PH 451:
Capstone: Quantum Mechanics
First Day Handout
Texts
A complete list
of required and optional texts for the the entire two years of Paradigms
courses can be found on the Paradigms
website. For this course, you will need Griffiths, Quantum Mechanics
(GQM). You may also find a math methods book like Riley, Hobson, & Bence
(RHB) to be helpful. Readings from other quantum textbooks, such as Liboff (L)
and Goswami (G) may be suggested from time to time. These books should be available
in the SPS room.
Special notice for students in 2009: David McIntyre is spearheading the writing
of a quantum textbook that follows our paradigms curriculum. You will receive
hard copies of the chapters for this course. You can find pdf's of the earlier
chapters (which you had access to last winter) here.
Course Evaluation
25% required homework, 500-level students must do extra problems as part of
the homework (see below).
5% classroom participation. (In PH 451 for 2009, one of the ways in which
you may earn classroom participation credit is by giving us feedback on the
quantum textbook we are writing. More about this option in class.)
30% midterm. (For PH 551 students, the midterm will be worth 20% and there
will be a required final project worth 10%.)
40% final exam.
Practice problems provide simple examples for you to check whether or not
you understand the material as you go along. They will not be graded.
Sometimes solutions will be posted. If you are stuck on the required
problems, it may well be faster for you to go back and do the practice problems
to identify your difficulty, rather than to continue to beat your head against
the wall.
Required problems will be graded. Solutions will be posted online.
Assignments turned in after solutions are posted can earn at most 50% of the
total points. Very late assignments will earn less. It may be
wise, if you really fall behind, to turn in partial assignments by the due
date, and the rest later.
Some of the required problems and probably one problem on the final exam
will be marked as "Challenge" problems. 500-level students
are required to do these Challenge problems. 400-level students are
not necessarily expected to do them. However, those students who hope
to get an A are encouraged to do so. While it may be possible for a
400-level student to get an A without doing any Challenge problems, it may
be difficult. Grading of the Challenge problems will be quite strict;
I won't even look at them unless they seem to be clearly written, coherent,
complete, and essentially correct.
Ground Rules
Science is inherently a social and collaborative effort, each scientist building
on the work of others. Nevertheless, each student must ultimately be responsible
for his or her own education. Therefore, you will be expected to abide by a
number of Ground Rules:
- We strongly encourage students to work with each other, more advanced students,
the TA, and the professor, when they get stuck on assignments (including computer
work). However, each student is expected to turn in assignments that have
been independently written up. In other words, the final synthesis must be
entirely your own. This applies also to, and especially to, computer generated
worksheets. If you work with someone on a computer project, do not get locked
in to writing the solution together. You will end up turning in the same assignment.
- Homework solutions from previous years are very strictly off limits. You
are on your honor not to use them, and not to share your homework solutions
with other students. Allow faculty to use their time interacting with you,
rather than continually thinking up new assignments. Besides, if you don't
do the work yourself, it will show up very clearly on exams later. Likewise,
the solutions are for your use only. You may make one copy and keep it in
your personal files.
- Sources must be appropriately documented. If you find a homework problem
worked out somewhere (other than homework solutions from previous years),
you may certainly use that resource, just make sure you reference it properly.
If someone else helps you solve a problem, reference that too. In a research
paper, the appropriate reference would be:
Jane Doe, (private
communication).
- Plagiarism – representing someone else’s work as your own –
is unethical, but collaboration and exchange of ideas is healthy. You can
avoid collaborative efforts taking on the look of plagiarism by acknowledging
sources and by writing up your work independently.
- If you find that you have worked on a problem for 1/2 hour without making
any forward progress, it would be a good idea to stop and seek help.
Students with Special Needs
Students with documented disabilities who may need accomodation, who have any
medical information which the instructor should know of, or who need special
arrangements in the event of evacuation, should make an appointment to discuss
their needs with the instructor as early as possible, no later than the first
few days of the course.
Further information
Additional information can be found on the Paradigms
homepage, including access
to computers, getting
keys, and much more.
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Last Update 1/4/09,
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