EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS REQUEST FOR NEW COURSE
DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL: __PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY_______________ COLLEGE: ARTS AND SCIENCES CONTACT PERSON: _______MARSHALL THOMSEN______________________ CONTACT PHONE: 7-­‐8794 CONTACT EMAIL: JTHOMSEN@EMICH.EDU REQUESTED START DATE: TERM____FALL_________YEAR____2016_______ A. Rationale/Justification for the Course
The Master of Science in Physics Program, for which this course will be required, is being revised in order to even out the workload from one term to the next. This process requires reconfiguring the PHY 530/531 course into smaller units. The change in course description and prerequisites reflects the fact that students may take the courses in the PHY 529/530/531 set in any order. B. Course Information
1. Subject Code and Course Number: 2. Course Title: PHY 529 3. Credit Hours: 2 Topics in Computational and Advanced Physics I 4. Repeatable for Credit? Yes_______ No___x___ If “Yes”, how many total credits may be earned?_______ 5. Catalog Description (Limit to approximately 50 words.): A course in advanced topics in physics including computational physics, classical mechanics, statistical mechanics, and electromagnetic theory. Students complete selected modules in these subject areas, other than those completed for PHY 530 or 531, as determined in consultation with the instructor. 6. Method of Delivery (Check all that apply.) a. Standard (lecture/lab) b. Fully Online c. Hybrid/ Web Enhanced x On Campus Off Campus 7. Grading Mode: Normal (A-­‐E) x Credit/No Credit 8. Prerequisites: Courses that MUST be completed before a student can take this course. (List by Subject Code, Number and Title.) Department Permission 9. Concurrent Prerequisites: Courses listed in #5 that MAY also be taken at the same time as a student is taking this course. (List by Subject Code, Number and Title.) 10. Corequisites: Courses that MUST be taken at the same time as a student in taking this course. (List by Subject Code, Number and Title.) 11. Equivalent Courses. A student may not earn credit for both a course and its equivalent. A course will count as a repeat if an equivalent course has already been taken. (List by Subject Code, Number and Title) 12. Course Restrictions: a. Restriction by College. Is admission to a specific College Required? College of Business Yes No x College of Education Yes No x b. Restriction by Major/Program. Will only students in certain majors/programs be allowed to take this course? Yes x No If “Yes”, list the majors/programs Master of Science in Physics Master of Science in Physics Education c. Restriction by Class Level Check all those who will be allowed to take the course: Undergraduate Graduate All undergraduates_______ All graduate students__x__ Freshperson Certificate Sophomore Masters Junior Specialist Senior Doctoral Second Bachelor________ UG Degree Pending_____ Post-­‐Bac. Tchr. Cert._____ Low GPA Admit_______ Note: If this is a 400-­‐level course to be offered for graduate credit, attach Approval Form for 400-­‐level Course for Graduate Credit. Only “Approved for Graduate Credit” undergraduate courses may be included on graduate programs of study. Note: Only 500-­‐level graduate courses can be taken by undergraduate students. Undergraduate students may not register for 600-­‐level courses d. Restriction by Permission. Will Departmental Permission be required? Yes x No (Note: Department permission requires the department to enter authorization for every student registering.) 13. Will the course be offered as part of the General Education Program? No x Yes If “Yes”, attach Request for Inclusion of a Course in the General Education Program: Education for Participation in the Global Community form. Note: All new courses proposed for inclusion in this program will be reviewed by the General Education Advisory Committee. If this course is NOT approved for inclusion in the General Education program, will it still be offered? Yes No C. Relationship to Existing Courses
Within the Department: 14. Will this course will be a requirement or restricted elective in any existing program(s)? Yes x No If “Yes”, list the programs and attach a copy of the programs that clearly shows the place the new course will have in the curriculum. Program Master of Science in Physics Required X Restricted Elective Required 15. Will this course replace an existing course? Yes No x Yes No Program Elective Restricted 16. (Complete only if the answer to #15 is “Yes.”) a. Subject Code, Number and Title of course to be replaced: b. Will the course to be replaced be deleted? 17. (Complete only if the answer #16b is “Yes.”) If the replaced course is to be deleted, it is not necessary to submit a Request for Graduate and Undergraduate Course Deletion. a. When is the last time it will be offered? Term Year b. Is the course to be deleted required by programs in other departments? Contact the Course and Program Development Office if necessary. Yes No c. If “Yes”, do the affected departments support this change? No Yes If “Yes”, attach letters of support. If “No”, attach letters from the affected department explaining the lack of support, if available. Outside the Department: The following information must be provided. Contact the Course and Program Development office for assistance if necessary. 18. Are there similar courses offered in other University Departments? x Yes No
If “Yes”, list courses by Subject Code, Number and Title 19. If similar courses exist, do the departments in which they are offered support the proposed course? Yes No If “Yes”, attach letters of support from the affected departments. If “No”, attach letters from the affected department explaining the lack of
support, if available.
D. Course Requirements
20. Attach a detailed Sample Course Syllabus including:
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Course goals, objectives and/or student learning outcomes Outline of the content to be covered Student assignments including presentations, research papers, exams, etc. Method of evaluation Grading scale (if a graduate course, include graduate grading scale) Special requirements Bibliography, supplemental reading list Other pertinent information. NOTE: COURSES BEING PROPOSED FOR INCLUSION IN THE EDUCATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY PROGRAM MUST USE THE SYLLABUS TEMPLATE PROVIDED BY THE GENERAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. THE TEMPLATE IS ATTACHED TO THE REQUEST FOR INCLUSION OF A COURSE IN THE GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAM: EDUCATION FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY FORM. E. Cost Analysis (Complete only if the course will require additional University resources.
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Estimated Resources for the sponsoring department(s). Attach separate estimates for other affected departments.)
Estimated Resources: Year One Year Two Year Three Faculty / Staff $_________ $_________ $_________ SS&M $_________ $_________ $_________ Equipment $_________ $_________ $_________ Total $_________ $_________ $_________ F. Action of the Department/School and College
1. Department/School Vote of faculty: For ____8____ Against _____0____ Abstentions ___1_____ (Enter the number of votes cast in each category.) March 31 2016 Department Head/School Director Signature Date 2. College/Graduate School A. College College Dean Signature Date B. Graduate School (if Graduate Course) Graduate Dean Signature Date G. Approval
Associate Vice-­‐President for Academic Programming Signature Date PHY 529, 530, 531
TOPICS IN COMPUTATIONAL AND ADVANCED PHYSICS
FALL 2016
Instructor: Marshall Thomsen Strong 302B 487-­‐8794 jthomsen@emich.edu The goal of this course is to round out your background in advanced topics in physics, preparing you for the 600-­‐level core courses in the Physics Graduate program and for the GRE in physics. A secondary goal is to provide you access to specialized topics in physics not covered in the core courses. Course website: http://people.emich.edu/jthomsen/ModuleWeb/P530home.htm Structure: This course is built around a collection of modules, each the approximate equivalent of one credit hour. At the beginning of the term, you and the instructor will jointly determine the modules that you will complete. A requirement of many of the modules is basic skills in using spreadsheets for analyzing data and functions, and for simple numerical integration. A student without these skills will take C1 as the first module. Modules C1 and C2 are also prerequisites for the 600-­‐level core courses. Each module has a list of topics that you are expected to master primarily independently, but with the support of the instructor and the recommended references. The modules are structured in such a way that the purchase of latest-­‐edition textbooks should not be required. However, you may find it useful to purchase an outdated edition. Check sources such as Amazon.com for reasonably priced used books. Problems for each module are given in the module packet and are not tied to any specific textbook. Students should submit problems for grading a few at a time, rather than waiting until the entire problem set is complete. Problems that are graded as 90% correct or better do not need to be resubmitted. Those scoring below 90% should be redone. Deadlines for completing module work are noted below. Students may consult with each other when working through problems, but they are strongly encouraged to complete the bulk of the work without assistance from classmates. Under no circumstances should complete solutions to these or nearly identical problems be sought out (from the internet or from classmates) or consulted while you are preparing your own solutions. Students should feel free to consult the instructor for assistance both in learning the material and in solving the assigned problems. Please remember that when you are asking the instructor about a problem you have lived with for many hours, it will be a lot more familiar to you than to the instructor (who may not have looked at it in over a year). Take the time to bring the instructor up to speed before you launch into your question. Feel free to email me with questions as well as to come to office hours. Grade Scale: A>93>A-­‐>90>B+>87>B>83>B-­‐>80>C+>77>C>73>C-­‐>70>D+>67>D>63>D-­‐>60>F Modules C1. Spreadsheets in Physics Introduction to the use of spreadsheets for graphing and analyzing data, and for performing simple numerical calculations. Applications are taken from classical mechanics and from electromagnetism. C2. MATLAB Introduction to the use of MATLAB for solving more complex problems in physics. Applications will be taken from classical mechanics and from electromagnetism. E1. Boundary Value Problems in Electrostatics and Special Functions
Study of Laplace’s equation, uniqueness theorems, method of images, separation of variables in Cartesian and spherical coordinates, multipole expansion, and Legendre polynomials. M1. Rotational Mechanics Study of planar and three-­‐dimensional rotations, including the topics of the moment of inertia tensor and Euler’s angles. M2. Lagrangian Mechanics Introduction to the use of the Lagrangian approach to study motion in general and coupled oscillations in particular. M3. Relative Motion Study of relative motion in non-­‐relativistic and relativistic settings. NED1. Non-­‐equilibrium Dynamics I. Introduction to chaos in the context of physics. Prerequisite: C2. NED2. Non-­‐equilibrium Dynamics II. A study of growth processes and fractal development. Prerequisite: C2. RCR. Responsible Conduct of Research This module is appropriate for those who expect to do research here or in a Ph.D. program. You will be guided through mini-­‐modules developed for EMU and you will be directed to read additional material on line. Assignments will be in an essay format. Not open to students with credit in PHY 406. S1. Statistical Mechanics I Introduction to the Boltzmann factor and to the statistical mechanics approach to defining entropy and temperature, with applications to black body radiation. Notes: 1. All students must complete C1 or be familiar with the material in C1 before moving on to other modules. 2. All students must complete C2 before taking any of the 600 level core courses, unless this is your first term taking a module course and you are taking a 600 level course concurrently. 3. The number of modules you complete must equal the number of credits you have signed up for. 4. If you have taken a module course before, you may not repeat modules for credit (unless you are re-­‐
taking the course to improve your grade). 5. LATE PENALTIES: The deadlines outlined below will be enforced. Final scores for an individual module will be marked down 10% if any deadline for that module is missed. An additional 10% will be taken off if the bulk of the work is over two weeks late. As long as significant progress is being made, second and higher resubmissions of problems will not be counted as late unless they are turned in after the deadline for submission of all materials at the end of the term. While it may seem somewhat severe to lose 10% of an entire assignment just because one problem is one day late, keep in mind that in most areas of employment, there are some rigid deadlines that cannot be missed without severe consequences. For instance, if a grant application is sent to the National Science Foundation one hour late, NSF will return the application unread. My experience has been that without this late penalty, most students fall so far behind in this class that they are unable to complete it. It is also not possible for me to give meaningful feedback on assignments if everyone submits the bulk of their work in the last week or two of the course. Hence, these deadlines will be strictly enforced to ensure that the work (both yours and mine) is distributed evenly throughout the term. 6. Deadlines are shown below. “1/2 Mod1” means this is the deadline for submission of approximately one half of the assignments from your first module. “Mod1” means that all of the assignments from your first module should be submitted by this time. “Mod1R” means all first revisions for your first module assignments are due at this time. With this layout, you will be working on revisions of one module at the same time as beginning work on the next module. That is the only practical way to keep up with the schedule. 7. You must check every answer you submit for correct units or dimensions. Likewise, all numerical answers must be physically plausible, both in sign and order of magnitude. Answers with incorrect units or dimensions, or answers that are completely implausible will be returned ungraded. 8. Several modules require access to MatLab. This should be available on computers in the GA office as well as in computer labs in the library and in the student center. You can also purchase a student copy for about $100 if you wish to put it on your own computer. 9. INCOMPLETES: Requesting an incomplete is strongly discouraged. If you do not have time to finish the work this term, you are unlikely to find time to finish it next term. In the event you are granted an incomplete, late penalties will accumulate up until the date you requested the incomplete. 10. Office hours will be posted on my door at the beginning of the term. There will be some set aside especially for this course—hours where you will be given priority over other students—but feel free to come to any of my office hours. Also feel free to email me with your questions. Due to limitations on my home computer, I may not be able to answer your emails until the next time I am in my office. Bibliography Addison, Paul S. Fractals and Chaos: An Illustrated Course. Institute of Physics (1997). Berger, J. E. and G. Nunes, Jr. “A mechanical Duffing oscillator for the undergraduate laboratory.” American Journal of Physics volume 65 Number 9 pages 841-­‐846 (1997). DeSerio, Robert. “Chaotic pendulum: The complete attractor”. American Journal of Physics -­‐-­‐ March 2003 -­‐-­‐ Volume 71, Issue 3, pp. 250-­‐257. Fowles, Grant R. and George L. Cassiday. Analytical Mechanics, 7th edition. Thomson Brooks/Cole 2005. Griffiths, David J. Introduction to Electrodynamics, 2nd edition. Prentice Hall 1989. Kittel, Charles and Herbert Kroemer. Thermal Physics, 2nd edition. W. H. Freeman & Company 1980. Marion, Jerry B. and Stephen T. Thornton. Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems, 4th edition. Harcourt Brace & Company 1995. Schroeder, Daniel V. An Introduction to Thermal Physics. Addison Wesley 2000.