.. Physics - 2D Winter 2025

Welcome to Physics 2D, Relativity and Quantum Physics, Winter 2025

You will learn many new physical concepts in this course that will challenge your intuition and spark your imagination. How can identical twins age at vastly different rates? How does mass get converted into energy, and energy into mass? How can particles behave as waves, and waves behave as particles? These strange things happen when speeds become much faster than and/or distances much smaller than the speeds and distances we encounter in our everyday experience. As you become familiar with these new concepts they will become progressively less strange and more fascinating.

To do well in this course it is important to attend all lectures, discussion and problem sessions, pay attention during them, ask questions when you don't understand, and take notes. Also, to work on the problem assignments every week, to come to office hours especially if you are falling behind, and to read the textbook as well as other books on reserve.

Announcements

Course Materials:

Course Information:

Lectures: Tu, Th 11:00a-12:20p, MANDE B150, Fr 3-3:50p, MANDE B150
Quizzes: some Fridays 3-3:50p, MANDE B150 (see Schedule of lectures and quizzes link above)
Discussion: Wed 4p-4:50p or 5p-5:50p, MYR 2702
Problems: Th 6:00-7:30p, MYR-A 2702

Course Text: Kenneth Krane, Modern Physics, Fourth Edition, Wiley, 2019

Course Description: See General Catalog
Final exam: Thursday March 20, 11:30am-2:29pm, MANDE B150.

Instructor and TA Information -

Instructor: Jorge E. Hirsch, 5310 Mayer Hall, Ext. 4-3931, e-mail: jhirsch@ucsd.edu
                     Office Hours: In person or for zoom click here : M 11:00 am - noon, Th 2:30 - 3:30 pm, or by appt.
                    
Teaching Assistant: Omar Kotrach, e-mail: okotrach@ucsd.edu
                                  Office Hours: Monday 4-5pm, Tuesday 5-6pm, Friday 9-11am, Mayer Hall 2218

Course Format

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS: Problems from the book will be assigned every week, solutions will be posted on the web page. To fully understand the material, you should work the problems on your own without help of the solution key. The homeworks will not be graded.
DISCUSSION AND PROBLEM SECTIONS: Attendance and participation is strongly encouraged.
QUIZZES: Quizzes will be given on alternate Fridays (five quizzes), see Schedule of lectures and quizzes. There will be lectures on the other Fridays.
FINAL EXAM: There will be an in-class final exam on finals week.
COURSE GRADE: 50% final, 50% five quizzes, or 60% final, 40% four quizzes. Or other combinations if approved by instructor for valid reasons.
Grading scale: A: >85 %, B: >65%, C: >45%, D: >30%.

General Information