Most weeks you will be assigned problems to be turned in the following week. You will also be recommended to attempt other problems from the text. You should make a good-faith attempt to tackle the problems on your own. However, do not spend an inordinate amount of time on any one problem. If you get stuck, feel free to discuss your conceptual or technical difficulties with other students or with the instructor.
Constructive collaboration is encouraged.
This weighting is designed in part to encourage you to keep up with the course. For this reason, assignments turned in late will be subject to a significant penalty. No credit will be awarded for homework submitted after the solution has been distributed to the class. The exams will not merely require memorization and regurgitation of material covered in lectures and homework. The emphasis will be on application of concepts and methods to fairly straightforward problems, some of which may deal with unfamiliar situations.