Welcome to this course. We will use mathematics to explain some familiar physical concepts in more detail. We'll then go on to explore some less familiar concepts like relativity and quantum mechanics.
The course instructor is Jim Napolitano. You can reach him by email at napolj@rpi.edu, phone at x8019, or in his office in the Science Center, room 1W07. I don't schedule regular office hours because it's unlikely that any regular time is good for everyone in the class. Please contact me one way or another if you'd like to discuss something or set up an appointment.
Our graduate teaching assistant is Mike Klusman (email klusmm@rpi.edu). Mike will be available for help with homework or other questions. His office is in the Science Center, room 3C23, and his phone extension is x8403. Homework will be graded by Minghui Lu (email lum@rpi.edu).
You can reach the entire class through the email address theophys@rpi.edu. Feel free to use this if you have questions or comments about the homework or anything else.
Class meets twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday from 10-11:50am in DCC 236, unless I let you know otherwise. Some of our classes will be two hour studio sessions, in rooms to be determined, but most of the time we'll split the class into two one-hour lecture/discussions.
| Three midterm exams | 3 x 15% |
| Final exam (not optional) | 30% |
| Homework assignments | 25% |
All exam grades will be scaled up (if necessary) so that the class average is approximately 75. I believe the curve makes it unfair to borderline students if the final is optional, so everyone must take the exam.
I may make small adjustments to this scheme if there are special circumstances.