Return link:PHYS 4303 course homepage.
Last revision: Jan. 29, 2005
Catalog description:
PHYS 4303. Mathematical Methods of Physics.
3 hours credit; 3 hours lecture per week.
A course presenting mathematical techniques used in physics and engineering. The
course will survey, at a brief introductory level and from a physics-oriented
perspective, numerous mathematical techniques from areas such as infinite
series, integral transforming, applications of complex variables, martices and
tensors, special functions, partial differential equations, Green's functions,
perturbation theory, integral equations, calculus of variations, and groups
and group representations. Prerequisites: MATH 3315 or MATH 3320; 3 hours of advanced physics.
Meetings: MWF 1:00-1:50, via TTVN. In Kingsville, room Hill 102
Faculty: Dr. Paul H. Cox,
Professor
Office: Hill 211
Phone: (361)593-2623; or department phone (361)593-2618. University phones
have voice mail; my not being in when you could have called is no excuse.
Email: phcox at tamuk.edu
Department fax number: (361)593-2184
Professor's Webpage: http://physics.tamuk.edu/~cox/
(Note no www on the front.)
Office hours:
Scheduled office hours (subject to change):
MWF 9:00-9:50, 11:00-11:20, 12:30-12:50; TR 9:30-12:50
Unscheduled Office Hours by appointment
Informal office hours when in
Course objectives:
Student learner outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to recognize, in unfamiliar contexts, the concepts covered in the course, and will be able to apply these concepts to work unfamiliar problems, as evidenced by satisfactory completion of an assessment exam. Some further details will be forthcoming.
Text:
Evaluation:
Thirty percent of your semester point score will come from the final exam.
It will take place at the time indicated in the published
schedules, unless announced otherwise. The final will be comprehensive, though not uniformly so.
Thirty percent of your semester point score will come from a midterm.
Forty percent will come from homework assignments. Assignments will be
announced in class, normally due at the start of the second following week.
Point values awarded in grading work will generally be determined by
penalizing steps omitted and mistakes made (not according to an
A-quality = 90%, etc., scale). Hence total points scored will be curved
at term end before assigning letter values, unless that would produce
downward revisions.
Partial credit will be given on problems when earned by legible,
comprehensible work, but such credit may be lost due to accompanying
incorrect steps; correct answers accompanied by incorrect steps or
incorrect usages will not receive full credit. Certain significant errors
will receive substantial penalties whether relevant to work or not (and can
cancel partial credit; however, negative scores will not be given). This
includes incorrect use of units, vector notation, and equal signs. Relevant
steps must be shown to receive full credit for correct problem answers.
Attendance, etc.:
Prompt regular attendance is important to success in every scheduled endeavor,
including classes. Because recent changes in government policies require
such information, I will generally check attendance. However, there is no
component of this course grade directly attributed to attendance. If
you can complete the assignments and score high (honestly) on
the midterm and the final, you can receive an A without sitting through
any other part of the course. (However, that is extremely implausible
unless you are registered for this course only in order to validate
knowledge acquired elsewhere.)
You should recognize that, in accordance with Murphy's Law, if you miss just
once, that class that you miss will probably be the only time that some
concept will be covered that will mean ten or twenty points.
Actions such as coming late, leaving early, being interrupted by cell
phones, etc., are substantially matters of infractions of courtesy to your
classmates, and I expect to leave responding to such interruptions to their
discretion, as long as they are not substantially disruptive.
If degree candidates will require an early final, they should notify me early
in the term, and again about two weeks before finals. At the latter time,
a time for such an early final will be arranged. If an early final is
scheduled for degree candidates, then other students may choose to take
the final at that time, thereby finishing early. However, the final
will cover the entire course even if the early exam time precedes discussion
of some sections.
I do not drop students for excessive absences, normally; if you simply stop
coming, you may expect to receive an F. Further, under new government
regulations you may face financial penalties.
Content, schedule:
Jan. 17: MLK holiday
Mar. 14-18: Spring Break
Mar. 25: Easter holiday
Misconduct: See the Student Handbook. Students who engage in
any form of misconduct are subject to disciplinary procedures. This
includes academic misconduct which specifically includes plagiarism.