PHYSICS 471 - Quantum Mechanics I

Fall 2008

Prof. Norman Birge

E-mail:  birge "at" pa.msu.edu

Office:  4224 BPS, 884-5653

 Reading, homework and exam schedule

Math Review (courtesy of Prof. Repko)

In-class discussion questions and answers

Second set of In-class discussion questions and answers

Summary of 1st part of course

Summary of 2nd part of course

Notes on Photon Polarization

Mathematica View of sp2 hybrid orbitals

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 mostly 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:

Ngoc Bich Nguyen, or "Bik", nguye229 "at" msu.edu (office hours by appointment)

Exams: 

There will be 2 midterm exams and a final.  The dates for the midterm exams are tentatively October 6 and November 10.  The final exam is Thursday, December 11 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 most of chapters 1-4 of Griffiths.  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 11/3/2008