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Announcements |
Last Update: 9/23/08 |
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: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 11:00, Weniger 304
Prerequisites: PH424 (“waves” paradigm), PH426 (“central
forces” paradigm), MTH256 (“Applied Differential Equations”).
Texts: 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://physics.oregonstate.edu/~wwarren/COURSES/ph461 and the
syllabus, this document, and several other important pieces of information are
posted there.
Course
Description: This course is
intended to provide students with the basic mathematical tools needed for
success in advanced upper division physics courses such as the E&M and the
Quantum Mechanics capstones, and beginning graduate courses. While I do not intend to be mathematically
“sloppy,” the emphasis will be less on rigor (e.g. proofs of existence and
convergence) and more on how to use the techniques of mathematics to solve
physics problems. You will have seen
parts of the course material previously in your math courses and the paradigms;
other parts will probably be new to you.
The goals of this capstone are to bring these ideas together into a
useful mathematical “toolbox,” and to help you understand the common
mathematical principles that underlie diverse areas of physics.
Note to
Graduate Students: Graduate
Students enrolled in Ph561 will be expected to do extra assigned homework
problems. Physics graduate students
are also required to enroll in a supplementary
Homework: There will be
10 weekly homework assignments, due Wednesdays at the beginning of class. 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. For your information (or perhaps as a
reminder) I have reproduced the rules below.
If you have any questions about what constitutes proper collaboration,
please see me or ask in class.
Ground Rules for Homework Collaboration:
1.
We strongly encourage students to work with each other, more advanced students,
and the professor. However, each student is expected to turn in independent
assignments that show evidence of individual thought. This applies most
especially to computer assignments (when permitted!). NEVER work together so
closely with someone that you produce the same exact solution. This invariably
means that one person has been the dominant partner and it is impossible for
the instructor to determine who it was. Such assignments may be returned
ungraded, and students requested to turn in new assignments, different from
each other and different from the original.
Some students find it difficult to decide what constitutes too much
collaboration.
(i) Under no circumstances may you ever copy another
student's work, even if the two of you have collaborated to work through the
problem. Under no circumstances may you ever allow your own work to be copied.
(ii) Try to make progress on a problem on your own. If you cannot, seek help
from other resources to overcome a specific hurdle, then
try to make further headway on your own. Once you have solved the problem, be
honest with yourself about how much intellectual input came from you, and try
to improve next time. Rewrite the problem solution without reference to any
notes, explaining the steps as you go, as you would to a novice problem solver.
Once you have done this, you will have generated a unique solution and one that
will have taught you something about what you really understand. Do not be
discouraged if you find that some problems require hints and help all the way
through. If you are able to explain previously solved problems coherently, you
are making good progress.
(iii) A good test of your understanding is to explain a problem to someone
else. Be conscious of your role in a collaboration. If
it is clear that you have mastered the problem and your collaborator is a
novice, limit your help to putting the person on the track to solving the problem
alone. Do not give too much help. Conversely, if you are seeking help from an
expert, don't allow the expert to guide you all the way through. If the
exchange is between people of a similar level of understanding, keep
challenging one another, asking questions and providing answers, going beyond
the limits of the problem. This is the fun part of physics - endless discussion
about interesting problems! (Please note that I do not mean to categorize
students as "weak or strong". Expert and novice can refer to two
students of equal talent and ability - but one happens to have already solved
the problem!)
2.
Homework solutions from previous years are strictly off-limits. You are on your
honor not to use them. Allow faculty to use their time interacting with you,
rather than continually thinking up new assignments. Besides, if you don't do
the work yourself, it will show up very clearly on exams.
3.
Sources must be appropriately documented. If you find a homework problem worked
out somewhere (other than homework solutions from previous years), you may
certainly use that resource, just make sure you reference it properly. If
someone else helps you solve a problem, reference that too. In a research
paper, the appropriate reference would be:
Jane Doe, (private communication).
4.
If you find that you have worked on a problem for 1/2 hour without making any
progress, it would be a good idea to stop and seek help.
Exams: There will be one in-class midterm (Friday, November 7) and a two-hour final exam Wednesday, December 10, 12:00 --13:50). The exams will be closed-book, but you may bring one sheet (8½″ by 11″) of notes for reference.
Course grades: Homework 20%; Midterm 30%; Final 50%.
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,