Announcements
and Assignments
2006

As an ADDITIONAL ELEMENT in the first homework assignment, include EITHER: a couple of sentences summarizing what went on during the TTVN hour; OR the answer to this question about Convocation: faculty there were in academic gowns; what colors of gowns were present there? (Not what colors of trim or of hoods.)
Whether you were at TTVN or Convocation, a bonus point for a valid answer to this question (which attending Convocation would not answer): what does gown color indicate, when it indicates anything?

1st Assignment:
Provide information concerning electronic communication. Access the course web pages; email to the professor the following: your email address, and any limitations on your internet or email access.

Understand all Ch. 1 problems as soon as you reasonably can, starting with the ones in this practice list:
Recommended Practice, not to hand in: Ch. 1 # 2-5, 13, 16, 25, 34, 37, 40, 42, 44, 46-48, 50, 60, 62. Actually, doing all problems would be good practice.
Some general warnings: Pay attention to the differences among differently-, but similarly-, labeled quantities, and to different quantities in different formulas that nevertheless carry the same label. (Prime example, r's.)
Pay attention to the concepts first, NOT the formulas. If the concepts are clear to you, deciphering the formulas should be straightforward. (If it isn't, then probably you don't really understand the concept.) But if the concept is not clear, results from the formulas will be worse, probably, even if the formula seems clear enough.
Before claiming a result "by symmetry", check that the setup really is sufficiently symmetric; for instance, a current-carrying wire may be placed symmetrically but the current may be not symmetric.

Problems are due in my office by 5 PM on the due date. Delivery:
1) Most useful but probably least available option: Write up your answers using the LaTeX document formatting language, and email me a .tex file as an attachment. (For those who don't know about it, LaTeX is NOT a word processing program. You would use some other word processor to create the file; LaTeX converts the file into a (mathematical) formatted document.)
The ability to create LaTeX (or other version of TeX) files will be useful, or even necessary, for anyone who will need to publish scientific or mathematical results. However, becoming capable enough with LaTeX to do this homework will probably take time that you would be much better off using for course learning, and the time needed to produce a LaTeX file would be IN ADDITION to the time spent coming up with the answers.
2) Scan your work into files and email them as attachments. The .pdf file type is fine. The .jpg or .jpeg file type is a format that has worked well with one qualification: scanner default settings for .jpg combined with display or print default settings produce images that are MUCH too big. Set your scanner to produce .jpg images at 40% size, and not only they will come out a better size but the files will be MUCH smaller.
3) Fax your work to my office, 361-593-4011, or if that doesn't work to our department office, 361-593-2184. Promptly after faxing, email me that you have done so, and how many pages you have sent.

PLEASE USE ONLY ONE SIDE of the paper. Scanners (including fax) see through paper surprisingly well. Even if you don't use such a method for submitting, it will be used for returning.

Late work will generally receive some credit until either a final deadline is posted or the specific problem answer is discussed in class, whichever is first. Questions about problems may be asked by email or on TTVN even before the due date; clarification responses, at least, will usually be given to such questions.

On problem assignments, you may work with each other; once they are in agreement on a correct response to an assigned problem, a group should submit a single answer page or set of pages, with all names shown on each page, and all will receive the appropriate score. (Of course, if you disagree with the rest of the group, you should make sure your name is on only whatever parts you do agree on and you should submit a separate answer for the disagreement. If the same name appears on papers earning different scores for the same parts, my presumption will be that the lower score applies.)

On problem assignments, please put your name and a page number on each page you use; put the total page count for any group of pages on the first page. (You need not proceed in order; you may submit your work in several groups of pages, numbered separately, if convenient.) This rule is to ensure no pages are overlooked.

First Problem Assignment:
For Monday, Sept. 11, turn in:
Ch. 1 #6, 7, 10, 30;
Ch. 2 # 1, 2, 6, 7 (using only Sec. 2.1 method, NOT Sec. 2.2 method), 9, 10, 14, 18

Second Problem Assignment provisionally due Monday, September 18:
Ch. 1 # 44, 46, 47, 48.
Ch. 2 # 20, 21, 25, 31, 32, 33.

Third Problem Assignment provisionally due Monday, September 25:
Ch. 1 # 13, 15, 16, 18, 25.
Ch. 2 # 38, 40, 42, 43, 47a, 50.

Fourth Problem Assignment provisionally due Monday, October 2:
Ch. 1 # 34, 37, 40, 42, 60, 61, 62.
Ch. 3 # 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 18, 22.

Special assignment, for Friday Oct. 6: Report either
  1) title and a one- or two-sentence description of a talk given at the Arlington meeting; or
  2) what happened (problems worked on, concepts discussed, etc.) during the TTVN link time on Friday.

Fifth Problem Assignment provisionally due Monday, October 9:
Ch. 3 # 28, 31, 33, 40, 41, 45.
Ch. 4 # 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13.

Sixth Problem Assignment provisionally due Monday, October 16:
Ch. 4 # 15, 19, 26, 29, 32, 33, 36.

Seventh Problem Assignment provisionally due Monday, October 30:
Ch. 5 # 1, 5, 12, 15, 18, 19, 22, 25, 29, 33, 34, 39, 48.

Eighth Problem Assignment provisionally due Monday, November 6:
Ch. 6 # 1, 6, 7, 10, 12, 17, 25, 26;
Ch. 7 # 1, 7, 8, 11, 20, 49.

E-M Home Page

Format for this page adapted with permission from pages
constructed by Dr. Lionel D. Hewett for his course
Modern Physics 1.