Physics 123
Waves and Modern Physics
Spring 2009
Prof. Lynne Orr
orr@pas.rochester.edu
B&L451, x58528
Announcements:
Welcome to P123
Final exam Tuesday May 5. See below for info.
Midterm 2 solutions are posted on Blackboard: my.rochester.edu.
Midterm 1 solutions are posted on Blackboard: my.rochester.edu.
Syllabus and course info for Spring 2009
1. Waves
2. Optics
3. Special Relativity
4. Quantum Mechanics
5. Elementary Particle Physics and Cosmology
The class meets for lectures MW 12:30 -- 13:45 pm, Hoyt Auditorium.
There will be weekly recitations. Attendance is not mandatory, but it is strongly encouraged. The sessions are
Monday 3:25-4:25pm, Hylan 202
Tuesday 3:25--4:25pm, Hylan 206
Tuesday 4:50-5:50pm, Bausch and Lomb 270
Tuesday 6:15--7:15pm, Bausch and Lomb 269
Wednesday 6:15 -- 7:15pm, Bausch and Lomb 315
Labs will be held biweekly; you must attend the session for which you signed up through the registrar's website. For information about the labs and to access the lab manual, go to the
labs website
and for inquiries about the labs send mail to physlabs@pas.rochester.edu
There will be a lab lecture on Friday, January 16, 3:25-5:25 pm in Hoyt Auditorium. If you miss the lab lecture, you can find some useful info here.
Labs begin the week of February 2.
You must receive a passing grade on all five lab reports to pass this class. Scores on your prelab assignments will be folded in with your homework grades.
The main text is Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics, 4th edition by Douglas C. Giancoli, volumes 2 and 3, with some selections from volume 1. If you get the version with the volumes combined, be sure it contains 44 chapters.
In addition to the main text, the following books will be
on reserve at the Physics, Optics, and Astronomy library (Bausch and Lomb 374):
The Feynman Lectures on Physics,
Volumes I, II, III, by R.P. Feynman
Modern Physics,
by P.A. Tipler
The final grade will be determined as follows:
30% Homework.
There will be weekly homework assignments, which will be due in the homework locker labeled Physics 123. (Homework lockers are across from B&L 106, just inside the door to the tunnel.) Homework will be due on Fridays at 4pm; the first assignment will be due on Friday January 30.
Late homework will not be accepted.
The lowest homework grade will be dropped.
Graded homework will be returned in the recitations.
40% Midterm Exams. There will be two mid-term exams; each will count 20% of the final grade. The exams will be given in class on Wednesday, February 25 and Wednesday, April 1.
We will make every attempt to grade exams fairly. However, if you believe there is a mistake in the grading, you may submit a brief written request for a regrade to Prof. Orr. Please note that we will regrade the entire exam and your score may go up or down as a result. No requests for regrades will be accepted later than the class period one week after the graded exams are returned.
30% Final Exam. The final exam will be held as scheduled by the
Registrar:
Tuesday, May 5, 8:30 am.
There will be no makeups or early exams, so plan your travel accordingly.
Alexander Shvonski (
ashvonsk@pas.rochester.edu) is the graduate teaching assistant.
Adi Robinson (
arobin10@u.rochester.edu ) and
Zhen Qi (
zqi@u.rochester.edu ) are the undergraduate teaching interns.
Prof. Orr: Tuesday, 2:00--3:00 pm and by appointment in
B&L 451.
TI Adi Robinson: Tuesday 3:30-4:30pm, B&L 108 (enter through tunnels)
TI Zhen Qi: Wednesday 2-3pm, Hylan 303
TA Alexander Shvonski: Thursday 3-4pm, B&L 478
Send mail to Professor Orr:
orr@pas.rochester.edu
Send mail to TA Alexander Shvonski:
ashvonsk@pas.rochester.edu
Send mail to TI Adi Robinson:
arobin10@u.rochester.edu
Send mail to TI Zhen Qi:
zqi@u.rochester.edu
Homework solutions are posted on Blackboard: my.rochester.edu. Here are the assignments:
Homework 1
Homework 2
Homework 3
Homework 4
Homework 5
Homework 6
Homework 7
Homework 8
Homework 9
Homework 10
Midterm 1 will be held in class on Wednesday Feb.25. It will be closed book with no cheat sheets or calculators permitted. Rulers are allowed, and Maxwell's equations, vector calculus definitions, and Euler's formula will be provided.
The exam will cover all of the class and homework material through spherical mirrors (through HW#4). The relevant sections in Giancoli are:
Chapter 15 (vol. 1): secs. 1,2,4,6,8
Chapter 31 (vol. 2): sec. 6
Chapter 32 (vol. 2): secs. 1,2,3
Scanned lecture notes, homework solutions, and midterm 1 solutions are posted on Blackboard: my.rochester.edu
Midterm 2 will be held in class on Wednesday April 1. It will be closed book with no cheat sheets or calculators permitted. Rulers are allowed.
The exam will cover all of the class and homework material from refraction through thin lenses and the human eye to the introductory quantum mechanics lectures (HW#5,6,7). The relevant sections in Giancoli are:
Chapter 32 (vol. 2): secs. 4,5,6,7
Chapter 33 (vol. 2): secs. 1,2,6
Scanned lecture notes, homework solutions, and midterm 1 solutions are posted on Blackboard: my.rochester.edu
The final exam will be held in Hoyt auditorium on Tuesday May 5, 8:30-11:30am.
One cheat sheet (8.5x11, both sides) and a ruler are allowed but no other books, notes, or calculators are permitted.
The exam will cover all of the class and homework material for the entire semester, with an emphasis on the material not already covered on the midterms. The relevant sections in Giancoli are:
Chapter 15 (vol. 1): secs. 1,2,4,6,8
Chapter 31 (vol. 2): sec. 6
Chapter 32 (vol. 2): secs. 1,2,3, 4,5,6,7
Chapter 33 (vol. 2): secs. 1,2,6
Chapter 36 (vol. 3): secs. 1,3,4,5
Chapter 37 (vol. 3): secs. 1,2,3,6,7,9,10,11,12
Chapter 38 (vol. 3): secs. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Scanned lecture notes, homework solutions, and midterm solutions are posted on Blackboard: my.rochester.edu