Lectures: MWF 4-5 pm, 75 Evans

Prof: J Strain, email strain@math.berkeley.edu , WWW http://math.berkeley.edu/~strain/

Office Hours: Wed 2:10-3 and 5:10-6, Thu 3:10-4 or by appointment, in 1099 Evans.

Final Week Office Hours: Mon 9:30-11,Thu 10-12, Sat 11-12.

Course Web page: http://math.berkeley.edu/~strain/121a.S03/

Course Control Number: 54948

Prerequisites: Math 53 and 54 or equivalent.

Required Text: M. L. Boas, Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences, 2nd edition, Wiley, 1983.

Syllabus: The course will cover the mathematical methods most commonly used for asking and answering the fundamental questions of physics.

• Divergence and convergence tests for series, power series, summation formulae (Chapter 1).
• Introduction to complex numbers (Chapter 2).
• Review of partial differentiation (Chapter 4)
• Analytic functions, Cauchy-Riemann equations, Laurent expansions, contour integration (Chapter 14).
• Fourier series (Chapter 7).
• Laplace and Fourier transforms, convolution theorems, Poisson summation formula (Chapter 15).
• Euler-Lagrange equations in the calculus of variations and Lagrangian mechanics (Chapter 9).

Grading: Grades will be based on the best 10 problem sets (40%), two midterm exams (20%), and final exam (40%). The problem sets will be due every Wednesday; late submissions cannot be accepted after solutions have been distributed. The midterms have been tentatively scheduled for 2/19 and 4/2: please check your calendars and inform me of possible conflicts as soon as possible, as it will not be possible to schedule make-up exams. The final exam will take place on 5/22, and will cover the entire course material.

Lecture and Reading Schedule

Homework Schedule (Revised 4/29)

Homework Solutions

Exams