Final exam and all homework sets have been graded. Results posted on the door to my office. Note that the ECTS grades are preliminary and may be adjusted after the projects have been graded.
I will be here until January 5, and then again for one day on January 12, and more continuously from January 17 on.
Deadline for project is January 12. PDF file is OK.
Cremona has sold out the Bender and Orszag book but they have ordered more.
Last lecture (review) is here (PDF).
Examples of old exam problems are here (PDF).
Jari's visiting hours are Thursdays 11-12.
First lecture on Wednesday, November 1, at 1000-1145 in FL71.
Book(s) for the fall 2006 decided: Frederick W. Byron and Robert W. Fuller,
Mathematics of Classical And Quantum Physics, ISBN 048667164X, Dover,
1992,
and Carl M. Bender and Steven A. Orszag,
Advanced Mathematical Methods for Scientists
and Engineers, ISBN 0387989315, Springer, 1999.
There are equivalent alternatives
to the first
book (e.g. Arfken, or Matthews and Walker), but the second one is more unique.
However,
we only cover parts of both books, so you may wish to organize yourselves so
that not everybody
needs to buy both books.
On August 24, 2006,
the cheapest book prices I could find are SEK 176 for the first book
(Byron and Fuller) at Amazon.com and SEK 562 for the second book (Bender and Orszag)
at Amazon.ca,
including postage.
The grade is based on weekly home problems (45%),
a final written exam (45%), and a
voluntary project (10%).
A passing
grade requires satisfactory performance in both home problems
and the final examination (performance at 30% level minimum in both components).
Limits for the different grades are as usual: for 3/5 a minimum of 40%,
for 4/5 a minimum of 60%, and for 5/5 a minimum of 80%.
Since there have been a few questions on grading, here are two examples:
Assume that the maximum number of points attainable in home problems is 64, and
in the final exam 24. Student A has received 45 points in home problems, and
19 points in the final, and chooses not to write an project. Student B
has 19 points from home problems and 15 from the final, no project. Student C
has 22 points from home problems, 15 from the final, and 9/10 from the project.
The total scores for the three students are A: 0.45x(45/64) + 0.45x(19/25)
= 0.658406, B: 0.45x(19/64) + 0.45x(15/25) = 0.403594, C: 0.45x(22/64) + 0.45x(19/25) + 0.1x(9/10) = 0.586688. The grades for the three students are
consequently A: 4/5, B: 0/5 (performance on home problems below the 30%
limit of 0.3x64 = 19.2), C: 3/5.
Transparencies of first lecture are here.
1. Frederick W. Byron and Robert W. Fuller,
Mathematics of Classical And Quantum Physics, ISBN 048667164X, Dover, 1992,
The book by Byron and Fuller replaces the previously used book by Matthews and Walker
which is no longer readily available. A list of the chapters covered is given
in the PostScript schedule (see above).
There are nearly equivalent alternatives
to the first
book (e.g. Arfken, or Matthews and Walker, which are actually better but more
expensive or unavailable), but the second one is more unique. However,
we only cover parts of both books, so you may wish to organize yourselves so that not everybody
needs to buy both books.
Other supporting material:
Additional notes are
here (pdf).
Projects are graded based on the originality of the problems, their relevance
to the course, and the extent to which they complement problems in the
current list of problems. The quality of problems is more important than the
quantity, and a maximum grade for the project does not require that a maximum
number (=4) of problems are submitted.
Some of the suggested problems may appear as home
problems or exam problems in the following years.
Note: If you choose to submit a project, be sure to list all references
you have used. Copying unreferenced sources constitutes plagiarism, which
is a serious offense with disciplinary consequences.
A collection of home problems is available
here (PostScript file).
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Schedule (see also
schedule (PS))
Wednesdays 10.00-11.45 in FL71
Recitations:
Fridays 13.15-15.00 in FL71
Fridays 15.15-17.00 in FL71
First lecture: Wednesday, November 1, 1000-1145, FL71
Final exam: Tuesday, December 19, in the morning
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Contact information
Jari Kinaret, tel. 3668, room O5104A,
kinaret@fy.chalmers.se
Tutor:
Visiting hours:
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Material
2. Carl M. Bender and Steven A. Orszag, Advanced Mathematical Methods for Scientists
and Engineers, ISBN 0387989315, Springer, 1999.
1. G.B. Arfken and H. Weber, Mathematical Methods for Physicists
(Academic Press, 2001)
2. R. Courant and D. Hilbert, Methods of Mathematical Physics, vol. 1
(Wiley, New York, 1989)
3. P.M. Morse and H. Feshbach, Methods of Theoretical Physics, vols. 1 and
2 (New York, 1953)
4. J. Mathews and R.L. Walker, Mathematical Methods of Physics (Addison, 1970)
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Project
The project should contain up to two suggestions
for new home problems, and up to two suggestions for new exam problems, all
with solutions. Each suggested problem must cover a different topic. Each
suggested
home problem should be of comparable difficulty as those currently in use,
provide training in at least one topic covered by the course, and be solvable
using the text books used in the course. Solutions should not be readily
available either in the course text books, or in other books that are easily
accessible at Chalmers. Suggested exam problems may be in the form Describe
how you would proceed if you were asked to solve the following problem:,
or in a different form that lends itself to being solved without access
to text books or notes. The proposed exam problems should not be of the
essay type (e.g. Define a retarded Green's function and discuss its
uses would not be acceptable}.
The exam problems should take at most
20 minutes to answer, and their solution should demonstrate that the student
has learned and understood the techniques .
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Home problems.