PHY201 - Physics Computations II (Spring 2012)
Maintained by
Jon Pumplin
All course materials and worksheets will be posted here
Instructor:
Prof. Jon Pumplin
(Office: BPS 3240, e-mail: pumplin@pa.msu.edu, phone: 517-884-5563)
PHY102 and PHY201 will meet simultaneously in Room 1240 BPS (Biomedical and Physical
Sciences Building).
There are no lectures: the class is entirely hands-on-keyboard.
The lab will be open according to the following schedule:
You can expect to spend approximately 2--3 hours per week, during those
times, to complete the assignments. If additional time is needed, it will
be possible to arrange to have the room open by request at some additional hours.
Mon 3:00 - 4:00PM
Tue 12:40 - 1:30PM
Wed 3:00 - 4:00PM
Thu 10:20 - 11:30AM (room shared with another class)
Thu 12:40 - 1:30PM
Thu 3:00 - 4:00PM
Fri 9:10 - 11:30AM
Fri 3:00 - 4:00PM
Course Outline
This is the second in a series of two one-credit classes in
physics computations: PHY102 and PHY201.
The objective of these courses is to
help students gain a working knowledge of important computational
techniques and tools used in physics. The first course (PHY 102)
concentrates on Mathematica --- a powerful general-purpose program to
do algebraic and numerical calculations, graphics and animation
for a variety of mathematics and physics problems. The second
course (PHY 201) covers C++; this course assumes you have already
mastered Mathematica (or one of its competitors such as Matlab or
Maple) -- if you have not, you should take PHY 102 before attempting
PHY 201.
Course Assessment
75% of your grade will come from your solution to the worksheets.
25% of your grade will come from a one hour practical exam which
will be held in the last week of semester during one of the regular
lab times.
Worksheets for PHY201
Worksheet 1 -- Due 4pm Friday February 3
Worksheet 2 -- Due 4pm Friday February 24
Worksheet 3 -- Due 4pm Friday March 23
Worksheet 4 -- Due 4pm Friday April 6
Worksheet 5 -- Due 4pm Friday April 20
Final lab exam Thur April 26th (afternoon only) or Fri April 27 -- e-mail me at
the beginning of the week to say what time you want to take the exam.
Reference materials
Some C++ reference books (printed on actual paper) will be available in the lab room.
Online references:
Introduction to
Linux Computing in 1240BPS.
Introduction to
Mathematica (Written by Ellen Lau)
C++ language tutorial
A bunch of
C++ sample programs
from MSU CSE
Graphics programs, including xmgrace
Introduction to HTML online
local html help
Other local help manuals (e.g. Latex and related packages).