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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2011/2012
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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Physics and Astronomy : Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy)

Undergraduate Course: Physical Mathematics (PHYS09015)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Physics and Astronomy CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Course typeStandard AvailabilityAvailable to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 9 (Year 3 Undergraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaUndergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy) Other subject areaNone
Course website http://www2.ph.ed.ac.uk/~paboyle/Site/Physical_Mathematics.html Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionAn introduction to mathematical ideas and techniques for other courses in Honours years. The key idea is that of complete sets of orthonormal vectors, and its generalisation to complete sets of orthonormal functions. These functions occur in the solution (by separation of variables) of frequently-encountered partial differential equations in physics, such as Poisson's equation (in electrostatics), the wave equation and the Schrodinger equation. Some of the material will have been covered before in second-year courses; this material will be reviewed and developed, the emphasis throughout being on gaining physical insight into the mathematics.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Foundations of Mathematical Physics (PHYS08024) OR ( Applicable Mathematics 4 (Phys Sci) (MATH08017) AND Mathematical Methods 4 (Phys Sci) (MATH08018)) OR ( MP2A: Vectors, Tensors and Fields (PHYS08032) AND MP2B: Dynamics (PHYS08033))
Students MUST have passed: Physics 2A (PHYS08022) AND Physics 2B (PHYS08023)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?Yes
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1) WebCT enabled:  Yes Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
King's BuildingsLecture1-11 10:00 - 10:50
King's BuildingsLecture1-11 10:00 - 10:50
King's BuildingsTutorial2-11 11:10 - 13:00
or 14:00 - 15:50
First Class First class information not currently available
Additional information Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)2:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)2:00
Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1) WebCT enabled:  No Quota:  None
Location Activity Description Weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
King's BuildingsLecture1-11 10:00 - 10:50
King's BuildingsLecture1-11 10:00 - 10:50
King's BuildingsTutorial2-11 11:10 - 13:00
or 14:00 - 15:50
First Class Week 1, Tuesday, 10:00 - 10:50, Zone: King's Buildings. LTB - JCMB
Additional information Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours:Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)2:00
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Upon satisfactory completion of the course, students should be able to:
1)Relate complete sets of orthonormal vectors and complete sets of orthogonal functions
2)Sketch elementray functions such as the gaussian, the sinc, the ln, and trigonometric functions
3)State the fundamental equations of Sturm-Liouville theory and its applications to physical problems. Solve some simple Sturm-Liouville problems
4)Write down some common partial differential equations in physics, i.e. the diffusion equation, the wave equation and Poisson's equation; identify and use the coordinate system best suited to the symmetry of the problem to solve these partial differential equations in simple cases
4)Write down the expressions for the expansion of a function in a Fourier series and its generalisation to Fourier transforms; calculate Fourier series and Fourier transforms of simple functions
5)Use Fourier series and Fourier transforms to solve the diffusion and wave equations
6)Describe the concept of a Green's function
7)Acquire a degree of familiarity with the MAPLE mathematical software environment
Assessment Information
Degree Examination, 100%
Visiting Student Variant Assessment
Degree Examination, 100%
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
KeywordsPMath
Contacts
Course organiserDr Peter Boyle
Tel: (0131 6)50 5239
Email: paboyle@ph.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Laura Gonzalez-Rienda
Tel: (0131 6)51 7067
Email: l.gonzalez@ed.ac.uk
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