PHY 341/641 Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
General Information
This course is a one semester survey of
Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics, using the
textbook: An Introduction to Thermal Physics, by
Daniel V. Schroeder (Addison Wesley, 2000 and now Oxford University
Press).
The author and publishers have set up a very nice website for
errata and additional information --
http://physics.weber.edu/thermal/.
Adapting to the challenges of these unprecedented times, this course has
two sections -- A is
online while B is face to face. Students can choose either
section,
adjusting to the best recommendations for healthy practices.
The course will consist of the following components:
Synchronous online meetings MWF 12-12:50 AM for section A
(local time in
Winston-Salem, NC, USA). These sessions will be recorded and posted
on a password protected Google folder.
Information on WFU Policy on Recordings.
Synchronous face to face meetings MWF 2-2:50 in Olin 101 for section B.
The class meetings
will focus on discussion of the
material, particularly answering your prepared and spontaneous questions.
Asynchronous review of annotated lecture notes and corresponding
textbook sections. The reading assignment and
annotated lecture notes will be available one day before the
corresponding synchronous online discussion. For each class meeting,
students will be expected
to submit (by email)
at least one question for class discussion at least 3 hours before the earliest
class time.
Homework sets. Typically there will be one homework problem associated
with each MWF class meeting.
There will be two take-home exams, one at mid-term and the other
during finals week.
For PHY 641 students, there will be one project on a chosen topic related to thermal physics.
There will be weekly one-on-one meetings of each student with the
instructor to discuss the course material, homework, and/or projects. These
may be face-to-face or online as appropriate.
It is likely that your grade for the course will depend
upon the following factors:
*
In general, there will a new assignment after each lecture,
so that for optimal learning, it would be best to complete each assignment
before the next scheduled lecture. According to the honor system, all work
submitted for grading purposes should represent the student's own best
efforts.