PHYSICS 320

Modern Physics

Fall, 2004

 

Dr. Cain              Office: Dana 142

Lecture: 12:30-1:20 p.m., MWF     Lab: 2:30-5:30 p.m., MW          

Class: Dana 153

Text: Modern Physics, by Stephen Thornton and Andrew Rex, 2nd Edition

Office Hours: To be determined at the first class

 

This course will consider the broad field of modern physics.  As the authors of your text say, the field is  “... exciting, thriving, and changing ... .”  The phenomena and theories that we will look at are mostly from the 20th century.  These include the atomic view of matter and radiation, special relativity, waves and particles, wave mechanics, x-rays, radioactivity, and nuclear processes.  Some of those topics you will remember from your introductory physics course.  We will draw on that knowledge extensively.  The material is interesting, although some of it is very new to you at this point in time.  However, as in any physics course, once you learn the jargon, the techniques, and the mathematics that are appropriate for this subject, it should be at least meaningful and understandable.  That is our goal this semester.

 

We will cover material from Chapters 1-13 this semester, eliminating sections from some of them.  You will have problem assignments for every chapter.  These will be a combination of pledged and unpledged work.  You are encouraged to work together on the unpledged work.  However, the work you turn in must be your own.

 

There will be two take-home reviews that will typically include both open-book and closed-book parts.  The dates of the reviews will be given more than a week in advance and will depend on how long it takes to cover certain parts of the material.  The reviews will more than likely be toward the end of September and the beginning/middle of November.

The exam will be cumulative and take-home during the self-scheduled exam period.  It will be due by the end of the last scheduled exam period.  It will also contain open-book and closed-book sections.

 

The course grade will be determined as follows:

 

 

Class attendance will follow the College’s 25% rule.  You are obviously encouraged to attend class where we will approach material in many different ways.  You are responsible for the material presented in class and the announcements that are made there.  Laboratory attendance is not optional; it is mandatory.

 

Attendance at all Physics Department seminars is a required part of this course.  You are to the point where you have enough physics under your belt to begin to apply it to other areas of physics and science.  This attendance will be included in the intangible part of your course grade.

 

Please try to read the material before coming to class.  That way you will at least be familiar with the terminology and can ask probing questions.  We can then spend time in class on more interesting and informative activities.

 

A very rough outline of what we will cover this semester is given below.  This schedule is subject to change.  We will delete some full or partial sections in many chapters in order to get a broader view of our subject.