|
Announcements |
Last Update:
10/08/08 |
Instructor: Professor
William Warren
Weniger 313, phone 737-4024, email: wwarren@physics.oregonstate.edu
Office Hours: M 14:00 – 15:30, T 10:00 –
11:00, and by appointment.
Class Time and Location: Friday, 1:00, Wngr 377
Prerequisites: PH424 (“waves” paradigm), PH426 (“central
forces” paradigm), MTH256 (“Applied Differential Equations”) or equivalent
courses.
Corequisite: Enrollment
in Ph561, “Capstones in Physics: Mathematical Methods”
Text: K. F.
Riley, M. P. Hobson, and S. J. Bence, Mathematical Methods for Physics and
Engineering (Cambridge Press, Cambridge, 1998), Third edition.
(Required)
Web Page: The class web page is http://www.physics.orst.edu/~wwarren/COURSES/ph461/505/syllabus.html and the
syllabus, this document, and several other important pieces of information are
posted there.
Course
Description: This one-credit
course is intended to supplement Ph561 to provide exposure to additional topics
of importance to students intending to enroll in graduate-level physics courses
such as Ph621, Ph64x, Ph63x, and Ph65x.
The Fall 2008 course will emphasize the mathematics of matrices and
complex variables. The course is open
to undergraduates and is recommended for those who intend to pursue graduate
study in physics at OSU or elsewhere.
The
supplementary Reading and Conference Course is required for physics graduate
students.
Homework: There will be
7 short weekly homework assignments, due each week at the beginning of class,
beginning October 17. The assignments
are posted on the class web page. If you
have not completed all problems, turn in what you have done. Late and partial
assignments will be considered for partial credit at my discretion. The solutions will be posted promptly. If you have difficulty understanding a
homework problem, review the solution (when posted) and come to me with your
questions as soon as you can.
Because one of
the goals of this course is to sharpen your mathematical skills, I will
discourage the use of symbolic algebra computer programs, e.g. Maple, Mathematica,
etc. Computer-generated worksheets will not be accepted for homework except
where specifically indicated.
I believe that
students benefit from discussions of homework problems and a limited
amount of collaboration in their solution.
In this spirit, the paradigms instructors have developed some ground
rules for collaboration, which will also apply to this course. If you are unfamiliar with these rules, you
will find them posted on the Ph461/Ph561
General Information page.
Exams: There will be one final exam. The time and format of the exam will be announced.
Course grades: Homework 30%; Final 70%.
Students
with Disabilities: Students with documented disabilities who may need
accommodations, who have any emergency medical information the instructor
should know of, or who need special arrangements in the event of evacuation,
should make an appointment with the instructor as early as possible, no later
than the second day of the class.
If
you have comments or suggestions, email me at wwarren@physics.oregonstate.edu
© William W. Warren, Jr., Department of
Physics,