Instructor
Professor Nicholas Darnton
Office: Merrill 118
Office hours: Monday 2:00-3:00 and Friday 10:00-11:00 (tentative)
Phone: 542-2593
Email: ndarnton@amherst.edu
Course Times
Lectures: MWF 1-1:50 in Merrill 211.
Problem Session: I normally run a problem session for Physics 16 on Monday evenings from 8-10 in Merrill 211. You are welcome to stop by and partake of the cookies while working on your problem set – provided the giddy, carefree attitude of the Physics 16 students does not disturb you.
Communication
Announcements, problem sets, solutions, and other course-related materials will be distributed via the course's web page. It is your responsibility to check the site regularly for updates and changes.
Textbook
Daniel Schroeder's Introduction to Thermal Physics. It is available at Amherst Books.
Grading
Your course grade will place equal emphasis on problem sets, the midterms, and the final exam, with a small adjustment (at my discretion) for class citizenship.
Problem Sets
We will have approximately weekly problem sets taken from the textbook. You may (and in fact should) work the problem sets together, provided you do not simply copy each others' solutions.
Exams
There will be two midterms and one final exam. The exams will not be open book, but you may bring 2n sides of notes, formulas, constants, worked examples, etc. to the nth exam, so memorization of formulas is not necessary nor particularly encouraged. I curve exams, but not with a predetermined median grade, so you will not be competing against each other.
Intellectual Responsibility
Problem Sets
You are strongly encouraged to collaborate on problem sets: this is by far the most efficient way to learn physics. Though you may compare methods, check final answers and intermediate results, and troubleshoot together, your final submitted work should be yours and yours alone. This means you will not copy each others' work, though you are not unlikely to have similar approaches to a given problems. You may consult any other text, student, faculty member or online resource (though not worked solutions), but please note on the problem set if you used outside resources (other than me and the textbook) extensively.
Exams
Exams are individual work. No collaboration or cooperation of any kind is permitted. No resource other than the crib sheets prepared personally by you is permitted. You may make full use of your calculator (including graphing and preprogrammed equation solving) if you find it convenient.