PHY 4605
Quantum Mechanics II
Monday & Wednesday & Friday, 12:00-12:50 Spring 2012
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 2:00-3:00 p.m. for Spring 2012

Instructor Prerequisites Text Objectives Grading Assignments Quizzes

Instructor:
Name: Dr. Pete Markowitz
Office: CP209
Phone: 305-348-1710
Email: markowit@fiu.edu

Department Home Page: http://www.fiu.edu/physics
Home Page: http://www.fiu.edu/~markowit

Prerequisites:
There is a single pre-requisite: Having passed PHY4604 (Quantum Mechanics I) with a grade of C or better.

That implies obviously that you also have passed MAC 2313, PHY 3107, MAP 2302, PHY 2049.   As was the case for PHY 4604, the course will use Mathematica. Experience in PHY4604 with Mathematica is assumed. The old beginning Wolfram tutorial online may be useful to remind yourself (or to re-introduce you) as well as some class examples. We will be using Moodle for course management. You will need to use your FIU email account for all class emails. If you do not regularly log into your FIU account, you will need to set the forwarding (or start checking it regularly).

Textbook: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, David J. Griffiths, 2nd edition, published by Pearson Education, Inc. (2005), ISBN 0131118927.

Course Objectives:

PHY 4605 builds off of last term's introduction to quantum mechanics. Included are perturbation theory, variational methods, tunneling, symmetries, as well as an introduction to scattering and phase shifts.

Course Format:
This course is primarily lecture based, however the grading is internet-based (i.e., Moodle ).   Solutions to homeworks will also be available within Moodle .  We will also introduce using Mathematica for a fraction of the course homework.

Moodle and e-mail will be used throughout the course to facilitate communications between the instructor and students. For that purpose, you will need to use your official FIU email. If you were registered before the start of classes, you should already have received a welcome email from me.

Grading:
We will have two in-class mid-terms plus a cumulative final for the course.    Grades are based on homework, mid-term examinations, and the (cumulative) final exam:

Letter grades are approximately based upon the following scale:

Assignments:
New reading and homework assignments will be given each week.  Note that they may cover more or less than one chapter.  Homework assignments will be updated throughout the term.  Students are encouraged to work with others on the homeworks, however all the work turned in must be the student's own. *Indicates a Mathematica assignment.* To get started on the Mathematica assignments, here is a page showing how to plot 1.5 part c ( pdf file is here, Mathematica notebook is here). An older example page written for E&M is available here.

Quizzes:
This semester part of your grade will be based upon weekly quizzes. The quizzes will be short answer, and will be approximately once a week. Quizzes will be given within the first 5 minutes of class; no makeups or extra time will be allowed for anyone late to, or absent from class. Quizzes will be based on previous lectures, the readings due that day for class, and examples from homeworks previously due. Many will be conceptual in nature.

Homework:

Homework problems must be neatly done, with each problem begun on a fresh page. Multiple problems on the same sheet or sheets with multiple solutions to the same problem will not be accepted. No pages with scratched-out work will be accepted -- if you spoil the page, begin with a clean sheet. Problems will not be accepted if the solutions are scribbled sideways, upside down, or at the edge of another problem. There should not be multiple columns on a single page. Paper does not need to be ruled, but cannot be torn out of a notebook.

Homework assignments normally are due at the beginning of class on the due date (e.g., 12:00 Wednesdays).  As of 12:01 PM, homework not turned in is late. Late homework will continue to be accepted for one week (7 days) for 50% credit. Homework assignments will not be graded or accepted if they are past due by more than 7 days. No credit or grading of homework turned in later than 7 days will be provided. Solutions will be linked from the moodle course page at that time. No make-up for missing homework is possible.
 

Note that this is a change from last term, when late homeworks were often given full credit.