SUNY-Geneseo/Physics & Astronomy

Spring 2010

Mathematical Methods

in Physics

(Phys 228)

MT 1:00 pm, ISC 131

MW 1:00 pm, ISC 131

MR 1:00 pm, ISC 131

 

   Pogo's Home Page

   Dr. Pogo  (pogo at geneseo.edu)

   Where's Pogo?

   Office: ISC 228D

   

Syllabus in PDF Format	Virtual Labs at Geneseo:
Demos, Homework Assignments, and Solutions
Equation Sheet for Final Exam	Virtual Lab Instructions
Current Grade Status	Geometric Series Update

What am I doing here? The main objective of this course is to help you develop skill with a variety of commonly used mathematical and numerical methods in physics in engineering. We will focus on the practical rather than the theoretical aspects of each technique, but there will naturally be some theory involved. The topics include derivatives and partial derivatives, infinite series (including Fourier series and Taylor series), vector calculus, complex numbers, linear algebra, tensors, differential equations, and probability. There will also be some examination of commonly used numerical techniques.

What do I have to read? The textbook is: Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, by Mary Boas (3^rd edition, Wiley). This book is very readable.

How will I be graded? Your grade will be determined by:  

Weekly Assignments & Quizzes:

Exams (3 total)

 

 40%

 60%

100%

Final Exam: The final exam will be held on Monday, May 10, from 3:30 to 6:30pm, and will be comprehensive.

Assignments: Homework will be done primarily on CAPA this semester. However, some assignments will require submission of MathCAD documents, or supporting written work. Written work will be graded on clarity (a combination of neatness and completeness) and accuracy. Be warned: an answer is not the same as a solution. Assignments that are too hard to understand are also too hard to grade, and will receive zeroes.

       Some reminders about the minimum requirements for acceptable assignments:

·         Use exactly 8½ ´ 11 inch paper. Do not use spiral ring paper. Use only one side of each sheet.

·         Put your name and the assignment number on the top of each page.

·         Staple your sheets together. No paper clips, or torn or folded corners.

·         Use pencil, not pen. Erase mistakes instead of blotching them out.

·         Work must progress linearly down the page. Recopy solutions that are too nonlinear.

·         Be careful with symbol names. There may be more than one velocity in a problem, so they can’t both be called “v”. Use subscripts when needed.

·         Do not use computational notation, such as ^, *, E, :=, etc.

·         Use words and pictures to supplement your equations. Isn’t that what you want when you read?

·         Work symbolically rather than numerically whenever possible.

·         Box your answers.

What is the course schedule? Here is a tentative hourly schedule of topics for the semester.

What is the course schedule? Here is a tentative schedule of topics for the semester: