Syllabus

Personnel

Course Coordinator:

Tibor F Nagy

Instructor Information

Professor Tibor F. Nagy
Email: nagytibo@msu.edu
Web: http://web.pa.msu.edu/~nagy_t/

Course Description

Topics: special relativity, thermodynamics, atomic and quantum physics, nuclear physics. This course is an independent study course, involving readings and problem solving. The homework problems and quizzes will be given online using LON-CAPA.

Prerequisites

Physics 2: (PHY 184 or PHY 184B or LBS 272 or PHY 294H or PHY 234B or equivalent) and Differential Equations: (MTH 234 or MTH 254H or LBS 220 or equivalent).

Project Information

Honors option is not available for this course.

Exam Information

We will have online quizzes every Friday. The quizzes will be 30 minutes long. You can start taking the quizzes at any time between 8 AM and 10 PM EDT on Fridays. We will have a 120 minutes long final exam online on LON-CAPA, on August 14th, Monday between 1:00 and 5:00 PM EDT.

Deadlines

Students with Disabilities: MSU is committed to providing equal opportunity for participation in all programs, services and activities. Requests for accommodations by persons with disabilities may be made by contacting the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities at 517-884-RCPD or on the web at rcpd.msu.edu. Once your eligibility for an accommodation has been determined, you will be issued a verified individual services accommodation (VISA) form. Please present this form to your instructor at the start of the term no later than the end of the first week of class. Requests received after this date may not be honored.

Grading Information

Relative weights: homework: (1/3), quizzes: (1/3), final exam: (1/3).

Grading scale:
4.0 >= 92%,
3.5 >= 84%,
3.0 >= 76%,
2.5 >= 68%,
2.0 >= 60%,
1.5 >= 52%,
1.0 >= 44%,
0.0 < 44%.

This grading scale might be lowered, but it will NOT be raised.

The Spartan Code of Honor: As a Spartan, I will strive to uphold values of the highest ethical standard. I will practice honesty in my work, foster honesty in my peers, and take pride in knowing that honor is worth more than grades. I will carry these values beyond my time as a student at Michigan State University, continuing the endeavor to build personal integrity in all that I do.

Textbook

Stephen T. Thornton, Andrew Rex: Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Saunders College Publishing. (4th, 3rd or 2nd editions are all fine. 4th edition: ISBN 10: 1-133-10372-3 ISBN 13: 978-1133103721, 3rd edition: ISBN 10: 0-534-41781-7 ISBN 13: 978-0534417819.)

We will use LON-CAPA, MSU's own free and flexible web-based course management system. If your book has a course management system bundled with, don't open it and don't try to access it, because we will not use it.

Scientific calculator. Graphing calculators are allowed, but they are not required. The recommended calculator is the TI-30X IIS for $10-14.