E.g., in the real world the scientist is continually faced with the task of communicating to his or her colleagues the results of scientific investigations or the reasons that future scientific endeavors should be carried out. To this end, I require that all homework assignments for this class be written in clear English sentences , including cases where mathematical equations are involved in the answer. All symbols used in a homework solution should be explicitly defined unless they are standard symbols that have been used frequently in the book or in class. It is also quite helpful to number the equations, as above, so that they can be referenced in the text of the homework problem. The class project will require you to research a subject and prepare two oral presentations, one of 50 minutes duration and one of 10 minutes duration.
Details are available on a separate handout.
For those with no experience with any of these packages, Mathcad is the easiest to learn. It also includes text, equation, and graphics regions so that within a Mathcad sheet you can write up your homework according to the guidelines discussed above. The latest version, Mathcad 8.0, certainly has most, if not all, of the features that you will need for this class. Mathcad and Maple are available to Physics Majors on several computers in the Physics Department computer room, SER 231. Various computer math packages are also available in some of the open-access computer labs across campus.