PH 426:
Central Forces
First Day Handout
Texts
A complete list
of required and optional texts for the the entire year of Paradigms courses
can be found on the Paradigms
website. For this course, you will need a set of course notes (links
on syllabus---hard copy will be passed out in class), Taylor (T), and Riley,
Hobson, & Bence (RHB). I have also listed alternative reading assignments
in Griffiths, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (GQM); Goswami, Introductory
Quantum Mechanics (G); and Liboff, Introductory Quantum Mechanics (L). I will
be adding suggested reading as we go through term, so check the syllabus for
changes.
Final Exam
The final exam for this course will occur on the regularly announced date and
time. For Winter 2010, I believe this is Thursday 3/18/10 at 12:00 noon (see OSU Finals schedule). If you believe I have the wrong date and time, please bring it to my attention ASAP.
Course Evaluation
40% required homework.
10% notebook (see below) and participation.
50% final exam.
Group activities and computer lab activities will usually be accompanied
by a handout. You should complete the handouts and keep them
in a notebook, to be turned in at the final exam. Your work
on these handouts will contribute to your grade. I will be looking,
in particular, for a clear coherent statement of what you learned in the activity.
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. At a minimum, you should read each
practice problem and make sure that you know how to do it. If you can't, ask
for help!
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 is a good
idea to turn in what you have done by the due date, and, if necessary, the rest
later.
In 400/500 level classes, 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.
(In PH 320, they are optional and don't count for anything--fun for total eggheads.)
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
week of the term.
Further information
Additional information can be found on the Paradigms
homepage, including information about the special
add/drop and withdrawal policy, a calendar
for Paradigms classes, access
to computers, getting
keys, and much more.
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Last Update 2/8/2010,
webpage created by Corinne
Manogue,
© Department of Physics, 2004