MAT291F Introduction to Mathematical Physics
Instructor: F. P. Dawson
• A faculty member in ECE since 1988
• Taught this course for 9 years
• Some notes are from the textbook and some notes are in the
form of Reading Assignments (Short), Extracted Notes from
Reading Assignments (Short) or Supplementary Notes.
• Office hours will be online
• Can be reached by email at dawson@ece.utoronto.ca
• All online sessions will be done with my video turned off since the
external monitor is in a different location
Co-instructor: Spyros Alexakis
• A faculty member in the Department of Mathematics since 2008
• Office hours will be in person
• Can be reached by email at alexakis@math.utoronto.ca
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Introduction
This is a first course in mathematical physics, covering:
• functions of several variables, graphing techniques, limits, continuity, partial derivatives, differentiability, the
directional derivative, gradient vector, tangential plane and small signal modeling
• multiple integrals and change of variables,
• line integrals, surface integrals, divergence and curl of a vector field,
• Helmholtz Decomposition theorem, Divergence theorem and Stokes' theorem in 3d and how they are applied
in an application context.
Content for Class 0 (Introduction) taken from the following documents:
Course Administration (Syllabus)
Lecture/ Quiz Schedule and Assigned Homework Problems
You are asked to read through this material before the term begins.
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Class Notes, Archived Videos, Reading Material, Online Software
1. Posted Assignment 5 (textbook)
2. Other Reading Assignments:
a. Extracted Lecture Notes from Reading Assignments (0, 1, 2, 3, 4) short and 5 (textbook),
b. Supplementary Notes for Lectures 4, 6, 12, 27 and 30
3. Class Notes and Class Note Solutions
4. Textbook "Calculus: Early Transcendentals, 3rd Edition": Chapters 13.5, 13.6, 15 (excluding 15.7 & 15.8), 16
(excluding 16.4 & 16.6)
a. Version with MyLab (some students did not find the resources helpful)
b. Version without MyLab (less expensive)
c. Standalone Pearson eText (least expensive but no access to MyLab study resources)
5. Posted Archived Video Lectures (viewing is not obligatory)
6. Posted Archived Video for each Tutorial (viewing is not obligatory but Tutorial Video's 4, 8, 9 and 10 might be
helpful)
Interactive Figures and Simulations:
You may wish to download the wolfram cdf player at the following location: https://www.wolfram.com/player/
but it is not required since all interactive files in the archived lecture notes are available on the cloud.
You can download the following programs to visualize mathematical problems.
GeoGebra
Math3d: Online 3d Graphing Calculator
Note: Math3d has been used to a large extent to visualize objects and to understand concepts. You can adapt the
downloaded programs, change colors, change brightness or rotate the object, to suit your taste. The program is
easy to use and is very helpful in teaching you how to graph or visualize objects (volumes), lines and surfaces.
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Core Course Reference Material
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Example Week 2: Limits, Continuity, Partial Derivatives, Differentiability
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Example Week 2: Limits, Continuity, Partial Derivatives, Differentiability
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Quiz Material and Schedule
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Quiz Content from Weekly Quiz Schedule
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Quiz Grade and Missed Quizzes
The Course Administration (Syllabus) Document gives a summary of the most important points. You are asked to
read through this material. Quizzes will be marked using Gradescope.
Main Points
• Please use a dark pencil when writing a quiz
• All 5 quizzes will be counted.
• You must submit a petition in the event of sickness else the quiz is counted as zero.
• Any quiz missed for valid reasons will result in the weighting of the exam being increased proportionately, as
per slide to follow.
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Grade Breakdown
Note 1: If you do not write a quiz and do not submit a petition which is validated you will receive a
grade of zero on that quiz and it will be counted.
Note 2: Those permitted to write a deferred exam will not be given a summary of the exam contents.
Students writing a deferred exam will be responsible for the material covered in the course. The first 4
questions of the exam will cover similar material as the standard exam but the last two questions of
the exam are based on one or more of the geometries in Reading Assignment 5 (textbook), which will
be made known on the last Friday of the term.
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Missed Quiz Protocol
There are no make-up quizzes. Students can submit one term-work petition per term without
documentation through the Engineering Portal under the following restrictions:
• Any missed term work valued at 15% or greater will require a signed Verification of Illness (VOI)
(VOI) form.
• A student may not self-declare an illness if they miss an exam. All exam petitions require
supporting documentation.
• A student may only self-declare their absence once per term. Documentation must be provided
for all other petitions submitted within that same term.
The Verification of Illness (VOI) is being re-introduced for all term-work and final exam petitions,
except for the one term-work petition without documentation under the guidelines listed above.
Refer to this link:
https://undergrad.engineering.utoronto.ca/petitions/term-work-petitions/
If you do not submit a valid petition for missing a quiz, then you will be assigned a grade of 0 for that
quiz. Any concerns regarding the petition process should be discussed with the undergraduate
counsellor leanne.dawkins@utoronto.ca.
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Quiz Grading and Regrading Policy
• quizzes are returned online one week after you wrote a quiz.
• all questions regarding grading of quizzes should be directed towards the TA assigned
to grading your quiz and not to your instructor.
• Regrade requests will open 2 days after your quiz is returned to you and close 5 days
after the quiz is returned. All regrade requests must be made in this 3 day window.
• To make the regrade request, open Gradescope to your graded quiz and select the
question you would like regraded. Then press the "request regrade" button on the
bottom left corner. You must provide a clear and detailed reason for your regrade
request. Please note that regrading may result in your mark being lowered.
• All regrade requests will be handled by the grader for that particular quiz to ensure
consistency and fairness. If there are any changes, the student will be automatically be
able to see the changes on Gradescope.
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Tutorial, Lecture, Lecturer Office Hours and Quizzes
X – not
available but
can be
contacted by
email.
Professor Dawson will be absent Sept 3, Sept 19,
and Sept 25-Sept 29 inclusive. Mohamed Mahrous
will look after the Lecture sessions in Professor
Dawsons's absence.
Professor Alexakis’ office hours are on Mondays
from 12:00-1:00 pm in person.
Professor Dawson’s Office hours are on Mondays
from 12:00-1:00 pm online.
There will be two additional makeup lectures for
Sections L103 and L104 and a makeup tutorial for
Sections T105-T108.
Refer to the Course Administration (Syllabus)
Document for details.
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Calculators and aids
are not permitted for
quizzes. The same
rules apply to the final
exam.
Lecture and Tutorials and Protocol for Office Hours
Lectures and Tutorials
• Lectures will be in class.
Note: the first Lecture will be: Tuesday Sept. 2 for Sections 101 and 102.
There will be two makeup lectures for Section L103 and L104:
L103, Friday September 5: 10-11 am, Rm: BA 1180: L104, Friday September 5: 9-10 am, Rm: SF 1101
L103, Friday October 17: 1-2 pm, Rm: SF 1101: L104, Friday October 17: 9-10 am, Rm: SF 1101 make up for
the Thanksgiving holiday.
• Tutorials will be in class. The Friday time slot usually assigned for quizzes will be used for an additional weekly
tutorial on weeks when there is no quiz. A tutorial will be given on Friday Sept 12.
Office hours
• The instructor and tutorial assistants for the course will hold weekly office hours.
• The time and locations are listed in the module titled ‘Office hour schedule” on Quercus.
• Office hours will start the week of September 9.
• Office hours are for generic problems associated with previous material which you had a problem
understanding or concepts that you are still struggling with. Questions related to the assigned problems should
be discussed with your TA or posted on Piazza.
• You are welcome to attend office hours for any instructor or TA.
• All in person and online office hours for the two faculty instructors are by e-mail appointment, at least 6 hours
in advance. Give a brief description of the problem(s) or issues that you wish to discuss. Office hours for TAs will
depend on the TA's preference.
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Time Management
This is a traditional classroom model, so it is important that you:
• read the applicable Class Notes and Assigned Reading Material after or before the lecture is over.
• work on the assigned problems and watch any Archived Tutorial or Lecture Videos, if required, before your
scheduled tutorial session.
• prepare for the quiz which will be based on the material that was covered in class the two weeks.
• monitor Quercus: details of the final exam will be posted at least one week before the exam.
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