The Classical Mechanics Capstone is the students' first capstone experience at OSU. This is largely a lecture-based course that brings together understandings students have gained from the introductory physics courses and the paradigms about how to describe the motion of classical systems. The goals for this course include:
To refine understanding of classical mechanics by integrating lower-division and upper-division knowledge of classical systems.
To expand understanding of classical physics by relaxing prior idealizations (i.e. including drag forces, considering multi-particle systems).
To learn new techniques (i.e. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods) for finding the equations of motion for classical systems.
To learn about coupled systems by analyzing, in detail, systems of coupled oscillators.
To develop advanced analytical problem solving habits (i.e. considering limiting cases, exploring parameter space, etc.)