Confused by my modern physics class

[beanryu]

tim lou are you in stony brook?
it sounds like my modern physics class, I dropped it and decide never go into physics again, because it so freaking confusing and time consuming... my head was at the point of imploding...

 

[cscott]

As far as I can tell, for "modern physics" in my second year I take:

PHYS 234 LEC,TUT 0.50 Course ID: 007407
Quantum Physics 1
Background of quantum physics. Quantization, waves and particles. The uncertainty principle. The Schroedinger equation and postulates of quantum mechanics. Bound states in square wells. The harmonic oscillator. Transmission through barriers. Introduction to three-dimensional systems: rigid rotor and the hydrogen atom. Introduction to approximation methods for more complicated systems.

PHYS 263 LEC 0.50 Course ID: 003320
Classical Mechanics and Special Relativity
Newtonian dynamics of particles and systems of particles. Oscillations. Gravity and the central force problem. Lorentz transformations and relativistic dynamics.

With books:

INTRO TO CLASSICAL MECHANICS 2ED
Copyright: 97
Binding: H
ISBN10: 9780135052235
Publisher: PEARSON

by Arya

CHAPTERS FROM QUANTUM PHYSICS OF ATOMS MOLECULES 2
Copyright: 06
Binding: P
ISBN10: 9780470113974
Publisher: WILEY

by Eisberg and Resnick

We take this along with DE's, Calc 3, EM, and geometrical and physical optics.

 

[jtbell]

Who are the authors of those two books? Physics textbook titles are so generic and similar to each other that people almost always refer to them by the name(s) of the author(s). I know that I use "Taylor, Zafiriatos and Dubson" for my modern physics course, but I can't for the life of me tell you the exact title without looking at the book!

 

[cscott]

Who are the authors of those two books?

I edited my post and put the authors in.

 

[tim_lou]

tim lou are you in stony brook?

No...I'm in somewhere else.

 

[proton]

how many hours per week of studying do you guys do for your sophomore-level modern physics course? I usually spend about 6 hours/wk outside of class studying for it. Is this too much? The textbook I use is by Resnick, Halliday, and Krane, which lacks a lot of mathematics.

 

[jtbell]

If you're on a semester system like ours, where a typical course meets for three hours a week, that sounds about right. The rule of thumb I use when advising students or making up homework sets is "two hours outside class for each hour in class."

A typical student course load here averages 15-16 class hours per week. Therefore this rule gives a total of 45-48 hours per week including homework and studying. Compare that to a "normal" 40-hour work week (plus overtime and/or work taken home) in the "real world."

 

[complexPHILOSOPHY]

If you're on a semester system like ours, where a typical course meets for three hours a week, that sounds about right. The rule of thumb I use when advising students or making up homework sets is "two hours outside class for each hour in class."

A typical student course load here averages 15-16 class hours per week. Therefore this rule gives a total of 45-48 hours per week including homework and studying. Compare that to a "normal" 40-hour work week (plus overtime and/or work taken home) in the "real world."

What about those who already work during the week in addition to classes!