UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT

Physics 273

Department of Physics

Fall 2010

 

General Information

 

Title:                           Quantum Mechanics I, CRN 91142.

 

Time:                          MWF 1:55-2:45, A402 Cook.

 

Instructor:                  K. Spartalian, A406 Cook.

                                   Phone: 656-0047 (direct), 656-2644 (department).

                                   email: Kevork.Spartalian@uvm.edu.

 

Office Hours:            Mon 3:00-4:00 pm, Wed. 10:00-11:15 am, Thu 2:00-3:00 or by appointment.

 

Textbook:                  Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, Second edition (2005) by David J. Griffiths, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-111892-7.

 

Topics:                      The topics to be covered will include Time-Dependent and Time-Independent Schrödinger Equation; Applications in One, Two and Three Dimensions; Matrix Mechanics; Angular Momentum in Quantum Mechanics; Quantum Statistics.

 

Homework:                A finite number of problems will be given and collected on a regular basis.  See "Homework Procedures" for details.

 

Exams:                      Two mid-term exams and one final, equally weighted, will account for 30% of the course grade.  Homework will account for 55% and in-class performance will account for the final 15%.

 

Grade Thresholds:    Regardless of exam and in-class performance, students must have a homework grade of 50% or better to pass the course and a homework grade of 75% or better to qualify for a letter grade better than C+.

 

Attendance:              Attendance is mandatory.  Even though attendance will not be taken, in a class of 10 students (or fewer), one absence is 10% of the total (or higher) and is, therefore, highly noticeable.  By definition, students who do not attend show poor in-class performance.

 

Prerequisites:           Working familiarity with basic material in differential equations course and a linear algebra course is essential.  Students will be expected to preclude religious arguments from physical derivations, to use their minds constructively in order to justify their statements, and to eschew Procrustean methods when developing physical proofs.