Problem sets

There is great value in working independently to solve problems.
However, if you get stuck and are not making progress, you are
encouraged to discuss the problems with me, your TA, or your classmates.
Nevertheless, the solutions that you hand in must be written by you
alone and independently and must be *your own understanding* of the
problem in your own words. You may achieve that understanding on your
own or in discussions with others, but what goes on the paper you turn in
must include only your own presentation of the understanding that you
have reached and not what someone else has told you is correct.
Collaboration beyond that just described or including on your paper
information that you got from others but do not understand yourself is a
violation of the Code of Academic Conduct. Thus students who turn in papers 
that are too much like each other or too much like other sources will be
referred to Student Judicial Affairs.

You should *not* expect to read a problem and immediately see how to
do it. Expect to spend some time thinking and trying various
approaches until you find one that works. It usually helps a lot to
begin by identifying the fundamental physical principles involved in
the problem.

To get credit for your answers, you must show your work, and it is to
your advantage to make it neat, clear, and organized. Please keep in
mind that you are writing your solutions for someone else to
read---someone who is not a mind reader and who has limited time to
try to figure out your solution. If we cannot figure out what you have
done, we cannot give you any credit. Write up your solution after you
have figured out how to do it on scratch paper. Whenever possible,
draw a picture and label it with the relevant physical variables. List
the quantities that you are given with their values and the unknown
quantities that you are trying to find. Then state the most important
physical laws or principles that you are going to use to solve the
problem. If you turn in solutions on problem sets that are difficult
to read and that do not follow this structure, you will lose points
even if your answer is correct!

Usually one or two of the problems will be graded. You will receive
points for turning in solutions to all the problems, points for the
correctness of the problem or problems that are graded, and points for
presentation.