P301.

Syllabus for physics P301, Fall 2005

Please note: Items listed below are continually being revised and may change on a daily basis (check the dates on individual items).

Instructor: Dr. K. Forinash, (but this could change at the last minute).
Class Meeting: Tues. and Thurs. 3:00-4:15 PM
Room: LF 244
Text: A. Beiser; Concepts of Modern Physics, 6th edition.
P301 grades . (Ask your instructor for your code letter.)
Assignments for P301.
Quiz hints for P301.
How to subscribe to the Physics Teachers LISTSERV.
P309 Lab Syllabus.

Miscellaneous news items.
Suggestion box (for comments, suggestions, gripes about the physics program at IUS).

Course description for P301

Physics 301 is a survey course in modern physics, designed to give you a flavor of problems of real interest to physicists today. The idea is to round out your knowledge of physics by treating topics you did not cover, or did not cover in detail in P201/P202 or P221/P222. Some calculus is required for the course.

This is typically a small class so it will very likely be run as a seminar type course (more discussion, less lecture). You should read the material ahead of time so you can participate. To facilitate this, at the beginning of each class you will hand in two questions you would like to have answered about the material for that day's discussion. These questions will be part of your grade.

Grades will be determined by:

Weekly quiz. (40%)

Homework and class work assignments. (35%)

Participation in class discussion and pre-lecture questions. (10%)

Take home final. (15%)

The IUS research writing requirement can be met by writing a paper on a topic related to something we have discussed in class or in lab. Please notify the instructor during the first week if you intend to do that. Acceptable journals to look at for articles are: Science, Nature, American Scientist, Scientific American, Physics Today, The Physics Teacher and American Journal of Physics. Specifics of the research paper are available. The IUS writing lab is a good place to get help.

Instructor notes and supplemental information (under construction):

NOTE: If you find something useful on the web let me know and I'll link it here for everyone.

Notes on Special Relativity.
Notes on General Relativity and cosmology.
Notes on Pressure and Temperature (kinetic theory).
Notes on the First and Second laws of thermodynamics.
Notes on Statistical Mechanics.
Notes on Quantum mechanics.
PBS web pages on string theory (very good!): http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html
Notes on Particle Physics

Physics at IUS: http://physics.ius.edu/
Contact Dr. K. Forinash, for comments/suggestions/corrections.