PHYSICS 3010

Modern Physics
Fall 2017
Lecture Section 001, Physics Room 112, TuTh 11:00 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
Recitation Section 201, Physics Room 112Th 2:00–2:50 p.m.
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Professor: Duncan Weathers

Office: Physics Bldg., Room 003
Telephone: (940) 565-2079
E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: W 11 a.m-12 noon , Th 12:30-1:30 p.m., and by appointment
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Text: Modern Physics, 3rd ed., by Kenneth Krane, Wiley, 2012

Topics and General Information: This course will cover special relativity, the foundations of quantum mechanics
and its application to atomic physics, properties of matter, and nuclear physics.

Attendance: Attendance of all lectures and recitations is strongly encouraged.

Exams: There will be three in-class exams during the semester, and a comprehensive final exam. Exam questions
will be based on material covered in the lecture, contained in the text, and in the homework assignments. There will
be no makeup exams, but the lowest of your three hourly exam grades will be dropped.

Homework: Homework sets will be assigned each week in lecture, and generally will be due Tuesday in class the
week after it is assigned. Work must be legible and complete to receive full credit.

Grade: The grading in the course will be based on the total points earned from exams and homework as follows:

Exams 20 points for each of the best two hourly exams

35 points for the final
Homework 25 points

__________
Total 100 points

Laboratory: A separate laboratory course, PHYS 3030.501, is offered in conjunction with this course. The
laboratory course meets Thursdays from 3:00 to 5:50 p.m. in Physics Room 208.

The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students
seeking reasonable accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify
their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with a reasonable accommodation letter to be
delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request
reasonable accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of reasonable accommodation should be provided
as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new
letter of reasonable accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to
implementation in each class. Students are strongly encouraged to deliver letters of reasonable accommodation
during faculty office hours or by appointment. Faculty members have the authority to ask students to discuss such
letters during their designated office hours to protect the privacy of the student. For additional information see the
Office of Disability Accommodation website at http://www.unt.edu/oda. You may also contact them by phone at
940.565.4323.

Note: This document is for informational purposes only and is subject to change upon notification in writing. Rev.
08/29/2017
 Tentative Lecture Schedule
Session Date Day Chapter, Lecture Topic
1 Aug. 29 Tu Ch. 1, Review of classical physics
2 Aug. 31 Th Ch. 1, Failures of classical physics
3 Sep. 5 Tu Ch. 2, Introduction to special relativity
4 Sep. 7 Th Ch. 2, Relativistic kinematics and dynamics
5 Sep. 12 Tu Ch. 2, Relativistic conservation laws, experimental tests
6 Sep. 14 Th Ch. 3, EM waves and the photoelectric effect
7 Sep. 19 Tu Ch. 3, Other photon processes
8 Sep. 21 Th Ch. 4, Matter waves
9 Sep. 26 Tu Exam 1—Chs. 1-3
10 Sep. 28 Th Ch. 4, Uncertainty principle
11 Oct. 3 Tu Ch. 5, The Schrödinger equation
12 Oct. 5 Th Ch. 5, Applications of the Schrödinger equation
13 Oct. 10 Tu Ch. 6, The nuclear atom
14 Oct. 12 Th Ch. 6, Bohr model of the atom
15 Oct. 17 Tu Ch. 7, Hydroden atom
16 Oct. 19 Th Ch. 7, Electron spin and atomic energy levels
17 Oct. 24 Tu Exam 2—Chs. 4-7.4
18 Oct. 26 Th Ch. 8, Pauli exclusion principle and many-electron atoms
19 Oct. 31 Tu Ch. 8, Properties of many-electron atoms
20 Nov. 2 Th Ch. 10, Classical statistics
21 Nov. 7 Tu Ch. 10, Quantum statistics
22 Nov. 9 Th Ch. 11, Structure and properties of solids
23 Nov. 14 Tu Ch. 11, Band theory
24 Nov. 16 Th Ch. 12, Nuclear properties
25 Nov. 21 Tu Exam 3—Chs. 7.5-8, 10-11
Nov. 23 Th No class – Thanksgiving Break
26 Nov. 28 Tu Ch. 12, Radioactive decay
27 Nov. 30 Th Ch. 13, Nuclear reactions
28 Dec. 5 Tu Ch. 14, Applications of nuclear physics
29 Dec. 7 Th Review
FINAL EXAM—Comprehensive—Tuesday, Dec. 12, 10:30 a.m-12:30 p.m.
UNT’s policy on Academic Dishonesty can be found at: http://www.vpaa.unt.edu/academic-integrity.htm
Drop information is available in the schedule of classes at: http://registrar.unt.edu/registration/schedule-of-classes

Course Evaluation – Student Perceptions of Teaching (SPOT)

Student feedback is important and an essential part of participation in this course. The student evaluation of
instruction is a requirement for all organized classes at UNT. The short SPOT survey will be made available Nov.
20th – Dec. 7th to provide you with an opportunity to evaluate how this course is taught. For the Fall 2017 semester
you will receive an email in April from "UNT SPOT Course Evaluations via IASystem Notification" (no-
[email protected]) with the survey link. Please look for the email in your UNT email inbox. Simply click on the
link and complete your survey. Alternatively, after logging in to the my.unt.edu portal, you can access the SPOT
survey site by clicking on the SPOT icon. A list of your currently enrolled courses will appear. You complete each
course evaluation independently.Once you complete the survey you will receive a confirmation email that the survey
has been submitted. For additional information, please visit the spot website at www.spot.unt.edu or email
[email protected].
Note: This document is for informational purposes only and is subject to change upon notification in writing. Rev.
08/29/2017