 Departmental page.
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 WebPhysics page.
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Since students have different skills, a computational physics course at an undergraduate liberal arts college must be flexible. Some students write well; other students have good graphical design skills; and other students have mathematical ability. Most students will not major in physics and many will not major in science. We believe, however, that Computational Physics has broad appeal since it is an effective way to develop problem solving skills and to become computer literate. Students perceive that they are not well educated without a good understanding of a computer's power and its limitations. Learning to design a good user interface that communicates an idea is part of our course. So is downloading information via the World Wide Web, FTP_ing homework, getting help from Computer Services, and emailing other students or the instructor. We have adopted Borland Delphi as our programming environment and have developed a library of Delphi components, called Science Tools, that allows students to quickly build a Windows application that contains graphs, numerical methods, and input/output fields for floating point numbers. It is our intent (following a philosophy pioneered by the M.U.P.P.E.T. team at the University of Maryland) that students use the computer to explore real scientific problems early in their undergraduate career. Examples of student work will be presented.
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Departmental page.
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WebPhysics page.
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