Phys 227, Autumn 2010 and Phys 228 Winter 2011

Elementary Mathematical Physics

Instructor:            Aurel Bulgac 
E-mail:                 bulgac@phys.washington.edu  
Class:                   MTWTh,  11:30 am - 12:20 pm, PAA A110
                         
Office:                  PAB B478
Office Hours:       On Fridays, in or around my office 2:30-4:00 pm.


Textbook 

                   Mary L. Boas,  Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, 3rd edition
                   John Wiley & Sons Press, Third Edition, 2006.

Homework

There will be weekly homework suggestionss (sent by email), but they will not be graded. Instead the weekly quizzes will be graded and the problem in the quizzes could be similar to those in the assigned problems, but not neccessarily so. Quizzes will cover as a rule the material discussed in the previous week.  These homework assignmenets will be only minimal suggestions and you are strongly urged to work on as many as you can problems.  Some solutions will be provided in electronic form (but only after the quizzes have been adminsitered), and some problems will be discussed in class.  Note that at the end of the book there are answer to almost all problems. Note that not all solutions will be provided in electronic form. There are a number of good reasosns why I decided to proceed in this manner.I will be happy however to discuss either in class or during office hours any problem.

It is extremely important for each student to realize that without extensive practice and a constant pace of work throughtout the entire course it will be very very hard to get a decent/passing grade in this course.  This course covers Elementary Mathematical Methods and you can think of it as the equivalent of learning how to read for you to be able to read real books, in this case read and master real physics later on.

Tentative syllabus

             In Phys 227 we will cover chapters 1-6, and 8, and in Phys 228 we will cover chapters 7,  9-14. The material in some chapters will be covered only partially or will be briefly reviewed. The pace of the course will be rather brisk and each student will have to do lots of reading, as some material will be touched upon only tangentially in class for the lack of time. The fact that the instructor did not cover, either in detail or at all certain topics, could not be used as an excuse for not learning that topic. Ideally each student should master the material covered in the entire book in order to be able to master subsequent physics courses. 

             

Computers

             Basic use of a computer mathematics program such as Mathematica is now an integral part of this course (the computational part) and its discussion will be included in the lectures.

Quizzes

             Each Monday, starting the second week of classes, there will be a quiz, which will be graded and the results will count towards the final grade.

All exams are in  PAA  A110

            Phys 227:
            First midterm:         Thursday,     October 21st,        11:30 am - 12:20 pm
            Second midterm:     Wednesday,  November 10th,    11:30 am - 12:20 pm
            Final  exam:            Wednesday,  December 15th,      2:30 pm -   4:20 pm

            Phys 228:
            First midterm:         Thursday,     January 27th,       11:30 am - 12:20 pm
            Second midterm:     Thursday,     February 24th,     11:30 am - 12:20 pm
            Final  exam:             Wednesday,  March 16th,           2:30 pm -   4:20 pm

            There will be no make-up exams and you need to take at least one midterm and the final exam in order to pass this course.

If you cannot be in class to take a specific exam due to a university sponsored activity please get in touch with me well in advance.

All exams and quizzes are closed book and lecture notes, the use of computers, graphic calculators, iPhones or any digital device is prohibited. Handwritten (no photocopies or printouts) notes will however be allowed, one page 8 1/2 x 11, both sides. Complete and correct solutions of the problems will be heavily favored in grading, and partial credit will be given very very reluctantly.  (You would not buy or drive a car with three wheels, or a computer with missing keys on its keyboard, so do not expect me to treat you differently. AB)

Grading

            Each midterm and the all the quizzes will count for 25% of the grade, and the final exam will count for 50%. When added up all this makes 125%. However, the lowest grade will be dropped. If the grade for the final exam is the lowest then only half of the grade for the final exam will count. Note, the reason for this rule is that you can choose to simply not to show up for a mid term exam (for example, if you have a personal reason), or not take any quizzes, or, instead, take all of them and take advantage of the fact that the lowest grade will not count to your final grade.



Gradebook Phys 227

Gradebook Phys 228

The grades for quizes and exams will be posted here as soon as they are graded. It is your reponsibilioty to check and make sure that the records are correct. If you discover errors please contact me. You will need to show me the quiz or the exam in question and you will also have to explain concisely in writing either on the quiz or exam paper the nature of your concern.

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