Kenyon College Department of Physics 
Kenyon College Department of Physics
This class is a one-semester introduction to "modern" physics, including topics in optics, special relativity, quantum theory, atomic physics, nuclear physics, and elementary particles. This is pretty mind-bending stuff! Our syllabus is a full one, so I expect the class to move along pretty rapidly.
Our class meets for lecture on MWF at 10:10 - 11:00 a.m. in MAP 109 (the Franklin Miller Lecture Hall). Although I will not make a formal check of attendance, you are expected to be in class unless you have an excused absence.
This class has a co-requisite of Physics 146, Introduction to Experimental Physics II. Sections of this class meet Monday through Thursday afternoons; if you are not enrolled in a section of Physics 146, do so at once!
The text for our course is Elementary Modern Physics by Paul Tipler, available at the bookstore. At the beginning of the semester we will also draw on material from Volume 2 of Physics by Halliday, Resnick and Krane. Nearly everyone in the course should already have a copy of this, so I did not order any more for the bookstore. Let me know if you do not have access to this book, and I'll try to make some temporary arrangement for you.
The grade for this course is based on the following elements.
Homework. There will be weekly homework assignments, due on Friday at class time. Because I plan to provide homework solutions immediately after this, late homework sets will not be accepted except in extraordinary circumstances. However, I will drop your lowest homework grade when computing your final homework score, so if you don't finish one it will be no big deal. Homework counts 25% of your total grade.
Exams. There will be two mid-term exams and one final exam for the semester. The mid-terms will be in the evening and last two hours; the final exam will be at the regular exam time for our course and will last three hours. The specific dates will be
| Mid-term exam #1 | 7:30 p.m. | Wednesday, 13 February 2002 |
| Mid-term exam #2 | 7:30 p.m. | Monday, 1 April 2002 |
| Final exam | 8:30 am | Friday, 10 May 2002 |
(On the dates of the two mid-term exams, I do not plan to have a regular class meeting.) Any changes in this schedule will be announced well in advance. If you cannot make it to one of these dates, let me know as soon as possible so that we can make an alternate arrangement. Each exam will count 25% of your overall grade.
Something a little different. The play Copenhagen by Michael Frayn deals with some important issues in the development of quantum and nuclear physics in the 20th Century (among other things). It won several awards and was one of the "must see" plays on the London stage and on Broadway for the last couple of years. We will have an informal "reader's theater" rendition of Copenhagen on Monday evening, 22 April 2002, at 8 p.m. Attendance will be required and will count toward your grade as an entire homework assignment. If you have a really good excuse and make a prior arrangement with me, I will excuse you from coming. Otherwise, be there!
Extra credit. You will have the opportunity to earn extra credit points by attending Physics Department colloquium talks during the semester. These will typically be at 3:10 p.m. on Friday afternoon in MAP 109, though there will be several at other times as well. These colloquia will include research talks, senior exercise talks by senior Physics majors, and presentations by candidates for next year's visiting faculty job in Physics. Check the Physics department calendar, the posted notices, and your e-mail for times and descriptions of the colloquium talks. If you attend six or more colloquium talks, you can earn up to three extra points on your final grade.
One of the best ways to learn physics is to discuss physics with others. Thus, I encourage students to collaborate on finding solutions to their homework problems. However, all of the written work you turn in must be your own. This sounds like a tricky distinction, but it is easy in practice: If you ever find yourself just copying what someone else has done, you have crossed the line and are doing wrong. Collaboration is not allowed, of course, on exams.
If you have been diagnosed with a physical, psychological, medical, or learning disability that requires some special accomodation in the class -- e.g., modified conditions for test-taking -- you should be in touch first with Erin Salva, the Kenyon disability services coordinator (salvae@kenyon.edu, PBX 5453), and then with me. I can make no special arrangements without word from Ms. Salva. Since I will need some advance notice to arrange for some accomodations, please don't put this off till right before an exam.
Office hours, etc.
My office hours are MWF 11:10 a.m. - 12 noon (the period after our class) and Th 9-11 a.m. I am available at other times by appointment.
Contact information
Office MAP 208 PBX 5832 Lab MAP 205/207 PBX 5599 schumacherb@kenyon.edu
Class web site.
Visit the Physics 145 class web site to find homework assignments, test dates and times, some good physics weblinks, and other useful information.
| Contact: B. Schumacher, Dept. of Physics. Updated 18-January-2002 |
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