Physics 230

Mathematical Methods

 

How to get in touch with me

Professor Tom LoFaro


Office: Olin 314
Office Hours: see schedule
Phone: 933-7463
Email: tlofaro@gustavus.edu

Text

Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, 3rd Ed.,  Mary L. Boas, John Wiley & Sons.

Objective

This course will be a survey of the fundamental mathematical methods having applications in physics.  Topics include solution methods of ordinary differential equations, Fourier series, Legendre polynomials, Bessel functions, linear algebra, and partial differential equations.

Chapters Covered

We will be covering parts of chapters 3, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13.  Here is the tentative schedule for the semester

Grading

Homework Assignments

100 points

4 Exams

400 points

1 Final Exam

150 points

Homework

Homework assignments will be given daily at the beginning of each class period and will be posted on the Physics 230 homework page.  Explain your work clearly and concisely in complete sentences when appropriate.  Each set is worth 10 points.  Homework will be collected every Monday in class. No late homework is accepted for any reason.  The lowest homework score will be dropped.

Exams

Exams will consist of a timed portion that focuses primarily on mathematical techniques and a take-home group portion that focuses on the application of these mathematical ideas to problems in physics and engineering.  The value of each of these components will vary from exam to exam depending on the material.

Exam Schedule

Midterm I

3/3

takehome

review

solution

Midterm II

4/5

takehome

review

solution

Midterm III

4/26

takehome

 

solution

Midterm IV

5/12

 

review

solution

Final Exam

5/22 1:00PM

 

review

 



 
 
 
 
 
 

Academic Honesty:

As a community of scholars, the faculty and students of Gustavus Adolphus College have formulated an academic honesty policy and honor code system, which is printed in the Academic Bulletin and in the Gustavus Guide. As a student at Gustavus Adolphus College I agree to uphold the honor code. This means that I will abide by the academic honesty policy, and abide by decisions of the joint student/faculty Honor Board.


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