.ou.edu/admrec/summerfall00sched.htm
Labor Day holiday: Monday, September 4
Texas holiday: Friday, October 6
Thanksgiving vacation: November 22‑26
Last day of classes: December 8
Class hour exams: TBD.
Class final exam: December 15