PHY370: Advanced Mathematical Methods of Physics

Gustavus Adolphus College
Spring 2003

Professor:Dr. Thomas Huber
e-mail: huber@gac.edu
Office: Olin 209, 933-7036
Required Textbook:
    Essentials of Math Methods for Physicists, H.J. Weber and G.B. Arfken, (Preprint, 2003)

Course Policy and Evaluation

  1. Class Meetings: The class will meet five days per week for lectures, discussions, and exams. Regular attendance at all classes is expected. Students are responsible for informing themselves of all announcements and assignments made in the classroom.

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  2. Daily Assignments: Students will be expected to read the assigned text sections before coming to class. There may also be computer-graded reading questions (WebAssign). These will enter into the final grade along with other written homework.

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  3. Homework: Written problems sets will be assigned approximately every week. Homework sets should be neat and organized. Each student will submit their own assignment, but you are encouraged to discuss the problems with each other.

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  4. Late Homework: Late homework will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor with some loss of points.

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  5. Problem Presentations: Roughly once per week, we will have problem discussion sessions. Students will be asked to present a particular problem illustrative of the mathematical methods being studied in class. In some cases, the problems will be assigned in advance; in this case, each student should have carefully prepared a solution to the problem. The student leading the discussion will be expected to lead the discussion, presenting both the problem and solution, asking questions of the class and responding to their questions. Grades will be given both to the presenters and to other class members for participation in the following discussion.

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  6. Quizzes: To allow you to demonstrate your understanding of the material and class preparation, there will be short quizzes on an occasional basis. These quizzes may or may not be announced in advance.

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  7. Exams: There will be four one-hour exams and a two-hour final exam. The hour exams will have a short answer section, and three or four problems similar in difficulty to those of the problem sets. The final exam will be roughly half on material covered after the last hour exam with the remainder of the exam comprehensive.

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  8. Missed Quizzes and Exams: Students are expected to consult with the instructor in advance of anticipated absences from hour exams. Quizzes and exams will be rescheduled at the discretion of the instructor, and only for valid college activities. It is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor in writing during the first week of the semester regarding any anticipated absences due to field trips, athletic events, musical performances, or other extra-curricular activities. Unless there are prior arrangements, missed exams and quizzes are entered as zero credit and cannot be made up.

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  9. Academic Honesty: In all academic exercises, examinations, papers, and reports, students shall submit their own work. Footnotes, or some other acceptable form of citation must accompany any use of another's words or ideas. (The full text of the Gustavus Academic Honesty Policy may be found in the Gustavus Adolphus College Academic Catalog).

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  10. Evaluation:
    11.      50%  Hour Exams & Quizzes
     30%  Final Exam
     20%  Homework & Presentations
    Final course grades will be assigned using the following scale as a guide: 
         94-100    A         74-78   C+
     90-94     A-        70-74   C
     86-90     B+        66-70   C-
     82-86     B         62-66   D+
     78-82     B-        58-62   D
                          0-58   F
    Assignment of final letter grades will also take into account the instructor's subjective evaluation of the student's attendance, initiative, class participation, preparation (particularly quantity and quality of homework), and evidence of improvement.
     
  11. Incompletes: A grade of incomplete will only be given for work not completed due to circumstances beyond the control of the student. (This is the college's policy)

Exam Dates:

Exam 1: Wednesday, March 5, 2003
Exam 2: Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Exam 3: Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Exam 4: Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Final Exam: Tuesday, May 27, 2003 at 10:30 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approximate Course Coverage

Computer Assisted Numerical and Symbolic Analysis (Mathcad)
Chapter 3: Determinants and Matrices
Chapter 5: Infinite Series
Chapter 8: Differential Equations
Chapter 16: Partial Differential Equations
Chapter 19: Nonlinear Methods and Chaos
Chapter 9: Sturm-Liouville Theory - Orthogonal Functions
Chapter 14: Fourier Series
Chapter 15: Integral Transforms
Chapter 11: Legendre Functions
Chapter 12: Bessel Functions
Chapter 10: Gamma-Factorial Function
Chapter 13: Hermite & Laguerre Polynomials