Physics GRE Discussion Forums

Griffiths (both in his intro to QM and intro to Electrodynamics) gives so many problems under the heading "More problems on chapter xx" at the end of each chapter. On going through many school's UG courses and their home assignments, I saw that no one really cares about them. Even in the discussion sections of many schools (where mathematically intimidating and difficult problems are supposed to be solved), generally problems amidst the chapters are taken. A cursory look through these "More problems on chapter xx" revealed that they are not only tedious, but also quite lengthy when one sits down to do it formally. What is then the significance of these problems. Even exam problems are easier then these.
However, I must confess that it does give me a pang of regret to skip so many problems at the end of the chapters, in a way my inner self teases me "you couldn't even do all the problems from Grifftiths and you think you can do Jackson??"

I understand that, there are people here who have done these physics courses formally in a classroom setting, could they clarify the use of these problems and whether is it peremptory to solve them before saying "I did Griffiths QM or EM".

If you think Griffiths is a large amount of tedium with little reward at the end, just wait until you see Jackson. My EM instructor assigned plenty of problems from the end of chapters from Griffiths so they are definitely used in instruction. They are there so that a large pool of problems exists from which to assign material, and I don't think it is necessary that you do all of them to effectively self-study the topic, but you should read through them and attempt to do the ones that look challenging or that look they would help you better understand the material.

blackcat007 wrote:Griffiths (both in his intro to QM and intro to Electrodynamics) gives so many problems under the heading "More problems on chapter xx" at the end of each chapter. On going through many school's UG courses and their home assignments, I saw that no one really cares about them. Even in the discussion sections of many schools (where mathematically intimidating and difficult problems are supposed to be solved), generally problems amidst the chapters are taken. A cursory look through these "More problems on chapter xx" revealed that they are not only tedious, but also quite lengthy when one sits down to do it formally. What is then the significance of these problems. Even exam problems are easier then these.
However, I must confess that it does give me a pang of regret to skip so many problems at the end of the chapters, in a way my inner self teases me "you couldn't even do all the problems from Grifftiths and you think you can do Jackson??"

I understand that, there are people here who have done these physics courses formally in a classroom setting, could they clarify the use of these problems and whether is it peremptory to solve them before saying "I did Griffiths QM or EM".

If you think Griffiths is a large amount of tedium with little reward at the end, just wait until you see Jackson.

blackcat007 wrote:

If you think Griffiths is a large amount of tedium with little reward at the end, just wait until you see Jackson.

I thought it was just me.