This is a 3-credit course on Modern Physics covering the physics of the last 100 years.
We'll spend about the first 2/3rd's of the course developing the theory of quantum mechanics on which all of modern physics is based. As you'll see, quantum mechanics involves some very strange and non intuitive ideas. These will take some getting used to but it's what makes modern physics interesting. If you go on to major in physics, you will see quantum mechanics at least two more times in your undergraduate career. Then you will develop more fully develop some of the more mathematical concepts behind the theory. In this course, we'll lay the ground work and try to get you accustomed to some of the strange ideas. We'll also need some relativity. Since most of you had relativity in Honors Physics II, we won't cover relativity from scratch but we'll build on what you learned last year and just cover those concepts that will be using in this course.
In the last 1/3rd or so of the course, we'll cover topics from the three main subfields of modern physics:
The topics covered will depend upon a combination of your interests and mine and on the amount of time available.
Please check the home page of the course website at least once a week for important announcements.
The textbook for the course is: Modern Physics by Bernstein, Fishbane & Gasiorowicz. This is an excellent textbook. All of the other textbooks for this type of course are awful. Trust me. It's also at just the right level. If you would like to see something at an easier or more advanced level, please see me and I'll give you some suggestions.
In addition to the textbook, you'll need to buy an "iClicker" for making interactive responses during lecture. (I'll also be using it for recording lecture attendance.) The "iClicker" can be bought as a package with the textbook. If not, it can be separately purchased at the bookstore for about $30. You can find instructions on how to register and use your "iClicker" here.
Lectures will be on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:55pm to 2:50pm in the Physics Lecture Hall on Busch Campus.
You'll find that you'll get much more out of the lecture if you read the assigned material from the textbook beforehand. I'll also post lecture summary notes on the syllabus web page before each lecture. These notes will consist of brief summaries of the main points of the lecture. They aren't meant to be self contained and you'll probably find them hard to understand if you don't attend the lecture to see them in context.
Remember to bring your "iClickers" with you to every lecture, so that you can answer questions interactively during lecture and have your attendance counted. By the third week of class, Monday September 17, you must have your "iClicker" registered and know how to use it.
You can find the lecutre schedule and notes on the syllabus web page. This page will be continually updated as the semester progresses. I haven't worked out the full syllabus because I want to maintain flexibility. It's important that you learn well the basic material before we rush on, so, we will take the time needed and not be constrained by a fixed schedule. For those of you who like to work ahead, I'll try to keep the syllabus page at least two weeks ahead.
Your registration for this course includes an assignment to a 55-minute recitation section. There are three such sections that meet on Thursdays and Fridays.
Either I or the course instructor, Deepak Iyer, will be at each recitation to answer any questions you might have about the course material. If there are questions on the homework, we will go over the essential concepts needed and assist you in solving the problem. We will try to run the recitations interactively with the students being encouraged to help in answering the questions and solving the problems.
It is important that you attend the recitations. Your attendance and participation will count toward 10% of your course grade. In addition, over the course of the semester there will be a total of 10 quizzes given in recitation. The quiz questions will closely resemble one of the assigned homework problems or, in some cases, one of the worked example in the textbook. Well before each recitation you will be told which homework problems and which textbook sections should be studied for the quiz. The quizzes will be closed book and closed notes. In total, they will count toward 25% of the your course grade.
Weekly homework assignments will be posted. You should make an attempt at doing all of the assigned problems. If you have difficulty on any of them, please ask for help at the recitation sections or come to one of mine or Deepak Iyer's office hours. As described above, the recitation quiz will be based on one of the assigned problems. The homework will not be collected and graded. Solutions to the problems will be posted after the recitation meeting. You should go over these if you had any difficulty with any of the problems. You will probably find the solutions useful in studying for the exams.
Please don't hesitate to come to see me or the course instructor, Deepak Iyer, about any questions you might have concerning the course material, homework or related physics. We are want to help you get as much as possible from the course and will make ourselves available as much as we are able to. Please take good advantage of this.
I will be available in my office, Room 314 Serin West, for regular office hours from 3:15 to 4:15 every Monday and Tuesday. Deepak Iyer's office hours will be from 3:15 to 4:15 on Tuesdays. In addition to our regularly scheduled office hours, you can make arrangement to see either me or Mr. Iyer by emailing us. Please let us know the times when would like to come by and we'll get back to you promptly.
There will be two in-class exams during the semester and a final exam, scheduled as follows:
Note that we will use the full 80 minute period for the in-class exams. If you have a schedule conflict with that, please let me know well in advance of the exam.
Each hour exam will count 15% towards the final grade, and the Final Exam will count 30%. The exams will be closed book, but you may bring one 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper with formulas and notes to consult during the exam. (You may write on both sides of this cheat sheet). You should also bring a scientific calculator.
Your final course grade will be based on the following criteria:
| In-class Exam I: | 15% |
| In-class Exam II: | 15% |
| Final Exam: | 30% |
| Recitation Quizzes: | 25% |
| Recitation Attendance & Participation: | 10% |
| Lecture Attendance: | 5% |
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This page is maintained by Prof. Steve Schnetzer.