PHYS202 – Course Information

Some Questions with Answers

Can we change the scheduled time and day? No. I have other responsibilities so there are very few possible slots. In any case, it takes a very big effort to make a change, and in fact it might be impossible to find a time that works for me and vast majority is happy with.

Will this be an online course? No. I don’t know if I will provide any online material. I may, but do not count on it.

Do I need to attend the course? Will you take attendance? Is it a problem (i.e., “sıkıntı olur mu?”) if I miss the classes? I will not take attendance, but (to state the obvious) I think you would benefit from attending the class. You miss the classes at your own peril.

Is my mathematical background sufficient for this course? This is very subjective, but I strongly recommend you take this course after PHYS209 or equivalent.

Basic Course Information

Code, name, semester: This document contains information on PHYS202 (2300202), “Modern Physics”, for the fall semester of 2025-26 academic year.

Time and place: The class will be held on Tuesdays 10:40-12:30, at P2; and Thursdays 10:40-12:30 at P5.

Webpage: The course has a page on ODTUClass, where I will be posting all essential information.

Content: This is a course that will give an introduction to modern physics. This is a bit of a misnomer, nothing we cover in this course is actually from this century. Check out the textbook for the actual topics.

Textbook and Additional Resources

We will be using Krane’s Modern Physics, 3rd edition (4th is also fine). Our bookstore does not carry it, our library has a copy. You do not need to own a copy, but it will make your life easier.

Other Textbooks you might find useful include

  • Concepts of Modern Physics, by Arthur Beiser. This is a classic, I used it in the past. At about the same level as Krane.

  • Modern Physics by Thornton and Rex. More or less equivalent to Krane or Beiser.

  • Quantum Physics of Atoms, Molecules, Solids, Nuclei, and Particles by Eisberg and Resnick. A tad bit more advanced. If you are bored with above, you can try this.

  • Nonclassical Physics: Beyond Newton’s View, by Harris. Again a bit more advanced. It contains very nice solved examples.

Some Popular Books: I will probably update this list. I encourage you to check these out:

  • Mr Tompkins in Paperback, by George Gamow. A must-read classic. Combines two books actually, the older editions are better.

Course Course Coverage and Objectives

We will cover chapters 1-7, parts of 8, 10, 11 and 15 from Krane 3e. The topics are typically not covered in high school curricula. This may mean that you need to work harder than for freshman level physics courses. In particular, I would not recommend waiting until the midterms are close.

The main objective is to show you some interesting stuff, so you will understand why you learn all that math. To appreciate this, you actually need to know the math, otherwise you will try to pass the course by solving problems from the textbook, which is not the aim of this course (or any course for that matter).

Instructor

Mehmet Atakan Gürkan (I use Atakan), email: agurkan@metu.edu.tr, Office: PZ36 (Physics Building ground floor), Office phone: ???? (I actually don’t know).

Email is the best way to reach me. Please do not contact me with WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram etc. (all of these happened). When contacting me by email, please pay attention to these points. These may seem crude or harsh, but they all stemmed from my past experience.

  1. Your email can be in English or Turkish.

  2. Your message should begin with a greeting and end with your name. As greeting, you can use “Merhaba”, “Hi”, “Hocam”, “Atakan hocam”, “Dear Atakan hocam”, etc. You do not need to be very formal, but remember that you are not sending a WhatsApp message to a buddy.

  3. Please observe proper grammar, punctuation and capitalization in your message.

  4. Adding your student ID at the very end is useful if I need to check my records to answer your question.

  5. Unless you are really replying to something I wrote in an email, do not use reply-to feature of your email client to send me a message. Use a fresh subject line appropriate to your message content. If I cannot track your message, I cannot answer it.

  6. All other things being equal, the shorter the answer you require, the faster I will respond.

  7. Please do not send me Microsoft Word, Excel etc. documents. I cannot open them, at least not easily, since I do not have MS Windows or MacOS. If you send me photos, make sure they are not too small, blurred etc.

  8. The best time to email me is weekday mornings. If you email me on weekends or outside 9am-5pm, your message has a higher chance of being read but not replied to; since once it gets marked as read, it will not necessarily draw my attention in the morning.

  9. If your message does not really require a response, I probably will not reply at all. However, if it does require a response, and I did not provide one in a few days, feel free to re-email me.

Lecture structure

This will be a face-to-face course, supported by a number of online tools. We will use ODTUClass (for many purposes). I may also use perusall (for reading assignments), GradeScope (for grading exams).

We will have lectures with discussion and weekly suggested from the textbook. If time permits, I will also prepare and post videos for problem solutions and reviews.

Even though I will not take attendance, I expect you to attend the lectures and participate in the discussions. .

Office Hours

I will not be holding office hours for this class this semester. I will be available for your questions after the lecture, and also via email. If there is a big demand, I will consider setting up office hours.

Other Guidelines

Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat all students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which they and their students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, language, age, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. My preferred gender pronouns are he/him/his.

If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible (preferably by the second week of the semester, but it is better late than never). You can also contact our Disability Support Office to see if you can benefit from their services http://engelsiz.metu.edu.tr/en/services.

Written exams

There will be three in-class written exams. The first midterm exam will be after we finish chapter 5, the second midterm after chapter 10 or 11 and the final exam will be at the end of the term (covering everything, but with more emphasis on later chapters).

Grading

You will be graded on the written exams as follows:

Midterm exams (each)

30%

Final exam

40%

The letter grades will be assigned according to:

90 or above

AA

85-89

BA

80-84

BB

75-79

CB

70-74

CC

65-69

DC

60-64

DD

50-59

FD

49 or below

FF

I reserve the right to lower these limits, but I will not raise them. In particular, it will be possible for everyone to get an AA.

General Disclaimer

The above schedule, policies, procedures, and assignments in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances, by mutual agreement, and/or to ensure better student learning.