Re: [Phys-l] Newton and Snell (was Global evolution as fact)

[Bernard Cleyet <bernardcleyet@redshift.com>]

In many UK Us such mechanics are not taught in phys. depts., but in the maths dept. as applied math.  

bc


On 2011, Jan 11, , at 14:36, LaMontagne, Bob wrote:

> John,
>
> May I also chime in with a preference for your outline of topics. We spend too much time with the kinematic equations for constant acceleration - mostly because we wish to apply F=ma at some point. THESE ARE REALLY MATH EQUATIONS, NOT PHYSICS PER SE. (bc) It may be nice to know how long a runway must be if an aircraft with a certain acceleration needs a certain take off speed - but these are math problems. We probably only do them in our courses because we spent time developing the kinematic equations. If we covered other topics, and used impulse<-->momentum instead of F=ma, we would probably find a whole new set of problems that we would feel are important.
>
> Bob at PC