Phys 4C Light and Modern Physics - 2023 Fall
Course Syllabus: please read
carefully.
Instructor: Professor
Ringwald
E-mail: ringwald[at]csufresno.edu and
replace [at] with @
|
Phone: (559) 278-8426
Also: (559) 278-2371
|
Office: Room 11 of the J-wing of McLane Hall
(about 15 meters
east of the ground-floor Women's Room and the large lecture hall McLane
161)
Office hours (from 2023 August 21 to December 8):
TuTh 7:45-9:20 p.m. and We 6:00-7:15 p.m.
Professor Ringwald can meet with students outside office hours, but
please email or call first.
Students don't need an appointment to come in
during office hours. This is time set aside for you,
when I will be in.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any
problems in this course, or if you're doing well, and
just want to talk. It's in my interest, and I care,
that you do well!
Course Description (from the Fresno State 2023-2024 General
Catalog): (3 credits). Prerequisites: Phys 4B and Math 77 with a
grade of C or better. Maxwell's equations, geometrical optics;
electromagnetic radiation; physical optics; introduction to special
relativity; quantum physics; and the physics of atoms, nuclei, and the
solid state.
Lecture meeting times and location: Schedule 75641 (Section 01),
MoWe 3:30-4:45 p.m. in McLane 162 (in-person).
Iclickers or clickers are NOT required
for Phys 4C: I never use them. I also never use
Mastering Physics.
Holidays:
September 4 (Labor Day),
November 10 (Veterans' Day),
November 22-24 (Thanksgiving Break).
Required Course Text, which should be
available in Kennel Bookstore and may be cheaper on Amazon:
(1) Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Volume 2, 10th Edition,
by Raymond A. Serway and John W. Jewett, Jr. (2018) (ISBN-13:
978-1337553582; ISBN-10: 1337553581). MAKE SURE your copy
has Chapters 33 to 43! Using any previous edition will not
work, since the problems have changed substantially. Sorry!
Recommended Course Texts, all of which are
excellent sources of worked examples:
(1) Schaum's Outline of Optics by Eugene Hecht
(ISBN 0-070-27730-3).
Schaum's outlines typically
have hundreds of worked examples, and are available
for a wide variety of science and engineering fields.
If they aren't available with the other Phys 4C
texts, look for the large display of the Schaum's
outline series in Kennel Bookstore's lowest level, or get them from Amazon.
(2) Schaum's Outline of Modern Physics by
Ronald Gautreau and William Savin (ISBN
0-070-24830-3).
(3) Schaum's Outline of Mathematics for Physics
Students by Robert Steiner and Philip Schmidt
(ISBN 0-071-46158-2).
Turn off and put away all phones and laptop, notebook, tablet,
wearable, or other computers, since the flickering of your screen
distracts the people around you, even if you say you are using it for
class. Take notes on paper: it's far more effective for training
your human brain.
Course webpage:
http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/phys4c.html
. This is not on Canvas: I do all my own
web programming.
The Homework Assignments are available on the
course webpage, at:
http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/hw4c.html.
Solutions to the homework assignments will be posted
to the course webpage the day after they are due.
Course grades will be awarded for the
following final percentages:
85.000-100% = A;
70.000-84.999% = B; 55.000-69.999% = C;
40.000-54.999% = D; 0-39.999% = F.
These percentages will be computed from the following:
10% Homework, due on the dates throughout the
semester given on the list of Homework
Assignments for Phys 4C.
25% Mid-Term Exam 1, which will cover Chapters 33-35, in class on
Thursday, October 5.
25% Mid-Term Exam 2, which will cover Chapters 36-40, will be CANCELLED
and NOT on Thursday, November 30 or Thursday, November 16, as previously
announced.
40% The Final Exam, which will be comprehensive, covering
Chapters 33-43, at 5:45-7:45 p.m. on Thursday, December 14, in McLane 162.
Do the homework, even though it counts only a little. If you don't,
you won't know the material on the exams, which count a lot.
A favorite pastime is to try and determine a
``running'' grade (in other words, trying to figure
out a grade based on a single exam or some subset of
it). Since there are many contributors to the final
grade, this isn't very useful. The above grading
scale will not be moved: how any student's grade is
determined doesn't depend on any other student's
grade.
Professor Ringwald will be happy to fix any errors
that occur in the grading. If after any errors are
fixed, students still want to contest their grades,
the students are required to do it in writing. This
written request must be typed and must be a minimum
of half a single-spaced page of 12-point type for
exam or Final Exam questions, and a minimum of one
single-spaced page of 12-point type for the overall
grade. It is to be submitted one time, either
to Professor Ringwald during his office hours, or to
his mailbox in McLane 173.
Mid-Term Exams and the Final Exam: There
will be two Mid-Term Exams which will be given on the
dates in the course outline below. The Mid-Term
Exams will consist of some concept questions as well
as some problems that must be worked out in detail.
The Final Exam will follow the format of the Mid-Term
Exams, although it will be longer. Example Mid-Term
Exams and Final Exams will appear on this website
before the exams.
Make-Up Exams: Professor Ringwald is
sorry, but he cannot give make-ups for
Mid-Term Exams, nor can he give Mid-Term Exams or
Final Exams in advance, for any
reason. He has too many students for it to be
humanly possible, because he cannot be in two places
at once. Also, one can never be sure that a makeup
or advance exam was really fair, since it must be
different from the regular exam. If any student must
miss a Mid-Term Exam for a compelling reason (such as
a job interview or illness documented by a
physician's note), the part of the course grade that
Mid-Term Exam would have counted will be voided, and
the rest of the grade will be counted as 100%. If any
student must miss the Final Exam for a very
compelling reason (such as an illness documented by a
physician's note), that student will receive a grade
of I (incomplete) for Phys 4C for the semester. It
will then be that student's responsibility to
contact the university administration in a timely
fashion, and make the necessary arrangements to
remove the I grade. See the California State
University, Fresno General Catalog for regulations
concerning the I grade. Sorry, but if any student
must miss a Final Exam due to religious reasons, such
as observing a bona fide religious holiday such as
Ascension Day, that student will need to take an
Incomplete (I grade) (see above): NO EXCEPTIONS.
If any student must miss a Mid-Term Exam due to
similar religious reasons, the part of the course grade that
Mid-Term Exam would have counted will be voided, and
the rest of the grade will be counted as 100% (see
above): NO EXCEPTIONS.
How to do well in this course: Physics is
different from many subjects you may have taken. It
requires intelligent reasoning, not merely
memorizing. It is impossible to learn physics
by ``cramming.'' The following advice can help.
- Do the homework yourself. Not only
does it count in the grading of the course, but it
should let you know how well your understanding the
material. Doing the homework will also prepare you
for the Mid-Term Exams and Final Exams. Don't expect
verbatim homework problems, however.
- Read the material in the text before you come to
lecture. It's much harder to understand a lecture if
one doesn't know at least roughly what the lecture
will cover. Also, if you find something obscure in
the reading, then you can ask Professor Ringwald
about it during lecture. The readings are indicated
in the course outline.
- Attend the lectures. Professor Ringwald will
supplement the reading in the book through different
presentations, working examples, and doing
demonstrations. All students are responsible for
everything covered in lecture, even if they don't
attend. If Professor Ringwald decides to move a exam
date and announces this during a lecture that you
missed, you are still responsible for this.
- Plan to spend a minimum of 12 hours a week
outside of class on this course. This course requires
significantly more time in order to understand the
material than most other courses.
- As soon as something is unclear please ask
Prof. Ringwald to clarify it,
in person or by email, whichever you like.
TENTATIVE Course Schedule (updated 2023 November 7). Always do the
readings before class:
Please note:
Class Attendance:
All students are required and expected to attend
all class sessions. All students are also
expected to arrive for class on time, and to
attend to the end of all class sessions.
Doing otherwise is disruptive, in large classes like
this. Please check your schedule and work out
problems at the beginning of the semester. If you
must miss a class for a compelling reason (e.g. job
interview or illness documented by a physician's
note), it is your responsibility to get the notes
from another student. It is also your responsibility
to check on announcements made while you were absent.
To do this, check the notes taken by another student:
I may or may not remember everything offhand.
Don't miss class. Listening to lectures and
participating in discussions are much more
effective than reading someone else's class notes.
Active participation is even better: it will
help you retain what you are learning.
This class will observe the five-minute rule:
if I am five minutes late, you may go home. If you
are five minutes late, you may go home. Don't be
late.
Always do the reading assignments before
class. Class time is valuable: it is much better
spent in informed, active discussion among us all
than in just me talking. It always amazes me: the
students who get "A"s are almost always the ones who
keep up with the reading. The ones who don't, almost
always are the ones who don't.
Don't be shy about asking questions in
class, or during office hours. This is especially so
in this class: there are some mighty strange things
out there in the Universe.
Note taking: Everything I write during
class, on the board or on overhead transparencies, is
of primary importance for exams. Copy it into your
own notes, which you may put between pages in the
loose-leaf folder the Class Notes are in. Students
who get grades of "A" often re-copy and re-organize
their notes, after class. This makes learning
active, and more thorough.
All students are required to turn off and put away all
phones and laptop, notebook, tablet, and wearable computers: the
flickering of your screen distracts the people around you, even if you
say you're using it for class. Laptop computers, notebook
computers, tablet computers (such as iPads), and wearable
computers (such as Google Glass) are NOT allowed during Phys 4C
lectures or exams, not even for taking notes. If you need eyeglasses,
use a pair without a wearable computer in them. Take notes on
paper: it's far more effective for training your human brain.
I often use email to communicate with students. Please feel free to
send email to me.
NO late homework assignments will be accepted. Sorry, but
it's just not humanly possible, for classes this size. Homework is due
by email to Professor Ringwald by 11:59 p.m. on the day it is
due.
Homework assignments will not be accepted late for any
reason. If any student must miss the due date for any homework
assignment for a compelling reason (such as a job interview or illness
documented by a physician's note), the part of the course grade that
homework assignment would have counted will be voided, and the rest of
the grade will be counted as 100%. If there is any concern that an
absence from class due to a university-sponsored event such as sports,
theatre, ROTC, or a family emergency, or that any other risk event such
as traffic, a broken printer or computer drive, or an internet or power
outage, might arise that would hinder any student from
emailing any homework assignment by 11:59 p.m. on the due date,
Professor Ringwald highly recommends completing the assignment early.
Always show all work in all exams and course assignments,
especially anything involving mathematical calculations, including the
units. Not showing all work, and the correct units, will be cause
for the grader to take off points. Also make sure to write the correct
number of significant digits, also called significant figures:
this error looks bad. Writing more than two excessive digits, or
insufficient significant digits to express the numerical answer
accurately, will therefore be grounds for one point being deducted, for
each instance.
All students are required to keep all course
materials for the duration of the course. Retain all
copies of all work you have done in all your classes,
ever. Hang on to your textbooks, too: even the real
stinkers can serve as bad examples.
If a student wishes to withdraw from Phys 4C, the
Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics may
require written substantiation of the serious and
compelling reasons for a withdrawal.
Exams: There will be two Mid-Term Exams
and a comprehensive Final Exam. The material for
these exams will come from the lectures and assigned
reading and, especially, the homework problems.
All exams will be closed book and as such you may not use any
notes or books during the exam, without the written permission of the
instructor. Calculators, rulers, pencils, and erasers will be allowed.
Phones or other devices that can communicate outside the classroom will
not. Neither will laptop, notebook, tablet, or other kinds of computers
(specifically defined as general-purpose machines with von Neumann
architecture).
Sorry, but Professor Ringwald will under no circumstances
give make-ups for Mid-Term Exams, nor will Professor Ringwald give
Mid-Term or Final Exams in advance, not even for students who have
legitimate reasons for being absent (including job interviews,
illness documented by a physician's note), or for students who are
participating in University-sponsored activities, such as athletics or
theatre. If any student must miss a Mid-Term Exam, the part of
the course grade for which that Mid-Term Exam would have counted will be
voided, and the rest of the grade will be counted as 100%.
This is really the only possible solution, since it
takes about eight hours of Professor
Ringwald's time to prepare one of his cheat-proof
exams, each of which must be different for every
student who wants a make-up exam or an exam in
advance. Scheduling make-up exams or exams in
advance, in classes as large as Phys 4C, is also not
humanly possible: during Professor Ringwald's first
semesters at Fresno State he did allow make-up and
advance exams, and quickly found it impossible to
accomodate every student who wanted them, because
there simply aren't enough hours in the week for it.
This left no choice but to end the practice
altogether of giving make-up exams and exams in
advance. Even with smaller classes, one can never be
sure that a makeup or advance exam was really fair,
since it must be different from the regular exam.
If any student must miss the Final Exam for a very
compelling reason (such as an illness documented by a
physician's note), that student will receive a grade
of I (incomplete) for Phys 4C for the semester. It
will then be that student's responsibility to contact
the university administration within the first 15
working days of the next semester to make the
necessary arrangements to remove the I grade. See the
California State University, Fresno General Catalog
for regulations concerning the Incomplete (I) grade.
Only students who can document very compelling
reasons to miss Final Exams (such as with a
physician's note) will be eligible for incompletes:
other students missing the final exam will get a 0%
on the Final Exam.
The above paragraph means that if anyone buys that student a plane
ticket or otherwise arranges for that student to leave the Fresno area
at the end of the term, whoever bought the ticket or make these
arrangements is responsible for knowing when the Final Exam for this
course is (listed above), and that students are not allowed to miss the
Final Exam for this course for any reason other than an illness
documented by a physician's note, or else that student will get a 0% on
the Final Exam.
If for any reason a student leaves the classroom
while an exam is being given, the student may not
re-enter the classroom as long as that exam is still
taking place. The student's leaving the exam will be
taken to signify that the student has finished that
exam. This includes trips to the bathroom, so plan
ahead. Professor Ringwald regrets it has to be this
way, but in the past students have attempted to cheat
while doing this.
If a student absolutely must make a trip to the
bathroom before finishing the exam, the student will
be given an Incomplete (I) grade for the semester,
just as if the student was sick. The student will
then be responsible for resolving the I grade next
semester, in the manner described in the Fresno State
General Catalog.
Any student who arrives late for an exam, at any time
after the majority of the other students are seated
in their assigned seats, will have her or his grade
on that exam lowered either by twenty percent or by
one percent for each minute that student was late,
whichever comes to more. Don't be late for exams.
Any student who turns in an exam at any time over one minute after the
end of the class period in which the exam was given (e.g. any time after
7:56 p.m., in a class period that ended at 7:45 p.m.) will get a zero on
that exam. Finish exams promptly.
Since during exams Professor Ringwald needs to
supervise exams, he will not be able to discuss
students' grades or assignment deadlines or to accept
assignments during exams, until the exam is over.
Professor Ringwald will be happy to answer any
questions about the content of the exam in progress,
however.
When taking exams, every student is required to sit
in the assigned seat listed in the seating chart
given on the front cover of the exam. Not doing so,
without the explicit permission of the instructor,
will earn a 0% for the exam.
All students are required to remove sunglasses and
earphones of any kind during all exams, because they
have in the past been used to aid cheating.
How exams are graded:
For 3-point problems, grades are the sum of the following, with a
minimum of 0:
-3 points for work not shown, even if a numerical answer given is
correct.
-1 points for the correct physics or formula but an incorrect numerical
answer.
-2 points for a numerical answer over a factor of 100 or less than a
factor of 1/100, or incorrect or irrelevant, incorrect, or incorrectly
applied physics or formula.
-1 points for incorrect or omitted units.
-1 points for excessive digits that are not significant,
or an
insufficient number of significant digits to express the numerical
answer accurately.
If you don't remember the rules for significant digits, the following
are four examples.
The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter is written as π.
This is an irrational number with digits that go on forever, because a
circle can be thought of as a polygon with an infinite number of sides.
Approximately, π = 3.14159265...
Example 1 for the correct number of significant digits: (1.0) ×
π = 3.1
Example 2 for the correct number of significant digits: (1.00) ×
π = 3.14
Example 3 for the correct number of significant digits: (1.000) ×
π = 3.142
Example 4 for the correct number of significant digits: (1.0000) ×
π = 3.1416
The following sections regarding COVID are subject to change given
changing circumstances on-campus and in the community. Please check the
COVID website for the most up-to-date information at:
www.fresnostate.edu/coronavirus
You are not allowed to come to campus if any of the following is true:
- If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms (vaccinated or not).
- If you have tested positive within the past 10 days.
If you have a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, please complete
the campus online reporting
form. A campus official will reply to provide guidance and
information.
Safety Measures:
Face coverings will not be required during class at the beginning of
Fall 2023 semester.
The Student
Health and Counseling Center has complimentary masks available for
students who need them. The mask requirement may be modified if/when
transmission rates in Fresno Country
reach appropriate thresholds identified by the CDC.
Please remember that the same student conduct rules for in-person
classroom instruction also apply for virtual/online classrooms. Students
are prohibited from any unauthorized recording, dissemination, or
publication of any academic presentation, including any online classroom
instruction, for any commercial purpose. In addition, students may not
record or use virtual/online instruction in any manner that would
violate copyright laws. Students are to use all online/virtual
instruction exclusively for the educational purpose of the online class
in which the instruction is being provided. Students may not record any
online recordings or post any online recordings on any other format
(e.g., electronic, video, social media, audio recording, web page,
internet, hard paper copy, etc.) for any purpose without the explicit
written permission of the faculty member providing the instruction.
Exceptions for disability-related accommodations will be addressed by
Student Disability Services working in conjunction with the student and
faculty member.
Students with Disabilities: Upon identifying themselves to the
instructor and the university, students with disabilities will receive
reasonable accommodation for learning and evaluation. For more
information, contact Services to Students with Disabilities in the Henry
Madden Library, Room 1202 (278-2811).
University Policies -- The following University policies can be
found at:
University Services -- The following University services can be
found at:
Questions and Assistance: Contact the Undergraduate
Studies office
Useful Links
Contact Information for Chair: If there are questions or
concerns that you have about this course that neither you nor I are not
able to resolve, please feel free to contact the Chair of the Department
of Physics to discuss the matter:
Professor Douglas Singleton
Department of Physics
Email: dougs[at]csufresno.edu and replace [at] with @
Phone: (559) 278-2523
This syllabus and schedule are subject to change in the event of
extenuating circumstances. If you are absent from class, it is your
responsibility to check on announcements made while you were absent.
Your being registered in, and not dropping, this Phys 4C lecture section
that Professor Ringwald is teaching means that you accept all the above
terms on this syllabus.
Go to the Phys 4C webpage.
Go
to Professor Ringwald's home page.
Last updated 2023 November 22. Webpage by Professor Ringwald
(ringwald[at]csufresno.edu and replace [at] with @)
Department of Physics,
California State University,
Fresno. Please read this disclaimer.