Class Schedule
Two sessions / week, 1 hour / session.
Textbooks
Optics by Hecht, 3rd edition (Addison-Wesley)
Grading
2.71: 30% Homework, 40% Quizzes, 30% Final Exam
Exam Dates and Content
Week 8 - Geometrical optics, wave propagation (1 hr, in class)
Week 16 - Fourier optics (1 hr, in class)
Final Exam: Comprehensive upon all the material covered in the class.
Policies
Please read this page carefully, as these policies will be followed without exception during the term. This page was posted on September 5, 2001 and will not change until December 31, 2001.
Collaboration and Homework Policies
You may collaborate to solve the homeworks, but you should write your own solutions yourself and make sure you understand everything you write down. The projects [2.710 only] are collaborative by nature, but each team member should be at least aware of what other team members are doing (see the projects page for more details). Naturally, no collaboration is allowed in the quizes and final exam.
As you will find out, there will be three kind of homework problems: (a) simple substitution type problems, that you can solve easily once you comprehend which formula applies where; (b) deeper problems that require you to prove some result that was omitted in class, or derive a follow-up result from the lecture; (c) research-grade problems [2.710 only], where the answer is open-ended and may require some extra thinking on your part. Normally, each 2.71 homework will have 2-3 problems of type (a) and 1-2 problems of type (b); each 2.710 homework will have 1-2 problems of type (a) and 2-3 problems of type (b), while problems of type (c) will be rarer (1 every 3-4 homeworks, and in that case there will be no problems of type b). In the weeks leading to the Quiz, we will post solved practice problems and their solutions. You should go through these as part of your preparation, but this is optional and completely up to you.
The instructors will be available to answer questions during office hours and by e-mail as late as possible before the due date. Please do not phone-call regarding homework questions. E-mail is much less intrusive.
Late Policies
The instructors dislike negotiations of the type "I have three more homeworks due on that date, can I get an extension?" Please be professional and manage your time so that you can be punctual in this as well as other classes. If you anticipate a major disruption (e.g., a competitive athletic event or a doctoral qualifying oral exam) please arrange at least one week ahead of time with the instructors on how and when to deliver your conflicting assignment. If you deliver a homework late without excuse, 25% of the grade will be subtracted for every overdue date (so your paper will be worthless after the 4th day).
In case of sickness or other personal/family emergencies: if you notify us ahead of time (e-mail or phone-call received before the time the class starts on the date the assignment is due) we will postpone your due date for as long as you need to recover. If you wait until after other homeworks are collected, we may ask you for a letter from the Medical Department or the Consulting Deans in order to give you full credit for the overdue homework. The same policy applies if you miss a Quiz. We will do everything possible to reschedule the missed Quiz at a mutually convenient time. The standard Institute policies apply if you miss the Final Exam.
We will make every effort to post solutions right after the due date for each homework. If you deliver your homework late, you should refrain from looking at the solutions under any circumstances. We count on your honor and conscience that you will abide by that rule.
Grade Distribution
Even though the Mechanical Engineering department has some grade distribution guidelines in place amounting to "grading on a curve," we will not follow them. According to Institute policies, each grade designation is earned according to the competence that you demonstrate during the course of the subject. Please see Section 2.60 of the Rules and Regulations of the Faculty for more information. In both 2.71/2.710 subjects, we use the Institute definitions.