PHYSICS 471 - Quantum Mechanics I

Fall 2007

Prof. Norman Birge

E-mail:  birge@pa.msu.edu

Office:  4224 BPS, 355-9200, ext. 2203

 Click here for the homework and exam schedule

Course Information

Office Hours:

Tuesday 11:00 – 12:00 and Thursday 2:00 - 3:30pm, or by appointment. 

Lectures:

MWF, 1:50-2:40pm, Room 1420 Biomedical and Physical Sciences (BPS)

Required Text:

Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, David J. Griffiths, 2nd edition

Homework:

There will be 12 assignments due on Fridays at the beginning of class.  The lowest homework score will be dropped when calculating your final grade.  You are welcome to consult with your peers when doing your homework, but you are responsible for completing the problems yourself.  Copying somebody else's homework is not acceptable.

Grader:

Liyuan Jia, jialiyuan84 "at" gmail.com (office hours by appointment)

Exams: 

There will be 2 midterm exams and a final.  The dates for the midterm exams are tentatively October 8 and November 19.  The final exam is Wednesday, December 12 at 12:45pm.  All exams are closed book.  The final exam will be cumulative.

Grades:

Homework      30%             Maximum grade cut-offs:  >90%  4.0      >70%  2.0
Midterm #1     20%                                                     >85%  3.5      >65%  1.5
Midterm #2     20%                                                     >80%  3.0      >60%  1.0
Final Exam      30%                                                      >75%  2.5      <60%  0.0
                                           These cut-offs may be lowered, but they won't be raised.

Course Outline:

We will cover chapters 1-4 of Griffiths.  I will also draw occasionally from Volume III of the Feynman Lectures on Physics.  Learning quantum mechanics involves learning some radical new concepts as well as new mathematical tools.  It will be hard work for you, but I hope you have fun while you’re doing it! 
This page is maintained by N. Birge


Last updated 8/22/2007