HOMEWORK
MTH 437/537 — Spring 2011
Ground Rules
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Suggested Reading
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It is to your advantage to skim suggested readings as soon as possible.
However, do not expect to master this material the first time around. Don't
worry; we'll cover it in class, after which the readings should make more
sense. But be warned: we will not always cover the material the same way it
is presented in the text. The bottom line is that you are only responsible
for material covered in class.
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Written Work
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It is your job to explain your work to me clearly and completely. Here are
some guidelines:
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Write legibly, or use a word processor;
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Do not use scratch paper;
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Explain at least briefly what you're trying to do, don't just do it;
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Use complete sentences;
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Equations should (mostly) be contained in sentences;
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Feel free to use technology when appropriate, but this must be clearly
documented. If possible, attach a printout of your session, together with a
brief explanation of what you did.
You may discuss homework problems with anyone you like, and you may use any
reference materials you like. However, you must write up the solutions
in your own words, and you must indicate what help you used.
Late homework will be corrected as a courtesy to you, but can earn at most
half credit.
Assignments
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Week 9
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Suggested reading:
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Chapter 8
of the text.
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Assignment (due 5/27/11):
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Please complete the assignment sheet.
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Week 8
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NO CLASS THIS WEEK
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Week 7
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Suggested reading:
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Chapter 6
and
Chapter 7
of the text.
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Assignment (due 5/13/11):
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Please complete the assignment sheet.
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Week 6
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Suggested reading:
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Chapter 4
and
Chapter 5
of the text.
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Assignment (complete by 5/6/11):
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Compute the connection 1-forms and the curvature 2-forms for the Schwarzschild
metric.
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You do not need to turn this in, but you are strongly encouraged to
perform these computations. You can check your answers in several places,
including
Relativity Demystified
(with a little work — the notation is a bit different, and a more
general computation is done there).
If checking your answers elsewhere, make sure you know the difference between
an orthonormal frame and a coordinate frame!
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Week 5
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Suggested reading:
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Sections 7–9 of
Chapter 3
of the text.
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Assignment (due 4/29/11):
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Please complete the assignment sheet.
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You may want to work on these problems before the due date; they do not
use any new material from Week 5.
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Week 4
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Suggested reading:
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Sections 5–7 of
Chapter 3
of the text.
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Assignment (due 4/22/11):
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Please complete the assignment sheet.
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Week 3
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Suggested reading:
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Section 1.7
of the text.
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The first five sections of
Chapter 3
of the text.
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Assignment (due 4/15/11):
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Please complete the assignment sheet.
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Week 2
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Suggested reading:
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Chapter 6
of my
notes on differential forms,
which is summarized in
§1.5
of the text.
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Chapter 8
of my
notes on differential forms,
which is summarized in
§1.6
of the text.
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The first three sections of
Chapter 2
of the text.
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Assignment (not to turn in):
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Make sure you understand how to determine the connection 1-forms for polar
coordinates, preferably in more than one way. It wouldn't hurt to compute the
curvature 2-forms as well.
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Assignment (due 4/8/11):
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Please complete the assignment sheet.
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Week 1
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Suggested reading:
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Chapters 4–6
of my
notes on special relativity,
which are summarized in the first four sections of
Chapter 1
of the text.
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Assignment (due 3/30/11):
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Please send an email message to me at
tevian@math.oregonstate.edu.
Please include some information about yourself, such as your math/physics
background and your motivation for taking this class.
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If you took MTH 434/534, feel free to include comments about that class.
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I will assume that email is a reliable way to reach you unless you tell me
otherwise. If you don't check your email regularly, please let me know.
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It is to your advantage to provide me with a campus email address, as there
are some things (such as grades) which I will not send elsewhere.
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Assignment (due 4/4/11):
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Please complete the assignment sheet.