Physics 541 Homework Assignments

You are expected to turn in the following homework assignments during the semester, by the dates listed. The assignment list and due dates will be filled out chapter by chapter as we go through the material, so you need to check this page regularly for new assignments and their due dates. The homework assignments correspond to the numbered problems at the end of each chapter in the typeset lecture notes.

This counts 25% of your grade. You may be penalized 25% per day for each day that an assignment is late. This is meant to keep you from getting behind; if there are reasons why you need to be late with an assignment, check with me and we can probably reach an arrangement if your reason is legitimate.

Where solutions are provided, you are expected to do the homework before consulting the solutions. You may work together on the homework assignments as long as each person is doing all the problems (That is, it is not permissible for a team to divide up the work and then copy from each other). You are encouraged to use tools like Maple, Mathematica, MatLab, or programming languages like C, C++, Java, Python, or Fortran in solving problems and graphing solutions. However, you may not use “black-box” programs written by others to do problems automatically.

Chapter

Assigned Exercises+

Due Date*
1 Overview
1,3

Jan 29
2 Electrostatics in Vacuum
1, 2, 4, 5

*
3 Electrostatic Boundary Value Problems
1, 2, 5, 6

*
4 Solving the Poisson and Laplace Equations
1,3
*
5 Electrostatics in Dielectric Matter
2, 3, 4

*
6 Steady Currents
1
*
7 Magnetostatics in Vacuum
1, 2

*
8 Magnetic Fields in Matter
1

*
9 Dynamical Charges and Currents
*
10 Maxwell's Equations
1

*
11 Electromagnetic Waves
*
12 Minkowski Spacetime
1, 2

May 7
13 Special Relativity
3, 4

May 7
14 Action Formulation of ClassicalElectromagnetism    
15 Electromagnetism as an Abelian Gauge Field Theory
1, 2, 3

May 7
 *Unless otherwise noted, homework is due 1 week after finishing corresponding chapter.
 +If any problems are within parentheses ( ), they are optional extra credit.