Physics 107 Navigation Bar    Click here for FirstClass
 



goals
mechanics
syllabus
readings
  

COURSE INFORMATION
     course goals

Physics 107, The Ideas of Modern Physics, is a concepts course whose goals are to acquaint you with

  • the vocabulary of physics
  • the two great ideas of twentieth century physics, relativity and quantum theory
  • the personalities and methods of some great physicists
  • the physics subjects you will most likely be reading about in the future.
Physics 107 is similar to a beginning language course. You simply have to learn a lot of vocabulary and what is analogous to basic grammar, in order to understand the concepts. My aim is for you to understand the concepts and how to apply them in an elementary way, not for you to become an expert problem solver.

     professor's goals

I WANT YOU TO LEARN THIS STUFF!!  I am an experimenter with ways to teach, which is how the video version of the course came into being. I am still working on improving the Web information and will try to stay ahead of you in loading new pages before the lectures are broadcast.

THERE ARE TWO INNOVATIONS THIS SEMESTER!! One is the online discussion section "FirstClass" and the other is two surveys to evaluate our success. To learn more about these see must do! under what's new and FirstClass. Please speak up in discussion or by email if you have comments on the course.

I LIKE GETTING TO KNOW STUDENTS!! This isn't as easy in a video/Web/partly online course, so we both have to work at it. Please communicate.

[home]  [course]  [lectures]  [homework]  [exams]  [FirstClass]  [what's new] 
Please email any questions, comments, or suggestions to Professor Bernice Durand, bdurand@theory3.physics.wisc.edu.

Revised August 31, 1997.


Content © 1997, Bernice Durand
Images and layout © 1997, Shane Hamilton