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Lecturer:
Prof. Eva Y. Andrei
Email: eandrei AT physics.rutgers.edu
Office
Hours: by appointment
Grader: Zengle
Huang
Email: zengle.huang@rutgers.edu
Overview: This
is a one-semester course providing an introduction
to
modern physics. The goal of the course is to help you understand how
physics has changed the way we view the world around us. You will
learn what happens when phenomena are probed at scales that are not
accessible to our senses: the very tiny, the very large or the very
fast. You will see how understanding the behavior of matter at
microscopic scales led to amazing technological applications that too
often we take for granted. We will spend roughly the first two-thirds
of the course developing
the two pillars of modern physics: the special theory of relativity and
quantum
mechanics. We will then highlight the basic ideas underlying several
areas of
current physics
research: atomic physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics and
elementary
particle physics. We obviously will not be able to cover these in
detail in a one semester course. The course will primarily provide an
introduction and overview. If you continue on in physics, you will see
these
topics in more depth in further undergraduate and graduate courses.
Pre-requisites: 1:750:202
or 1:750:204
or 1:750:228 and 01:640:136 or 01:640:152 (CALC2)
Co-requisites: None
Canvas:
All course materials
and announcements will be posted on Canvas
Textbook:
Modern
Physics for Scientists and Engineers 5th
Edition, by Thornton, Rex and
Hood,
ISBN-13:
978-1337919456
ISBN-10:
1337919454
Webassign:
All homework asignments will be posted and graded on
webassign.
A guide to using webassin is here. To sign
up for the e-book and webasign go to MODULES
on the menu of your Canvas and
follow prompts for signing up. A
discount for purchasing webassign may be available here.
Iclicker : We will use i-clicker cloud in class from day
one. Sign up and Download the iClicker app on your
phone or laptop to participate. Follow this link for
purchasing and
registering your i-clicker app.
- Students are required to arrive to class on time
- NO newspapers, no
non-course-related computer or cellphone activities allowed in
class
- Course materials are proprietary -
no sharing outside of class, no publishing on line any of
the course materials
- All students are responsible for knowing and
adhering to the academic integrity policy.
Violations of
this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic
dishonesty,
fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All
incidents of
academic misconduct shall be reported.
i-clicker and class
participation (10%)
Homework
(40%)
Midterm Exam (20% ) November 1st
Final Exam(30% )
Grade Components:
In-Class Activities and Participation
(10% of
grade):
- Reading
Quizzes: After each reading assignment
there may be a short
quiz at the beginning of class covering the reading assignment - worth
1 point.
- In-class
clicker questions: During class there
will be many questions for which you
enter your response using clickers. Your answers will be recorded
and you will receive 1 point towards your in-class grade per class for
submitting any answer to all of the questions, whether or not your
answers are correct. There may be a few questions during the
semester for which you will receive one point if you have the correct
answer, and 0 if incorrect. Such graded questions will usually be
late in the class and ones that nearly all students get correct if they
have been paying attention.
Homework (40% of grade):
- Assignments
due weekly before
the beginning of Monday's class
- Weekly
homework (various numbers of points each).
Exams (20% mid-term; 30% final):
With this
grading
system, the most
important requirement for getting a good grade is to do all the
homework assignments
and participate in class! Missing several weeks of class
and
homework could put you in danger of failing, no matter how well you do
on the
exams! Your lowest weekly
homework score and your 2 lowest
in-class
participation scores will be thrown out, so you can miss one
homework and two classes without penalty. There will be no
make-up homework or exams. These throw-outsť are made to cover illness,
car trouble, forgotten
clickers,
participation in athletic events, etc... There will be no other
corrections made to grades other than for major medical or personal
emergencies. Also, try not to waste your homework or class
exemptions
early in the semester, because you may need them later if you get sick,
forget
your clicker, or for other reasons.
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Efficient learning
practices
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1. People understand concepts by seeing,
discussing,
and applying them, not by passively listening to explanations.
2. Understanding physics (& solving
problems that
develop understanding) is a learned
skill, like swimming or playing basketball or violin.
It takes time, effort,
and practice. Research says better retention if
sustained effort rather than cramming.
3. People learn best by sharing and getting
feedback
on their thinking
-- Student-student more
often than student-faculty.
4. Students learn most when they take the
responsibility for what is learned.
We
provide you with opportunities to help you learn:
- Content,
problems, simulations, guidance, organization.
But
ultimately Learning only comes as a result of your own effort!
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The
amount you will learn depends on how much thought and practice you put
in,
distributed sensibly over the semester.
Before class
- Read assigned chapter before class
-
Attempt
end of chapter conceptual questions
In class
- Beginning
of class Reading Quizz - no makeup
- Arrive
a few
minutes
EARLY to class and don't leave before end of class.
- In
class participation –
explore, analyze new concepts, develop basic ideas
and understanding.
- NO cellphones, no
newspapers, no non-course-related computer activities allowed in
class
After
class
- Master and
retain ideas through extensive use. Expect to spend 4-6 hrs/week on Homework
and reading.
- Discuss concepts, ideas,
problems with peers. Collaboration
GOOD but submit your OWN homework
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Student
are expected to maintain the highest level of academic integrity. You should be familiar with the university
policy on academic integrity: http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/academic-integrity-policy/ Violations will be reported and enforced
according to this policy.
Use
of
external sources to obtain solutions to homework assignments or exams
is cheating and a violation of the University Academic Integrity
policy. Cheating in the course may result in penalties ranging from a
zero on an assignment to an F for the course, or expulsion from the
University. Posting of homework
assignments, exams, recorded lectures, or other lecture materials to
external sites without the permission of the instructor is a violation
of copyright and constitutes a facilitation of dishonesty, which may
result in the same penalties as explicit cheating.
Not
only
does the use of such sites violate the University’s policy on
Academic
Integrity, using such sites interferes with your achievement of the
learning you are paying tuition for. Assignments, quizzes, and exams
are given not simply to assign grades, but to promote the active
learning that occurs through completing assignments on your own.
Getting the right answer is much less important than learning how
to get the right answer. This learning is critical to your
success in subsequent courses and your careers.
Student
wellness services
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Student Counseling, ADAP
&
Psychiatric Services (CAPS) wellness for non-emergency psychological
health issues services (848) 932-7884, 17 Senior Street, New Brunswick,
NJ 08901 http://health.rutgers.edu/medical-counseling-services/counseling/
Violence Prevention & Victim Assistance (VPVA), (848) 932-1181, 3
Bartlett Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, http://www.vpva.rutgers.edu/
Office of Disability Services (848) 445-6800, Lucy Stone Hall, Suite
A145, Livingston, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854, https://ods.rutgers.edu/
Scarlet Listeners for confidential peer counseling and referral hotline, (732) 247-5555, http://www.scarletlisteners.com
- We will use iclicker cloud during class for quizzes, and polls.
- Prior to first
class you will need to
1. DOWNLOAD APP PURCHASE
ICLICKER ACCESS AND REGISTER HERE
2. USING THE ICLICKER
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