PHY 221 — Classical Mechanics

Fall 2026 · CEET 234A · MWF

Instructor: Jesse Kinder, Professor of Physics
Office: SE 214, or SE 204 (open study/group-work space)
Office hours: Mon/Wed 3:30–5:30 p.m., Tue/Thu 4:30–5:30 p.m.
Text: Six Ideas That Shaped Physics, Thomas A. Moore — Units C (Conservation Laws) and N (Newton’s Laws), 4th edition (3rd edition is fine).

Grades, assignments, and quizzes live on Canvas. Everything else is here.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Think like a physicist. Apply the fundamental principles of classical mechanics to explain, analyze, and predict real-world phenomena.
  • Do experiments like a scientist. Keep a record, make careful observations, collect and analyze data, design experiments to test hypotheses, and communicate your findings clearly.
  • Solve problems. Apply Polya’s problem-solving heuristic. Think critically. Communicate solutions clearly.

Format

This is a studio course: lecture and lab are combined in one class. Physics education research is consistent on one point — you learn physics by doing it, not by watching someone talk about it — so most of our time together is discussion, problem solving, and hands-on lab work. Come prepared: read the assigned material before class, and bring pencil, a calculator, and your laptop or tablet.

A typical class:

  • Your questions (~10 min)
  • Quick problems, discussion of key ideas (~20 min)
  • Group work on problem solving (~30 min)
  • Lab activity (~60 min)

Grading

Grades shouldn’t get in the way of learning, so this course doesn’t run on point totals. There are three tiers: Fail, Pass (with an argued grade of D, C, or B), and Mastery (A).

To pass, you need all of:

  • 6 labs and lab memos completed satisfactorily
  • Problem-solving evidence from 6 chapters in each unit
  • 60% or higher on both unit quizzes (Canvas, open book/note, retake as often as you want — only your best score counts)

If you pass, you argue your own grade — D, C, or B — from the evidence in your portfolio: effort, progress, and mastery over the term. Rough guide: D is minimal effort and progress; C is good, regular effort with most work complete; B is strong, consistent effort with a complete, well-organized portfolio.

For an A, you additionally need to pass an A-level exam — a chalk talk or written exam, entirely optional, scheduled during office hours — for each unit. These test whether you can think like a physicist on your own, not whether you can do algebra, query Google, or prompt AI. You can attempt them more than once.

Portfolio

Aside from your lab notebook, everything you do for this class — problem solving, group work, lab memos, data and analysis, grade reflections — goes in your portfolio, a folder shared with you on OneDrive. This is where your case for a grade comes from, so keep it current.

Academic Integrity

Work with others, use outside resources, learn from peers and tutors — but submit your own original work. What you turn in should show your own reasoning, your own calculations, your own conclusions. Generative AI is useful for composing text and as a tutor — you are welcome to use it. But don’t ask it to do your assignments for you. You do the thinking, you ask the questions. If AI contributes substantially to your work, acknowledge it, like any other source you would cite.

Presenting someone else’s work — human or AI — as your own is academic dishonesty and it undermines the portfolio system this course runs on: it stops being evidence of your learning. Confirmed plagiarism or cheating means the work in question doesn’t count as portfolio evidence, and reporting to the Student Affairs Office is mandatory. Review Oregon Tech’s Student Academic Integrity Policy if you’re not already familiar with it.

Accessibility

If you need accommodation because of a disability, contact me at the start of the term and reach out to Disability Services — we rely on them to coordinate accommodations.

University Policies

Oregon Tech’s Commission on College Teaching syllabus statements and the “Campus-Wide Syllabus Information” document on Canvas are part of this syllabus. Where they conflict with this document, this document takes precedence.

Schedule

Introductory Physics Labs

Week Date Lab Reading Problems
1 Measurement and Uncertainty
9/30 — —
10/2 C1 T1,T3,B1,B5,B6 — M6, R3
2 Gravity
10/5 C2 T1,T2,B1,B6,B8 — M1, M2
10/7 C3 T4,T7,B1,B3,B4 — M2, M6
10/9 C4 T1,T4,T8,B2,B8 — M1, M5
3 Visualizing Motion
10/12 C5 T2,T3,B1,B2,B6 — M4, R2, D1
10/14 C6 T1,T2,B1,B3,B10 — M3, M6
10/16 C7 T1,T2,B2,B3,B10 — M2, M7
4 Collisions
10/19 C8 T1,T9,B1,B3,B12 — M2, M11
10/21 C9 T1,T2,B1,B10,B12 — M2, M8
10/23 C10 T4,T7,T10,B1,B3 — M3, M9
5 Rotation
10/26 C11
10/28 C12
10/30 C13
6 Work and Energy
11/2 C14
11/4 N1
11/6 N2
7 Simple Machines
11/9 N3
11/11 — (no class)
11/13 N4
8 Friction
11/16 N5
11/18 N6
11/20 N7
9
11/23 —
11/25 — (no class)
11/27 — (no class)
10 Newton’s Second Law
11/30 N8
12/2 N9
12/4 N10
11 Projectile
12/7 N11
12/9 N12
12/11 — (flex)

Attempt the italicized problems BEFORE we discuss the chapter in class.

The bold problems are to be done AFTER we discuss the chapter in class. Solutions will be made available for self-assessment and corrections. (You can substitute a different problem of the same category from the same chapter and request a solution.)

All “A” and “D” problems are optional — difficult, but worth the effort.