University of Galway

Course Module Information

Course Modules

Semester 1 | Credits: 5

This is a mechanics course for students who have already been exposed to an elementary mechanics course. Topics covered include dimensional analysis, variational calculus, Lagrangian mechanics and rigid body motion.
(Language of instruction: English)

Learning Outcomes
  1. re-write a law expressed in dimensional quantities in an equivalent dimensionless form using the Buckingham pi theorem;
  2. analyse some simple systems using dimensional analysis and appropriate experimental data;
  3. use the concept of similarity in conjunction with dimensional analysis to aid in the design of scale models;
  4. solve some simple optimisation problems in the calculus of variations using the Euler Lagrange equations;
  5. obtain the equations of motion of mechanical systems using the Lagrangian formulation of mechanics;
  6. mathematically model the motion of a rigid body, and solve some simple problems involving rigid bodies.
Assessments
  • Written Assessment (70%)
  • Continuous Assessment (30%)
Teachers
Reading List
  1. "Classical Mechanics" by Tom W B Kibble, Frank H Berkshire
    ISBN: 9781860944352.
    Publisher: Imperial College Press
  2. "Classical mechanics" by R. Douglas Gregory
    ISBN: 9780521534093.
    Publisher: Cambridge University Press
  3. "Introduction to the foundations of applied mathematics" by Mark H. Holmes
    ISBN: 9780387877655.
    Publisher: Dordrecht ; Springer, c2009.
The above information outlines module MP236: "Mechanics I" and is valid from 2015 onwards.
Note: Module offerings and details may be subject to change.