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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2010/2011
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Physics and Astronomy : Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy)

Undergraduate Course: Computer Simulation (PHYS08026)

Course Outline
School School of Physics and Astronomy College College of Science and Engineering
Course type Standard Availability Available to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken) SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) Credits 20
Home subject area Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy) Other subject area None
Course website None Taught in Gaelic? No
Course description This course covers the methodologies of solving scientific problems using computers. It provides a training in the computational modelling of scientific problems and their representation using computer graphics. It also provides a grounding in object-oriented programming through the practical application of the Java language. Students will carry out extensive practical and project work.
Entry Requirements
Pre-requisites It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed ( Applicable Mathematics 1+2 (Physics) (MATH08049) AND Mathematical Methods 1+2 (Physics) (MATH08050)) OR ( Practical Calculus (MATH08001) AND Solving Equations (MATH08002) AND Geometry & Convergence (MATH08003) AND Group Theory: An Introduction to Abstract Mathematics (MATH08004))
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Students should have programming experience (not necessarily of Java) to the level of, for example, Informatics 1B or the introductory computing module in Physics 2A.
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites None
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 2, Available to all students (SV1) WebCT enabled:  Yes Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
King's BuildingsLaboratory1-11 14:00 - 17:00or 14:00 - 17:00
King's BuildingsLecture1-11 12:10 - 13:00
First Class First class information not currently available
Additional information Computational Physics Lab Sessions Tu & Th. If, due to timetable constraints, students are unable to attend scheduled lab sessions, they are expected to fulfil the time commitments of the course outside of scheduled hours.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes Stationery Requirements Comments
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)3:008 sides. No YAFcomputer based exam to be held in Computational Physics Lab w.c. 18 April 2011.
Resit Exam Diet (August)3:0012 sides / graph / loose sheet / no YAFcomputer based exam to be held in Computational Physics Lab.
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, it is intended that a student will be able to:


1. Demonstrate an understanding of the key concepts of OO programming; data encapsulation, objects and classes, inheritance and polymorphism;

2. Analyse a problem statement to produce a simple OO design;

3. Write classes and class hierarchies containing multiple constructors and methods;

4. Declare and initialise objects and arrays of objects;

5. Create multiple instantiations (objects) of a class;

6. Execute methods of these objects and classes;

7. Understand the difference between pass by reference copy and pass by value, and how arrays, objects and primitive types are passed;

8. Utilise classes and interfaces of the Java SE API;

9. Read and parse text from a file and write data to a file;

10. Understand the difference between checked and unchecked exceptions and be able to handle exceptions (throw and try/catch);

11. Write simple graphical applications, including drawing objects, simple animation and user interaction (event handling).
Assessment Information
6 checkpoint assignments, 30%
Project (code and report), 40%
Degree Examination, 30%
Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus Not entered
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list Not entered
Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Not entered
Keywords CSim
Contacts
Course organiser Dr Judy Hardy
Tel: (0131 6)50 6716
Email: j.hardy@ed.ac.uk
Course secretary Miss Leanne O'Donnell
Tel: (0131 6)50 7218
Email: l.o'donnell@ed.ac.uk
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copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh - 31 January 2011 8:13 am