PHYSICS 115A: THERMODYNAMICS

Spring 2012

Instructor: Prof. Clare Yu
Office: 210E RH
Phone: 949-824-6216
E-mail: cyu@uci.edu
Office Hours: TBA

Lecture: 11:00-12:20 pm Tu-Th, FRH 2111 or 210M RH
Discussion Section : 11:00-11:50 am Wed, PSCB 220

Required Text: Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics, Second Edition by Herbert B. Callen, published by John Wiley & Sons.

URL for this course: http://eiffel.ps.uci.edu/cyu/p115B/ class.html
Lecture notes, syllabus, assignments, etc. will be posted at this URL.

Assignments : There will be homework assignments. The homework assignments will be due at the beginning of class. Late homework that is turned in within 24 hours of the deadline will be given half credit. No homework will be accepted after that.

Discussion Problems: To improve your understanding of the material, you may be given a problem to work on in discussion section. The problem will be turned in by the end of the discussion section. The problem will be given a grade of 0, 1, or 2. The lowest grade will be dropped.

Grading : 25% homework, 10% Discussion Problems, 30% midterm, 35% final exam.

Recommended Texts:

Cheating and Academic Dishonesty: Anyone caught cheating on an exam or in any other aspect of the course will automatically fail the course. In addition, the appropriate deans will be notified. Cheating includes giving or receiving assistance on an exam. More generally, anyone involved in academic dishonesty will automatically fail the course. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, copying or providing answers on exams, use of unauthorized notes or other materials on exams, altering graded problems or exams before requesting regrading, obtaining unauthorized copies of problems or exams, lying to excuse an absence, or any other form of dishonesty or cheating intended to unfairly improve your grade. If you have any doubt about whether some behavior constitutes academic dishonesty, first, assume it does, and then ask the instructor or your TA to be sure. Please see the University's official policy at http://www.editor.uci.edu/catalogue/appx/appx.2.htm for more details. If you become aware of cheating, please contact the professor as soon as possible, and we will follow-up while ensuring your anonymity.

Brief Course Outline:

  1. General Principles of Classical Thermodynamics: Chapters 1-8 of Callen (except sections 5.4, 6.6, 6.7 and 8.5)
  2. Phase Transitions and Critical Phenomena: Chapters 9 and 10 (except sections 9.6 and 9.7) of Callen.