PHY 330 – Mathematical Methods of Physics

 

Syllabus

 

 

Class Time:       10:20- 11:20 M-W-F, Olin 108

 

Text:                 Advanced Engineering Mathematics, 8th edition, Erwin Kreyszig.

 

Instructor:         André Wehner, Olin 111, Ph. 238-5919, e-mail wehner@centre.edu,

                        Office Hours: 3:00-5:00 M-W-F, or by appointment.

               

Grading:           3 tests @ 15% each = 45%

Final 25%

Homework 30%

 

 

Course Description

 

This course is meant to familiarize you with various methods of advanced mathematics that are essential in physics and engineering, especially in classical mechanics, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics. A solid background in multivariable calculus is expected. We will start with sections 12.1 and 12.2 on complex numbers. We will then try to cover most of Parts A, B, and C (Chs. 1-11) of the book, material that centers around the theory of differential equations, linear algebra, and multivariable (vector) calculus. There exists a Student Solutions Manual and a Maple Manual for our textbook; see the accompanying website here .

 

Homework is an essential part of this class. You are encouraged to cooperate on the assignments, but you should only turn in your own work. I also encourage you to make use of Maple 7. I will pass out worksheets on the relevant Maple commands in class. However, you will not be allowed to use Maple or graphing calculators on the tests. 

 

Late homework will be marked down (of course, exceptions can be made for emergencies). Problems on the exams will closely mirror the homework assignments. If you do the homework, you should do fine on the tests.

 

The solutions you present in both the homework and the tests must be complete, coherent, and well-organized. Expect to be graded on a 90-80-70 scale, depending on the class average.

 

This syllabus can be found at http://web.centre.edu/wehner/courses/p330f02.htm .

 

Schedule

 

Day

Material Covered

Homework

 

 

 

9/2

Introduction; 12.1

12.1: 3-18

9/4

12.2

12.2: 1-19, 21-33

9/6

Ch. 1

1.3: 2-7, 12-15; 1.4: 1-14

9/9

Ch. 1

1.5: 1-4, 7-10, 13-16, 25-28, 31-34

9/11

Ch. 2

2.1: 1-8; 2.2: 1-6, 10-11, 18-23

9/13

Ch. 2

2.3: 1-2, 5-8, 13-16; 2.6: 2-5, 14-15; 2.8: 1-4, 9-10

9/16

Ch. 2

2.9: 1-6, 15-18; 2.10: 1-6; 2.14: 1-8

9/18

Ch. 3   

3.3: 5-8, 10-11

9/20

Ch. 3

3.6: 2-5, 8-11

9/23

Ch. 4

4.2: 1-6, 13-16

9/25

Ch. 4

4.3: 1-2, 6-7, 10-11

9/27

Test 1 (Chs.1-4.3)

Turn in homework

9/30

Ch. 4

4.4: 2-7

10/2

Ch. 4

4.5: 1-6, 11-12

10/4

Ch. 4

4.7: 3-8, 15-16

10/7

Ch. 5

5.1: 1-12, 17-22; 5.2: 1-4

10/9

Ch. 5

5.6: 1-6; 5.7: 1-4

10/11

Ch. 6

6.1: 1-12; 6.2: 1-10

10/14

Ch. 6

6.3: 1-6, 17-18; 6.4: 1-6, 9-12, 18-21; 6.6: 5-10

10/16

Ch. 6

6.7: 10-13; 6.8: 1-28

10/21

Ch. 7

7.1: 5-20

10/23

Ch. 7

7.3: 1-13; 7.4: 5-11, 13-16, 20-21

10/25

Ch. 7

7.5: 5-12, 16-19

10/28

Test 2 (Chs. 4.4-7)

Turn in homework

10/30

Ch. 8

8.2: 4-9, 19-28, 30-31

11/1

Ch. 8

8.3: 1-4, 20-23; 8.4: 1-8, 17-22; 8.5: 1-12, 17-24, 27-32

11/4

Ch. 8

8.6: 1-6, 9-10; 8.7: 1-8; 8.9: 1-8, 19-24, 29-32

11/6

Ch. 8

8.10: 1-8, 12-15; 8.11: 8-14

11/8

Ch. 9

9.1: 1-6, 13-16; 9.2: 2-7, 11-16

11/11

Ch. 9

9.4: 1-8; 9.5: 1-8, 12-19, 24-27

11/13

Ch. 9

9.6: 1-8, 12-15; 9.7: 1-16

11/15

Ch. 9

9.8: 1-6; 9.9: 1-10

11/18

Ch. 10

10.2: 1-16; 10.3: 1-6

11/20

Ch. 10

10.4: 1-8, 11-18; 10.5: 2-5

11/22

Ch. 10

10.8: 1-6; 10.10: 1-8

11/25

Test 3 (Chs. 8-10)

Turn in homework

12/2

Ch. 11

11.3: 2-9, 12-19; 11.4: 5-10

12/4

Ch. 11

11.5: 3-6; 11.6: 2-5; 11.9: 2-5, 7-8

12/6

Ch. 11

11.11: 1-8, 10-17

 

 

 

12/12

Final (comprehensive)

Turn in homework