Syllabus and Calendar

PHYS 116A, Autumn 2011

R. J. Wilkes

Updated:  10/02/11  

date day Session Topic Readings
9/29/11 Thurs 1 Periodic motion and oscillations      13.1
9/30/11 Fri 2 Simple harmonic motion and circular motion   13.2 –13.4
10/3/11 Mon 3 Mass-spring system, energy conservation in SHM 13.5 –13.6
10/4/11 Tues 4 The pendulum;  damped and driven oscillations 13.7 –13.8
10/6/11 Thurs 5 Types of waves; waves on a string; harmonic functions  [HW 1 due] 14.1 –14.3
10/7/11 Fri 6 Sound 14.4 –5
10/10/11 Mon 7 Doppler shift; interference    14.6
10/11/11 Tues 8 Superposition   14.7
10/13/11 Thurs 9 Standing Waves & Beats  [HW 2 due]   14.8 - 14.9
10/14/11 Fri 10 Review  
10/17/11 Mon 11 EXAM 1 (covers Chs. 13-14)          
10/18/11 Tues 12 Electromagnetic Waves   25.1 –25.2
10/20/11 Thurs 13 Energy and speed of electromagnetic waves    25.3  – 25.4
10/21/11 Fri 14 Polarization   25.5
10/24/11 Mon 15 Reflection and mirrors; ray tracing  [HW 3 due]     26.1 - 26.2
10/25/11 Tues 16 Spherical mirrors; mirror equation     26.3 - 26.4
10/27/11 Thurs 17 Refraction, total internal reflection 26.5 - 26.6
10/28/11 Fri 18 Thin-lens equations    26.7
10/31/11 Mon 19 Rainbows & Vision 26.8 ,27.1 –27.2
11/1/11 Tues 20 Optical Instruments   27.3 –27.6
11/3/11 Thurs 21 Interference; Young's experiment  [HW 4 due]   28.1 – 28.2
11/4/11 Fri 22 Review  
11/7/11 Mon 23 EXAM 2  (covers Chs. 25-27)  
11/8/11 Tues 24 Thin Films     28.3
11/10/11 Thurs 26 Diffraction; resolution limits     28.4 –28.6
11/11/11 Fri 25 HOLIDAY - NO CLASS     28.4 –28.6
11/14/11 Mon 27 Special relativity  [HW 5 due] 29.1 –29.4
11/15/11 Tues 28 Momentum and energy in relativity; General relativity 29.5 –29.8
11/17/11 Thurs 29 Early Quantum Theory 30.1 –30.4
11/18/11 Fri 30 de Broglie & Heisenberg    30.5 - 30.7
11/21/11 Mon 31 Early  Atomic  Models  [HW 6 due] 31.1 –31.2
11/22/11 Tues 32 Development of quantum mechanics   31.3 –31.5
11/24/11 Thurs 33 HOLIDAY - NO CLASS  
11/25/11 Fri 34 HOLIDAY - NO CLASS  
11/28/11 Mon 35 Review  
11/29/11 Tues 36 EXAM 3  (Chs. 28-30)  
12/1/11 Thurs 37 Atomic structure and chemistry; lasers    31.6 –31.7
12/2/11 Fri 38 Constituents of matter: particles within particles  [HW 7 due]   32.1
12/5/11 Mon 39 Nuclear structure; Radioactivity 32.2  –32.3
12/6/11 Tues 40 Nuclear energy 32.4 –32.7
12/8/11 Thurs 41 Elementary particles, cosmology, the Theory of Everything 32.8 –32.9
12/9/11 Fri 42 Review   [HW 8 due]  
12/12/11 Mon   FINAL EXAM: ***2:30pm - 4:20 pm, room A118***