- #1
ahsanxr
- 350
- 6
Hello all, I've been thinking about/planning my classes for my third semester at college. So far here are the ones I have in mind with their descriptions:
Intro Physics III - Electricity and Magnetism: Electrostatics, circuits, electric and magnetic fields; electromagnetic waves.
Classical Mechanics: Statics and dynamics of particles and rigid bodies treated with extensive use of vector calculus; includes the Lagrangian formulation of mechanics.
Elementary Lab I: Selected experiments in mechanics, heat, electricity and magnetism, optics, and modern physics. One lecture hour and four laboratory hours per week.
Basic Real Analysis: Concentrates on proving the basic theorems of calculus, with due attention to the beginner with little or no experience in the techniques of proof. Includes limits, continuity, differentiability, the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem, Taylor's theorem, integrability of continuous functions, and uniform convergence.
Survey of Algebra: Surveys major topics of modern algebra: groups, rings, and fields. Presents applications to areas such as geometry and number theory; explores rational, real, and complex number systems, and the algebra of polynomials.
Advanced Calculus: Includes vector analysis, Green's, Stokes', divergence theorems, conservation of energy, and potential energy functions. Emphasizes physical interpretation, Sturm-Liouville problems and Fourier series, special functions, orthogonal polynomials, and Green's functions.
Alright so now that I have the courses I'm considering listed, here is what I have in mind for my degree. I'm pursuing a BS in Physics along with a BA in Mathematics with the most rigorous programs offered by my school in both (the BS in Physics and the Grad-school preparation for Math). So my main concern is whether this is doable or if its just overkill and would result in a burnout. My original plan was 4 of these 6 courses along with a "fun" course but when I found out that the same professor who's teaching us our Physics course this semester is teaching Classical Mechanics, I really started thinking about taking that too (great professor and really helpful in office hours). I talked to him about it and he said that its doable in the third semester (normally done in fifth) if you have the math background, but the one extra year of Physics experience gained helps a lot if you do it in the fifth semester. For math, I'm still considering whether I should do 3 or 2. So in your guys' opinions what's the difficulty of these classes like. I don't want to overly burden myself because that way I won't be really learning the stuff and would just be wanting to get over with it. So should I cut down on a Math or Physics course? Which one do you think it should be if yes? If no, will this load kill me and not allow me to actually learn what's going on, or will it be fine and be just something normal expected from a Physics/Math major?
Here's my Physics/Math background for more info:
First semester: Intro Physics I: "Mechanics and Special Relativity", Calculus II, Linear Algebra
Second (present) semester: Intro Physics II: "Gravitation, Oscillations, Waves, Thermodynamics", Calculus III, Ordinary Differential Equations, Fundamentals of Scientific Computing.
PS, I've heard horror stories about Elementary Lab and how it takes hours and hours to write lab reports. How much truth is there to that?
Your answers/suggestions are truly appreciated.
Intro Physics III - Electricity and Magnetism: Electrostatics, circuits, electric and magnetic fields; electromagnetic waves.
Classical Mechanics: Statics and dynamics of particles and rigid bodies treated with extensive use of vector calculus; includes the Lagrangian formulation of mechanics.
Elementary Lab I: Selected experiments in mechanics, heat, electricity and magnetism, optics, and modern physics. One lecture hour and four laboratory hours per week.
Basic Real Analysis: Concentrates on proving the basic theorems of calculus, with due attention to the beginner with little or no experience in the techniques of proof. Includes limits, continuity, differentiability, the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem, Taylor's theorem, integrability of continuous functions, and uniform convergence.
Survey of Algebra: Surveys major topics of modern algebra: groups, rings, and fields. Presents applications to areas such as geometry and number theory; explores rational, real, and complex number systems, and the algebra of polynomials.
Advanced Calculus: Includes vector analysis, Green's, Stokes', divergence theorems, conservation of energy, and potential energy functions. Emphasizes physical interpretation, Sturm-Liouville problems and Fourier series, special functions, orthogonal polynomials, and Green's functions.
Alright so now that I have the courses I'm considering listed, here is what I have in mind for my degree. I'm pursuing a BS in Physics along with a BA in Mathematics with the most rigorous programs offered by my school in both (the BS in Physics and the Grad-school preparation for Math). So my main concern is whether this is doable or if its just overkill and would result in a burnout. My original plan was 4 of these 6 courses along with a "fun" course but when I found out that the same professor who's teaching us our Physics course this semester is teaching Classical Mechanics, I really started thinking about taking that too (great professor and really helpful in office hours). I talked to him about it and he said that its doable in the third semester (normally done in fifth) if you have the math background, but the one extra year of Physics experience gained helps a lot if you do it in the fifth semester. For math, I'm still considering whether I should do 3 or 2. So in your guys' opinions what's the difficulty of these classes like. I don't want to overly burden myself because that way I won't be really learning the stuff and would just be wanting to get over with it. So should I cut down on a Math or Physics course? Which one do you think it should be if yes? If no, will this load kill me and not allow me to actually learn what's going on, or will it be fine and be just something normal expected from a Physics/Math major?
Here's my Physics/Math background for more info:
First semester: Intro Physics I: "Mechanics and Special Relativity", Calculus II, Linear Algebra
Second (present) semester: Intro Physics II: "Gravitation, Oscillations, Waves, Thermodynamics", Calculus III, Ordinary Differential Equations, Fundamentals of Scientific Computing.
PS, I've heard horror stories about Elementary Lab and how it takes hours and hours to write lab reports. How much truth is there to that?
Your answers/suggestions are truly appreciated.