Home | Course Outline | Lectures | Homework | Files

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS

No.	ASSIGNMENT		DUE DATE

9-12		Semester Project	Thursday, May 10
8	Chapter 17	The 2-D Ising Model and Phase Transition	Friday, March 30
7	Chapter 16	The Microcanonical Ensemble	Friday, March 23
6	Chapter 12	2-D Self-Avoiding Walks	Friday, March 2
5	Chapter 12	Random Walks	Friday, February 23
4	Chapter 11	Neutron Scattering and Metropolis Monte Carlo	Friday, February 16
3	Chapter 11	Quadrature in One Dimension	Friday, February 9
2	Chapter 7	Poisson and Gaussian Distributions	Friday, February 2
1	Chapter 7	Random Processes	Friday, January 26

Suggestions for homework reports

Read Appendix 1A LABORATORY REPORT on pages 8 and 9 of the textbook. You need not follow this suggested report format strictly. When you have completed your assignment and are ready to start writing your report, consider the suggested sections 1. Introduction, 2. Method ... 8. Log and ask yourself whether you learned something significant and worth recording in each of these suggested categories. If so, summarize your findings clearly and briefly. If any of these categories is not relevant to the assignment, you can omit it.

DO'S DONT'S

Do summarize "raw" numerical data using graphs or tables. "The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers" -- R.W. Hamming Don't present 10 pages of "raw" data, unless you have a VERY good reason for doing so.

Do be selective in presenting data. Don't present large numbers of very similar data sets. "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem (Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily)" -- William of Occam

Do present any modifications you have made to programs provided by the instructor. You can print out the whole program and highlight or annotate the sections you have modified, or print out the modified sections only. Don't present programs which you have not modified, unless you really need to refer to parts of them in your report.

Do explain any formulas or theory you have derived yourself, or which you have taken from sources other than the textbook (give references). Don't copy explanations or derivations from the textbook, unless you wish to make an important point.

Do be brief, but clear. "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler!" -- Albert Einstein. Don't make your report longer than required to convey significant and interesting results you have learned by completing the assignment.

DO'S	DONT'S
Do summarize "raw" numerical data using graphs or tables. "The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers" -- R.W. Hamming	Don't present 10 pages of "raw" data, unless you have a VERY good reason for doing so.
Do be selective in presenting data.	Don't present large numbers of very similar data sets. "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem (Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily)" -- William of Occam
Do present any modifications you have made to programs provided by the instructor. You can print out the whole program and highlight or annotate the sections you have modified, or print out the modified sections only.	Don't present programs which you have not modified, unless you really need to refer to parts of them in your report.
Do explain any formulas or theory you have derived yourself, or which you have taken from sources other than the textbook (give references).	Don't copy explanations or derivations from the textbook, unless you wish to make an important point.
Do be brief, but clear. "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler!" -- Albert Einstein.	Don't make your report longer than required to convey significant and interesting results you have learned by completing the assignment.

Questions or comments: phygons@acsu.buffalo.edu