Phys 402 Syllabus, Fall 2018

Class meetings: MW 10:00-11:50pm, in Toll 1402

Professor: Ted Jacobson, jacobson_at_umd.edu, Room 3151 PSC, 301-405-6020
Office hours: After class, by appointment, or try dropping by.

TAs: Batoul Banihashemi, baniha_at_umd.edu, John Martyn, jmmartyn_at_umd.edu

Tutoring sessions: Tuesdays, 5:30-7pm, Room PSC3150; Thursday or Friday, time to be determined

Textbook: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics, 3rd ed., David Griffiths and Darrell Schroeter (Cambridge University Press)

Topics: Chapters 5, 7-11 of Griffiths & Schroeter

Course web site: http://www.physics.umd.edu/grt/taj/402b /. Course plan, homework, supplements and notes will be posted.

Piazza course web forum https://piazza.com/umd/fall2019/phys402b/home I strongly encourage everyone to make use of Piazza to ask questions and look for discussions. It extends the learning out of the classroom and out of individual study groups to the whole class, and it's active any day and hour. Please note that you may want to change your Piazza settings to receive notices more often. You can choose to get notices whenever something is posted, or to be sent a digest after a specified amount of time.

E-mail: Students are responsible for making sure I have their correct email address and checking their email daily. Important messages will sometimes be sent to the class by email or via piazza.

Lectures: Students are responsible for material presented in lecture that is not in the book. If you miss a lecture you should find out what we did in class.

+ Include your name and the homework and course numbers, and staple the pages together.

+ Late homework accepted only under dire circumstances: if you know it will be impossible to turn in an assignment on time, you must discuss this with me in advance of the due date. Medical reasons accepted only with a doctor's note.

+ Some problems will be graded for accuracy (on a scale 0-10), some for effort (on a scale 0-2). In the total score for each assignment, equal "size" problems will be weighted equally, regardless of whether graded for accuracy or effort.

+ You are allowed and encouraged to discuss homework with others, use Piazza, ask the professor or TAs for guidance, and consult other sources.

+ However, it is forbidden to make use of a classmate's solutions, or previously written solutions you might find. The write-up you turn in should be your own formulation, and should reflect your own understanding, and you should be prepared to explain and defend it in detail on your own. Violation of this policy would leave you without a solid comprehension of the material and ill-prepared for exams, and would be a violation of the UMD Code of Academic Integrity (see below). The TA will be checking for identical or nearly identical submissions.

Exams Midterm (likely date, Wed. Oct. 16), and Final Exam (Tuesday, Dec. 17, 08:00am-10:00pm). Make-up exams must be requested well in advance of the exam; the reason for the absence must be documented and in accord with University policy (see p. 109 of https://catalogundergraduate.umd.edu/files/2017-2018-UGCatalog.pdf). If an exam is unexpectedly canceled (due to inclement weather, etc.) it is automatically rescheduled for the next class period.

Grading: The grade weights are 25% for homework, and (30%, 45%) or (45%, 30%) for (mid-term, final exam), whichever maximizes the total score. The lowest homework score will be dropped. The letter grades corresponding to numerical scores will be determined after reviewing the class performance, consistent with the grade definitions indicating mastery of the material: A: excellent, B: good, C: adequate, D: borderline. Note: The last day to drop with a "W" is Monday Nov. 4.

Help: Seek help immediately if you don't understand the material or can’t solve the problems. Help is available via Piazza, and from the TAs and the Professor directly. Don’t wait until just before the exams! The resources and educational counselors of the Learning Assistance Service (http://www.counseling.umd.edu/las/) can help with time management, reading, note taking and exam preparation skills.

Academic honesty: The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity. This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate students. As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense that may result in suspension or expulsion from the university. In addition to any other action taken, a grade of “XF”, denoting “failure due to academic dishonesty,” will normally be recorded on the transcript of the offending student. For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, visit http://www.shc.umd.edu.