PHGN 320
Modern Physics 2
Spring 2009

The Hard Facts:

Lecture: MWF 11-12:05pm in Meyer 220

Text: "Introduction To Quantum Mechanics (2nd Edition)" by David J. Griffiths

Office Hours: Monday 12:05-2pm (immediately after class) and Tuesday 3-4pm and 5-8pm in Meyer Hall 340 [These are still subject to change depending on student need.]

Evaluation: Weekly homeworks 40%, Two one-hour exams 15% each, One two-hour final 30%

Homework: Homework will be assigned weekly and will be "due" on Wednesdays (except exam weeks). Instead of turning in your assignments I will administer homework quizzes. The quiz will consist of two questions from which you will choose one to answer. Each question will be very similar to one of the homework problems, but not identical. You will be allowed to use your homework solutions to help you on the quiz, but not your book. If you are a good then perhaps you will be able to work the quiz problems on the fly, but with the time constraint this will be impossible for most, so you should try your best to complete the assignments on your own. The reasons for this are two-fold. First it cuts out the motivation for simply copying someone elses homework, and secondly it will make the grading more expedient. I would like very much to have your grades available asap after assignment/exam is completed.

Exams: All exams will be closed book/notes. I will consider providing a formula sheet when preparing each exam. The difficulty in quantum is not in memorizing things, it's in understanding them. You will find suprisingly little that you need to memorize. Exams will be held in class on Feb. 4th and March 25th (these are wednesdays). I will be holding extended pre-exam office hours on the Tuesday before the exam for review.

Description:

This will be an agressive course in modern quantum mechanics. The text is excellent and I will provide as much assistance as needed, but you will work for your grade. We will aim to cover as much of the book as possible (though certainly not all). Keeping up with the material and doing the homework will make test preparation much easier. So do it!

Objectives:

We will aim to cover chapters 1-5 and chapter 12 of Griffiths. We will also touch on techniques from later chapters. This will include:
• A rigorous development of quantum mechanics in its modern formulation.
• An introduction to applications and problem solving techniques.
  I would also like to briefly discuss the path integral formulation if time permits.

Course Calendar:

• Consult this calendar to see what we will be covering and when. I strongly suggest reading ahead. Check back regularly as it will be updated to suit the progress of the course.

Exam Solutions:

• Exam 1
• Exam 2
• Final Exam

Lecture Notes:

• 1/7
• 1/9
• 1/12
• 1/14
• 1/16
• 1/19
• 1/21
• 1/23
• 1/26
• 1/28
• 1/30
• 2/2
• 2/6
• 2/9
• 2/11
• 2/13
• 2/18
• 2/20
• 2/23
• 2/25
• 2/27
• 3/2
• 3/4
• 3/6
• 3/16
• 3/18
• 3/20
• 3/27
• 3/30
• 4/06
• 4/08
• 4/10
• 4/13
• 4/15
• 4/17
• 4/20

Homework Assignments:

• Howework 1: Problems 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.7, 1.9 "due" 1/14
• Howework 2: Problems 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, 2.7 "due" 1/21
• Howework 3: Problems 2.10, 2.11, 2.12, 2.22 "due" 1/28
• Suggested HW: Problems 2.23, 2.27 Will be covered on exam 2/4
• Howework 4: Problem 2.34 "due" 2/11
• Howework 5: Problems 3.2, 3.3 "due" 2/18
• Howework 6: Problems 3.13, 3.14, 3.17, 3.31 "due" 2/25
• Howework 7: Problems 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.11, 4.12c "due" 3/4 NOTE: 4.12a,b and 4.13 will be moved to assignment 8!
• Howework 8: Problems 4.12a,b 4.13c 4.18, 4.19, 4.21b 4.22a,b 4.27 "due" 3/23
• Howework 9: Problems 4.34, 5.4, 5.6, 5.12 "due" 4/15
• Howework 10: Problems 5.22, 5.23, 5.24 "due" 4/24

Homework Solutions:

• Homework 1
• Homework 2
• Homework 3
• Suggested Homework
• Homework 4
• Homework 5
• Homework 6
• Homework 7
• Homework 8 and extra problems on spin-1/2
• Homework 9
• Homework 10

Homework Quiz Solutions:

• Quiz 2
• Quiz 3
• Quiz 4 (corrected)
• Quiz 5
• Quiz 6
• Quiz 7
• Quiz 8
• Quiz 9
• Quiz 10