How to prepare for

year one of the

B.Sc. Physics sics

by part-time evening study

University College London Department of Physics & Astronomy

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

This Document
This document is intended to help students prepare for the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study. Many of the things it says are obvious, but I have thought it sensible to say them anyway. However, if you think that something I have written is too obvious, is wrong, or is missing altogether, then please let me know (by phone 020 7679 3290 or e-mail at ptphysics@ucl.ac.uk) and I will take your views into account in future editions. Malcolm Coupland 31/8/2000

Contents
Time........................................................................... 3 Money ........................................................................ 5 Timetables 1999/2000 ............................................... 7 1B28 - Thermal Physics............................................. 8 1B70 - Physics Laboratory and Computing I............ 11 1B71 - Mathematics for Physics............................... 13 1B72 - Waves and Modern Physics ......................... 19

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

Time
Time is precious and will become increasingly so as you embark on this course. In several years of conversations with students, their constant refrain is that there is "not enough time". This is absolutely right, but unfortunately there is generally rather little that any of us can do to increase the amount of available time. So the best strategy for coping with this course involves thinking about how you can best use the amount of time available. It is of course a balancing act: balancing work (for money), work (for the university), work (cleaning and washing) and relaxation. Notice that you will need time outside lecture hours to review what has been going on and think about whether you understand it or not. Each course description later in this document includes an estimate of the workload involved in each course. Looking at these tables you will notice that we estimate that you will need to allocate roughly as much time again for private study as you spend attending lectures. How will you find this time? Will you get up early one day? Or several days? Will you work late? Will there be some time at weekends? Can you find a peaceful place to study? Can you study while travelling to and from work? Can you do some reading at lunch time? When will prove good times to arrange tutorials?

The timetables for the course are shown later in this document, but roughly speaking they look like this:
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY Free Break Break SATURDAY Free SUNDAY Free

9:00

Try making up your own timetable with your other commitments pencilled in. I've put three blank timetables over the page for you to experiment with. They assume that you will be taking a laboratory class on a Tuesday which will indeed be the case at the start of the course.

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study
Monday Early morning Morning Lunch Afternoon Early evening Late evening Middle of the night! Classes Classes Classes Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Monday Early morning Morning Lunch Afternoon Early evening Late evening Middle of the night! Classes

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Classes

Classes

Monday Early morning Morning Lunch Afternoon Early evening Late evening Middle of the night! Classes

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Classes

Classes

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

Money
As detailed under the Fees section of the course prospectus, this course costs either: around 800 per annum if you are employed and not in receipt of state benefits; or nothing if you are unemployed or in receipt of state benefits. Also it costs nothing if you become unemployed through no fault of your own while studying. Now nothing is nothing, and 800 is a good deal of money. But whatever you pay, the "true cost" of the course is much greater, roughly 7,500 per annum, and the difference between what you pay and what the University receives is paid by the government. My purpose in highlighting the so-called "real cost" of the course is twofold. Firstly, I want you to know just how important the community as a whole (as expressed by government policy) views the endeavour of higher education for adults. Secondly, I want you to make sure that you get value for money. There are again two particularly important ways in which you can do this. 1. When you are lost in a lecture: ask questions. This course is put on for you and these lecturers are really clever. 2. Make sure you attend tutorials and try make sure that you get something out of them. For example, try bringing at least one question to the tutorials for tutorial staff to answer.

What else do you need to buy?

Calculator Most courses will require an electronic calculator. We recommend any basic calculator that calls itself "scientific" (not "programmable"). Suitable Casio calculators are available for around 10. Calculators can do many very useful things but only if you learn how to use them. So make sure that you spend an hour or two going through the instruction booklet. If you can't figure out how to activate some features, try asking for help in the laboratory class. Each year some students insist on investing large amounts in very sophisticated graphical calculators. I have yet to find a student who thought they had obtained good value from such devices. Stationery Stationery for the course (paper, pens, rulers, files etc.) can be obtained relatively cheaply from the University of London Students Union Shop on Malet Street at the south end of the UCL campus. For the laboratory course you must use dedicated laboratory notebooks and these will be made available to you in the laboratory class. You need two such notebooks and this year they cost 4 each for hardback and 2 each for soft back. You are free to obtain your own books but they must have alternate pages of lined paper and millimetre graph paper. Computers It is not vital for you to buy, own, or have access to a computer. However, if you do have such access then it could be a potentially useful tool. However, it is also possible to waste a phenomenal amount of time on computers without actually doing any of the things you meant to do. Textbooks 5

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

The most expensive items required for the course are definitely textbooks. The textbooks required for each course are listed under each course description. Most titles are available in the DMS Watson UCL Science Library. You will be shown where this in the induction week which begins Monday September 25, 2000. 1B28 Thermal Physics There is no single book that covers all aspects of this wide ranging course. The book with the right physical approach is: The Properties of Matter by Flowers and Mendoza, published by Wiley. Additionally the lecturer refers to: Physics by Thornton, Fishbane and Gasiorowitz, published by Prentice Hall which is available at a substantial discount if purchased through the department. Interested students may also find solace in Understanding the Properties of Matter; by de Podesta, published by UCL Press 1B70 Laboratory Physics No specific books are required but at the start of the course you will be given advice about books giving guidance about (a) how to handle uncertainties in experiments, (b) how to cope with Word, the word processing application and (c) how to write computer programs in Qbasic 1B71 Mathematics There are a large number of books available which cover most of the work required for this course. Our recommendations are as follows: Engineering Mathematics by K.A. Stroud Fourth Edition, Published by Macmillan ISBN 0-333-62022-4 Approximate cost 20

This book is ideal for pre-term work and for many, if not most, of the course topics. However, an additional book is necessary to cover the full syllabus and our preferred book is: Mathematical Methods in Physical Sciences This book is an excellent and by Mary L. Boas comprehensive text which will serve all Third Edition published by John Wiley (WIE); your mathematical needs throughout the ISBN: 0471044091 degree course and well beyond Approximate cost 19 when purchased through the department. Ask for details. An alternative to Boas which is slightly less comprehensive is Mathematical Methods for Science Students by G. Stephenson (2nd edition, 1988, Addison Wesley Longman Higher Education; ISBN: 0582444160 Approximate cost 22) 1B72 Waves & Modern Physics There is a new lecturer for this course this year and the course text book has not yet been chosen.

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

Timetables 1999/2000
Term 1: 1st Year Classes: 2000
Term runs from .................................. Monday September 25 Week 1: Induction Week ................... Monday September 25 attendance is required on only one or two evenings) Weeks 2 to 12: Teaching Weeks ............... Monday October 2
6:00
MONDAY 1B28 Thermal Physics Break 1B71 Mathematics TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 1B71 Mathematics Break 1B28 Thermal Physics THURSDAY Free

to to to

Friday December 15 (12 weeks) Friday September 29 (normally Friday December 15

FRIDAY Free SATURDAY Free SUNDAY Free

9:00

Term 2: 1st Year Classes: 2001

Term runs from ......................................... Monday January 8 Weeks 1 to 3: Teaching Weeks ................ Monday January 8 Week 4: First Term Problem Classes ..... Monday January 29 Weeks 5 to 12: Teaching Weeks ............ Monday February 5 Week 13: Second Term Problem Classes .....Monday April 2
6:00
MONDAY 1B72 Waves & Break 1B72 Waves & Modern Physics TUESDAY Laboratory Physics or Free WEDNESDAY 1B71 Mathematics Break 1B71 Mathematics THURSDAY Free or Laboratory Physics

to to to to to

Friday March 23 (11 weeks) Friday January 26 Thursday February 2 Friday March 30 Thursday April 5
FRIDAY Free SATURDAY Free SUNDAY Free

9:00

Term 3: 1st Year Classes: 2001

Term runs from ............................................Tuesday April 23 to Friday June 8 (7 weeks) Week 1: Revision classes ............................. Monday April 23 to Thursday April 26 Weeks 4 to 7: Examinations (the exact timings of examinations are usually decided towards the end of term 2).

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

1B28 - Thermal Physics

Lecturer
Professor Tegid.W. Jones

Office location
Room D27 on 1st floor of Main building

Brief CV
My introduction to elementary particle physics was in the sixth form of Newtown Grammar School in Montgomeryshire. I read a section on cyclotrons in one of G. R. Noakess textbooks. Since there was a 1 Gev synchrotron in the Physics department of Birmingham University I decided to go there as an undergraduate and I stayed on as a research student and measured various nucleon-nucleon interactions at 1 Gev. In 1965 I became a CERN Fellow and worked on an experiment to measure the beta decay of the Xi particle. The result was important in confirming the Cabibbo theory of charged current semi-leptonic weak interactions of the hadrons. After coming to UCL in 1968 I worked for ten years in the Bubble Chamber Group mainly on the Gargamelle neutrino experiment. Highlights of this programme were the discovery of the weak neutral current and the confirmation of the quark substructure of the nucleons. In 1978 I started work on the design of a large water Cerenkov detector to search for proton decay and in 1980 I joined the IMB experiment. This was a 9000 tonne water detector located 2000ft underground in a large salt mine near Cleveland Ohio. Although proton decay was not discovered, neutrinos from the 1987A Supernova explosion were detected and anomalies were observed in the interaction of neutrinos originating from the upper atmosphere which may point towards neutrino oscillations. Since the mid 1980's I have been working on the ZEUS e p collider experiment firstly in its construction phase and then in running and analysis. My current analysis centres on the search for possible supersymmetric particles. I am also contributing to the design and construction of the ATLAS detector for the 14 TeV proton collider, the LHC, which will be running at CERN in 2005. The courses I have taught at UCL are Mathematics, Electricity and Magnetism and Thermal Physics in the first year and Mathematics, Electromagnetic Theory and Quantum Mechanics in the second year. I also teach courses on Electroweak Interactions and Deep Inelastic Scattering for the research students of UCL, QMW and RHBNC in the LIVENET series of lectures.

Brief Description of Course

A half course unit (0.5 CU) 1st Year course in the Physics of Matter

Aims
To show how the three primary states of matter are the result of competition between thermal energy and inter-particle forces. To obtain predictions from the kinetic theory, and at a later stage to derive and apply the Maxwell Boltzmann distribution and To introduce and apply the laws of classical thermodynamics.

Objectives
On successful completion of 1B28 a student will be able to: understand what is meant by an ideal gas. 8

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

derive Boyle's Law from the simple Kinetic Theory and obtain the mean energy of each degree of freedom using the Gas Law. obtain expressions for the mean collision and diffusion lengths from simple Kinetic Theory. explain the structure of real gases, liquids and molecular, covalent, ionic and metallic solids in terms of inter atomic/molecular interactions and the co-ordination number. understand phase changes and the significance of the triple and critical points. explain how certain macroscopic quantities like latent heat, surface tension and the critical point may be related to parameters of the microscopic inter atomic/molecular potential. understand the concepts of the thermodynamic state and state variables, equilibrium, temperature, equations of state and state functions in Classical Thermodynamics, and in particular understand the First Law of Thermodynamics and the concepts of heat, internal energy and work. define the various latent and specific heats. understand Cp and Cv for ideal and real gases, and how Cv varies with temperature. understand what is meant by an ideal adiabatic process and obtain the equation of state, why fast processes can approximate closely to an ideal adiabatic process and understand the free adiabatic expansion as an example of an irreversible process. be able to derive the efficiency of the Carnot cycle (and other simple cycles such as the Otto and Stirling cycle) and understand the ideal operation of engines, refrigerators and heat pumps. understand the concept of entropy and its relationship to disorder. derive from thermodynamic arguments the form of the Maxwell - Boltzmann distribution and obtain the normalised velocity and speed distributions in an ideal gas. Also the student should be aware of the ubiquity of this distribution in systems in thermal equilibrium. Atoms and molecules as the building blocks of matter. The mole and Avogadro's Number. The mean separation of atoms/molecules in gases, liquids and solids, at STP. (1 lecture). The perfect gas. Derivation of Boyle's Law, from simple Kinetic Theory. The mean kinetic energy per degree of freedom from the ideal gas equation. Collision and diffusion lengths in gases. (3 lectures) Real gases. The Lennard - Jones potential as a parameterisation of inter-atomic/molecular forces. The Van der Waals equation of state and explanation of the terms that modify the ideal gas equation. (1 lecture) The structure of liquids. Surface tension. (1 lecture) Molecular, covalent, ionic and metallic solids. The concept of cohesive energy (without detailed calculations). Some examples of simple solid structures. (2 lectures) Phase change, latent heats, triple point and critical point, p-V and p-V-T diagrams. Insight into the above from the microscopic understanding. (2 lectures) Thermodynamic state, state variables, and thermodynamic equilibrium. The thermodynamic definition of temperature and the ideal gas temperature scale. Heat, internal energy and work. The First Law of Thermodynamics. Reversible processes. The specific heats of an ideal gas and variation with temperature. The specific heats of a real gas. Derivation of the equation of state for an ideal adiabatic expansion. Fast processes as 9

Syllabus

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

approximations to ideal adiabatic expansion. Free adiabatic expansion as an example of an irreversible process. (6 lectures) Heat Transfer mechanisms. The heat conduction equation and the Stefan-Boltzmann relation for thermal radiation. (2 lectures) The Carnot cycle. Other ideal cycles, engines, refrigerators and heat pumps, efficiencies and performance coefficients. (3 lectures) Entropy, disorder, the arrow of time and the Second Law of Thermodynamics. (2 lectures) Plausible derivation of the form of the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Normalised velocity and speed distribution for molecules in a gas. Spatial distribution of particles in thermal equilibrium. Thermal fluctuations in measuring devices. (4 lectures) Kinetic theory of gases

Textbooks
There is no single book that covers all aspects of this wide ranging course. The book with the right physical approach is: The Properties of Matter by Flowers and Mendoza, published by Wiley. Additionally the lecturer refers to: Physics, by Thornton, Fishbane and Gasiorowitz, published by Prentice Hall which is available at a substantial discount if purchased through the department. Interested students may also find solace in Understanding the Properties of Matter; by de Podesta, published by UCL Press

Estimated Student Workload

Hours specific to the Course Lectures Private reading Seminars / Problem Classes / Tutorials Laboratory / Studio Field work Independent project work Language work Required written work, e.g. essays Revision Total Hours 27 35 6

15 50 133

Assessment
Hours specific to the Course Unseen Written Examination Compulsory Assessed Oral Written coursework Total Number 1 1 4 Hours 2.5 Fraction 90% 0% 10% 100%

Pre-Term Work for Thermal Physics

No specific pre-term work is required for this course. Any reading related to the topics of the course will be helpful but nothing specific is required. Prof. Jones told me that All will be revealed in my lectures!

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

1B70 Physics laboratory and Computing I

Course Coordinator
Dr. Malcolm Coupland

Office location
Room B4 in Laboratory 3 on the third floor of the main building

Brief CV
I got my BSc in Physics from Southampton University in 1968 and continued there as a research student in experimental particle physics. My first research assistant post in 1972 was at Queen Mary and Westfield College in London, where I stayed until 1977, working first at CERN on an experiment to measure the polarization asymmetry in protonantiproton annihilation and then at the Rutherford Laboratory making similar measurements for kaon-proton interactions. I then took up my first post at UCL, returning to CERN to work on the experiment measuring large angle hadron elastic scattering differential cross-sections. In 1979 I was appointed as lecturer, and later senior lecturer, at Birkbeck College. There I continued to do research in collaboration with my colleagues in the experimental particle physics group at UCL, working on a number of experiments at CERN designed to measure the hadro-production of charm and bottom flavours. From 1982 till 1994 I was involved with the OPAL experiment at the LEP accelerator in CERN, at which point I decided to pull out of experimental particle physics in order to pursue some theoretical ideas. In September 1997 the Physics Department at Birkbeck College was closed, so I lost my post there, but as part of the arrangements for transferring the evening degree programme to UCL I was offered, and accepted, my present half-time teaching post here. Currently I organise the first year practical course for the evening students, as well as giving lectures in the evenings and developing projects for the third year teaching laboratory.

Brief Course Description

A half unit (0.5 CU) foundation course in laboratory skills featuring experimentation, data analysis and computing.

Aims and Objectives

Forms the first part (with Physics laboratory and Computing II 2B70 as second) of an introductory course in laboratory and related skills. Concepts met in the experimental component illustrate aspects of the theoretical parts of the degree.

Summary of the Course content

A foundation course of experiments performed individually together with a lecture course on the treatment of experimental data and basic computer programming. An introduction to report writing and presentation using word processing software.

Textbooks
No specific books are required but at the start of the course you will be given advice about books giving guidance about (a) how to handle uncertainties in experiments, (b) how to cope with Word, the word processing application and (c) how to program in Qbasic

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

Estimated Student Workload

Hours specific to the Course Lectures Private reading Seminars / Problem Classes / Tutorials Laboratory / Studio Field work Independent project work Language work Required written work, e.g. essays Revision Total Hours 8 12 31 42

32 125

Assessment
Hours specific to the Course Laboratory Reports Written accounts of Laboratory work Written coursework Total Number 2 10 6 18 Fraction 2/18 10/18 6/18 1

Each of the 18 assessed pieces of work contributes with equal weighting.

Pre-Term Work for Laboratory Physics

No explicit pre-term work is required for this course. When asked what he would like students to do over the summer Dr. Coupland replied: Ask them to read Scientific American and New Scientist magazines to improve their scientific general knowledge. So get busy.

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

1B71 - Mathematics for Physics

Lecturer
Keith Norman

Office location
Room B3 at 3-4 Tavistock Street

Brief CV
I obtained my B.Sc. in Physics from Birkbeck College in 1960 whilst employed as a technician as the Physics Department at UCL. Following this I continued with postgraduate studies at UCL within the newly formed Space Research Group, later to become the Mullard Space Science Laboratory. My research interests were initially in solar physics during which time I helped to design extreme UV spectrometers, and later in space plasma physics for which I was involved in the design and operation of rocket and satellite instruments to study the Earths Ionosphere and Magnetosphere. These projects culminated with the launches of Ariel, OGO5 and GEOS satellites. I was appointed lecturer in the Department of Physics in 1976 and senior lecturer in 1989. I taught the first year mathematics course for six years. I then transferred to the newly founded Department of Space and Climate Physics in 1993.

Brief Description of Course

A whole course unit (1.0 CU) basic mathematics course for all physics courses in the BSc (parttime) Physics degree

Aims and Objectives

The aim is to teach basic mathematics to a level required by subsequent physics and mathematics courses, including a refresher element for the incoming mature students

Syllabus
A basic Mathematics course for all Physics courses. (Functions of a real variable, limits, continuity and differentiability, integrals. Power series expansions of elementary functions. Complex numbers, hyperbolic functions. Ordinary differential equations. Matrices and determinants. Partial differentiation. Vectors, probability. Functions of a real variable: Real numbers, algebra of real numbers, functions of a real variable {interval of definition, functions of more than one variable, many-valued functions, polynomials, rational functions, transcendental functions, even and odd functions, inverse functions}. Inequalities: Definition, properties, e.g. sin << tan. Limits and Continuity: Definition of a limit, theorems, definition of continuity. Differentiability: Definition of a derivative of f(x), geometric interpretation, differentiability and continuity, standard rules {constant, power, sine etc, exponential, sum, product, quotient, function of a function, implicit functions, parametric), increment and differential, higher derivatives, maxima and minima.

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

Convergence of Infinite Series: Sequences and series, basic theorem Lim an = 0 as necessary condition, tests (a) positive terms
n

{comparison, ratio}, (b) alternating, (c) general, absolute, conditional, power series, radius of convergence, e.g. exponential, ln, sinh etc. Taylor and Maclaurin Series: Rolles theorem, mean value theorem, Taylor series, Maclaurin series, LHpitals rule. Integrals and Integration: Definitions, indefinite integral as reverse differentiation, definite integral as area under a curve, special cases {even, odd and periodic functions}, techniques and substitutions, improper integrals, principal value. Numerical Integration: Trapezium rule, Simpsons rule. Matrices and Determinants: Introduction to determinants via solution of simultaneous linear equations, properties {rows columns, row column, column =0 if rows equal, row, column = 0 if rows proportional, row 1 + row2, column1 + column2}, evaluation of determinants, homogenous equations, product of determinants. Introduction to matrices, matrix multiplication, types {row, column, null, diagonal, unit, transpose, adjoint, inverse, orthogonal}, solution of linear equations both homogeneous and inhomogeneous, inconsistency and indeterminacy. Vectors Scalars, vectors, products (a) scalar {examples, form in Cartesian co-ordinates, F dr }, (b) vector {examples, form in Cartesian co-ordinates} lines and planes in vector notation, intersections and relations with linear equations. Complex Variable: i as operator, argand diagram, complex algebra {equality, addition, multiplication, division}, polar form {conversion, multiplication, division}, exponential form, de Moivres theorem and applications {roots of unity and of z, integrations, cosh etc}. Functions of more than one Independent Variable: Partial differentiation {definition, function of a function, higher derivatives}, total derivatives, first order approximations, change of variables, implicit differentiation, higher total derivatives, Taylors theorem for more than one variable, maxima, minima and saddle points, differentiation of functions of a complex variable - the Cauchy-Riemann conditions, The gradient operator. Ordinary Differential Equations: Terminology {order, degree, linearity}, dy First order equations, = F(x,y){ F(x, y) = f(x), F(x, y) = g(y), variables separable, dx homogeneous, exact and integrating factor, linear (e.g. capacitor discharge); second order d2 y dy d2 y dy d2 y dy equations, G 2 , , x, y = 0 , {(a) G 2 , , x = 0 only, (b) G 2 , , y = 0 only, (c) dx dx dx dx dx dx linear with constant coefficients, homogeneous and inhomogeneous}. Elements of Probability Theory: Discrete probability distributions, moments, means and standard deviations. Independent probabilities. Means and standard deviations for continuous distributions. 14

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

Textbooks
There are a large number of books available which cover most of the work required for this course. Our recommendations are as follows: Engineering Mathematics by K.A. Stroud Fourth Edition, Published by Macmillan ISBN 0-333-62022-4 Approximate cost 20 Mathematical Methods in Physical Sciences by Mary L. Boas Third Edition published by John Wiley (WIE); ISBN: 0471044091 Approximate cost 27 This book is ideal for pre-term work and for many, if not most, of the course topics. However, an additional book is necessary to cover the full syllabus and our preferred book is: This book is an excellent and comprehensive text which will serve all your mathematical needs throughout the degree course and well beyond

An alternative to Boas which is slightly less comprehensive is Mathematical Methods for Science Students by G. Stephenson (2nd edition, 1988, Addison Wesley Longman Higher Education; ISBN: 0582444160 Approximate cost 22)

Estimated Student Workload

Hours specific to the Course Lectures Private reading Seminars / Problem Classes / Tutorials Laboratory / Studio Field work Independent project work Language work Required written work, e.g. essays Revision Total Hours 54 70 12 30 80 246

Assessment
Hours specific to the Course Unseen Written Examination Orally Assessed Coursework Written coursework Total Number 1 1 4 Hours 3.0 Fraction 90% 0% 10% 100%

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

Pre-Term Work in Mathematics

The text that we recommend for pre-term work in Mathematics is Engineering Mathematics by K.A. Stroud. This book is over 1000 pages long and so represents excellent value for money at only around 2p per page. In other words, it is cheaper to buy than to photocopy. The book has a pleasant straightforward style and will prove to be a valuable resource in years to come. It covers most, but not all, of the topics in the first year Maths Course 1B71. The text of the book is broken up into a number of Programmes(roughly equivalent to chapters in a normal book) and each programme consists of a number of frames. Each frame develops the programme topic a little, providing a gradual progression from the simplest exercises to the most difficult. The first 10 programmes are called Foundation Topics and it is to these that you should pay most attention. Just about everything there should be familiar to you at some level, even if it is only a distant memory at present. However, by focusing on the basic topics required, and reading ahead to the topics you will cover during the course, you will be helping to build firm foundations for your learning, while keeping an eye on the general context of the material. On the following page is a table listing all the Foundation Topics in Stroud. Those which are shaded are not considered absolutely necessary, but may help you in certain topics. The topics of integration and differentiation will both be covered in the course. However, rather little time will be spent on reviewing the basics of both concepts. For this reason it is recommended that you make sure that you are at least basically familiar with the material under these headings.

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study
Reference
Page xx Programme F1 Page 3 Frames 1 to 42

Foundation Topics with Frame Numbers

Useful background information Number systems Types of numbers (1 to 3) Number Systems (Binary, Decimal etc) (4 to 20) Changing Base (21 to 40) Revision & Test (41 & 42) Arithmetic and Algebra Basic laws of Arithmetic (1 to 9) Transposition of Formulae (10 to 18) Algebra (19 to 29) Factorisation (30 to 44) Revision & Test (45 & 46) Polynomial evaluation & factorisation Polynomial notation & evaluation (1 to 7) Remainder & factor theorems (8 to 21) Quartic polynomials (22 to 33) Revision & test Indices & logarithms Indices (1 to 6) Standard form (7 to 11) Logarithms (12 to 22) Indicial equation (23 to 28) Revision & test (29 & 30) Linear Equations and Simultaneous Linear Equations Linear Equations (1 to 6) Simultaneous Linear Equations (7 to 19) Test (20) Polynomial equations Quadratic equations (1 to 16) Cubic equations (17 to 24) Quartic equations (25 to 32) Revision & test (33 & 34) Series Sequences & Series (1 to 5) Arithmetic Series (6 to 17) Geometric Series (18 to 24) Natural Number Series (25 to 32) Binomial Series (33 to 37) Infinite Series (38 to 47) Revision & Test (48 & 49) Partial fractions Partial fractions (1 to 6) Rules of partial fractions (7 to 41) Revision & test (42 & 43) Differentiation Slope of a straight line graph (1 to 2) Slope of a curve at a given point (3 to 8) Algebraic determination of the slope of a curve (9 to 11) Differential coefficients of powers of x (12 to 15) Differentiation of polynomials (16 to 21) Second differentials (22 to 23) Standard Differentials (24 to 25) Differentials of products and quotients (26 to 32) Differentials of functions of a function (33 to 39) Revision & Test (40 & 41) Integration Integration (1) Standard integrals (2 to 5) Functions of linear function in x (6 to 8) Integration of polynomial functions (9 to 14) Integration by partial fractions (15 to 21) Areas under curves (22 to 27) Integration as summation (28 to 33) Revision & Test (34 & 35)

Comments
Essential

Programme F2 Page 23 Frames 1 to 46

Essential

Programme F3 Page 47 Frames 1 to 33

Essential

Programme F4 Page 61 Frames 1 to 30

Essential

Programme F5 Page 79 Frames 1 to 20 Programme F6 Page 93 Frames 1 to 34

Essential

Essential

Programme F7 Page 109 Frames 1 to 49

Will be covered in the course

Programme F8 Page 135 Frames 1 to 43 Programme F9 Page 153 Frames 1 to 41

Will be covered in the course

Will be covered in the course, but the concepts involved are so important that you should be familiar with most of this material before starting.

Programme F10 Page 181 Frames 1 to 35

Will be covered in the course, but the concepts involved are so important that you should be familiar with most of this material before starting.

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

1B72 - Waves and Modern Physics

Lecturer
Professor Keith A. McEwen

Office location
Room C103B on ground floor of the Kathleen Lonsdale building

Brief CV
As an undergraduate at Pembroke College, Cambridge, I took the Natural Sciences Tripos with Part II Physics, graduating in 1966. I stayed on in Cambridge to take my PhD. Working in the Royal Society Mond Laboratory (the low temperature section of the Cavendish Laboratory), I used the de Haas-van Alphen effect to determine the Fermi surface of the alkaline earth metals. From 1970-73, I was a Research Fellow at the H. C. Oersted Institute of the University of Copenhagen. There I developed a long lasting enthusiasm for the magnetism of the rare earth metals, which I also studied by neutron scattering at Risoe National Laboratory. I then returned to the UK to take up a Lectureship at the University of Salford, where I developed techniques for growing single crystals of the rare earths. In 1980 I was seconded to the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France. I returned again to the UK in 1986 to become Professor of Experimental Physics and Head of Department at Birkbeck College. In October 1997, I moved, with the Birkbeck Condensed Matter Physics group, to UCL. My research interests are centred on the magnetism of magnetic materials, particularly fundamental studies of the rare-earth, actinide and heavy fermion type systems. Macroscopic measurements in London are complemented by an extensive programme of neutron scattering studies at ISIS and ILL, and also the facilities at Risoe and Berlin. I have published about 120 papers in this field.

Brief Description of Course

A half course unit (0.5 CU) 1st Year course in Waves and Modern Physics in the B.Sc. (parttime) Physics degree.

Outline Syllabus
Waves Oscillations The Wave Equation Acoustic Waves Electromagnetic Waves Reflection of Waves Refraction of Waves Waves in more than 1 Dimension Moving Sources & Receivers Interference The Michelson Interferometer Diffraction Modern Physics Structure and Scale in the universe Quarks, Nuclei, Atoms and Molecules Four Forces The Need for Quantum Mechanics Wave mechanics The Need for Special Relativity Relativity

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Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

Estimated Student Workload

Hours specific to the Course Lectures Private reading Seminars / Problem Classes / Tutorials Laboratory / Studio Field work Independent project work Language work Required written work, e.g. essays Revision Total Hours 27 35 6

15 50 133

Assessment
Hours specific to the Course Unseen Written Examination Compulsory Assessed Oral Written coursework Total Number 1 1 4 Hours 2.5 Fraction 90% 0% 10% 100%

Pre-Term Work for Waves &Modern Physics

None.

20

Preparing for year one of the B.Sc. Physics by part-time evening study

21