Computational Physics
Physics 4301/5322
Course Outline
Spring Semester 2012
Instructor: Thomas L. Gibson
Office: Sc 27 Phone:742-1606
OfficeHours: 10:00-11:00 (M-Th)
e-mail: thomas.gibson@ttu.edu
Web page:
http://www.phys.ttu.edu/~ritlg/courses/p5322/index.html
Required Text: Numerical Methods for Physics, 2nd Edition,
by Alejandro L. Garcia (Prentice Hall, 2000).
Recommended Texts: Gnuplot in Action:
Understanding Data with Graphs, by Philipp K. Janert (Manning
Publications, 2009) ISBN-13: 978-1933988399, and Engineering Problem Solving
with C++, by D.M. Etter and J.A. Ingber (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008)
ISBN-13:978-0-13-601175-0.
Important Notes
-
Any student who, because of a disability, may
require special arrangements in order to meet the
course requirements should contact the instructor
as soon as possible to make any necessary
arrangements. Students should present
appropriate verification from Student Disability
Services during the instructor¹s office hours.
Please note instructors are not allowed to provide
classroom accommodations to a student until
appropriate verification from Student Disability
Services has been provided. For additional
information, you may contact the Student Disability
Services office at 335 West Hall or 806-742-2405.
- The faculty is strongly committed to upholding standards of academic
integrity. These standards, at the minimum, require that students
never present the work of others as their own.
Grading Policy
- Students taking this course for graduate credit under Phys 5322 will
have longer and more challenging assignments than students enrolled
under Phys 4301.
Since there are no formal exams, each student's course grade will be
based on how well the assigned work is accomplished. However, no
one should expect a high grade based on simply doing the minimum for
each assignment; correct, but perfunctory work is, at best, average.
-
- Unannounced quizzes may be given at the discretion of the
instructor. Grades on these quizzes will be used to assign
bonus points.
-
- Credit Breakdown:
 |
Project Writeup: | 50% |
 |
Demonstration of Program: | 50% |
- Late Homework:
- Late homework will not be accepted.
-
Grading Scale
92-100 | A |
82-91 | B |
66-81 | C |
55-65 | D |
I do use +/- grades one point either side of a
grade boundary, e.g., grades of 90 or 91 earn a B+ while grades
of 92 or 93 earn an A-.
- Course Goals
- This course is intended to acquaint students with the basic use of
numerical methods for use in science and engineering environments.
- Expected Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able
to:
- Write programs to apply basic numerical methods.
- Display information in graphical or tabular formats.
- Convey technical information with precision and concision.
- Methods for Assessing the Expected Learning Outcomes
The expected learning outcomes for the course will be assessed
through:
- Guided Classroom Exercises, In-Class Demonstration of Programming
Projects, Critique of Writeup for each Programming Project.
Writeup and Demonstration of Program
- The writeup should be no more than five pages maximum
including any graphical output. Each writeup should contain the
following labelled sections:
- Title of assignment.
- Statement of the problem.
- Brief documentation of your program written for a novice
user, including a specific test case so that the user
will know if the program is working..
- Explicit (but brief) description of the testing that you did to
debug and prove your code.
- If appropriate, clearly labelled results in tabular and/or
graphical form.
- Conclusions based on your results. Be sure to mention any
problems or pitfalls with the particular methods used. I do
not want this section to include any of your debugging
woes.
- The demonstration of your program will consist of the instructor
sitting at one of the workstations and running your code with you
present. Quality of the user interface, ease of use, error
trapping, and accuracy will determine this portion of your
grade.
-
- Here is a checklist for each of
your assignments.
Strategy for Success
- Be prepared! Study your notes and read the text as well as other,
appropriate materials before you come to class.
- Begin all homework assignments as soon as possible. The assignments
take time and thought---never wait until the night before an
assignment is due.
- Do your own work. Doing is indispensable to learning. Although you
are free to discuss the homework or problems with other
members of the class, do not rely on others to
figure out all of your problems!
- See your instructor if you are stuck---that's why they pay me the
big bucks!
This page designed and maintained by
t.l. gibson
Page last modified January 16, 2012
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