Physics
374
Intermediate
Theoretical
Methods
Fall
2011
Professor
Wolfgang
Losert
Syllabus We
will
cover areas
of mathematics that are regularly used in upper level and graduate
courses in physics, including important areas from complex variables,
Fourier analysis, partial differential equations and eigenvalue
problems, and nonlinear dynamics. These methods will be studied in the
context of relevant physics applications. Matlab will be used in
class and in HW
Professor:
Wolfgang
Losert,
wlosert@umd.edu 3341
AV
Williams
Bldg,
301-405-0629 Office
hours: - Friday 2.30-4 pm
- email to make an
appointment at other times. Lecture
Mon 11:00am -
11.50am Tu.Th 11:00am - 12:15pm (PHY
1201), Physics Building Teaching Assistant : Hwanmun Kim,
hwanmun@umd.edu, Office Hours Friday 1pm-2.30pm Rm 0104 Physics Building Required Textbook: Riley and
Hobson, Essential Mathematical Methods for the Physical
Sciences ISBN 978-0521761147 ONLINE Lecture
Materials and grades: http://www.elms.umd.edu (access with your
University password, already set up ) Grading Homework
30% Quizzes/class
participation 10% 2 Midterm Exams:
15% each Final Exam
30% Homework Weekly homework assignments due
on paper
Mondays
at the START of class
11 am. For Matlab assignments
please hand in a printout of the Matlab script and program output
(e.g.matrices or graphs) You have
to explain your reasoning for full credit! Quizzes/class
participation There will be quizzes at
the start of some lectures (about 8 quizzes total) based on previous
classes and reading assignments. One quiz (lowest grade or unexcused
absence) will not count when calculating the grade. Midterm
Exams There will be two 75 minute in class
midterm exams, scheduled for: Thursday, October 13
and Thursday November 17
Final Exams There will be a 2 hour final exam. The final exam is cumulative.
To request a regrade of an exam please
submit a clear explanation of the issue and a copy of your exam. Do not write directly
on the exam - the exam will be compared to my scanned copy.
Honor Code The University of Maryland, College Park
has a nationally recognized Code of
Academic Integrity, administered by the Student Honor Council. This Code sets standards for academic
integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate
and
graduate
students. As a student you
are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. It is very important for you to be aware of
the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and
plagiarism. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or
the Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.shc.umd.edu. Examples of violations of the honor code
include copying homework solutions from classmates or webpages. Copyright note: lectures
and
course
matter
are
copyright
protected
and
written instructor
consent must be obtained for reproduction and distribution of lecture
notes and course material, especially for commercial use. Wolfgang
Losert,
8/31/2011 |