PHY 311 — Modern Physics
Fall 2026 · Klamath Falls / Portland-Metro (Zoom-linked) · TuTh, 3:00–4:20 p.m.
| Instructors | David Johnston | Jesse Kinder |
|---|---|---|
| Office | 208 H | SE 214 or SE 204 |
| Office hours | TBD | Mon/Wed 3:30–5:30 p.m., Tue/Thu 4:30–5:30 p.m. |
Required Text: Six Ideas That Shaped Physics, Units R (Relativity) and Q (Quantum) — Moore
Supplement: Exploring Black Holes (Taylor & Wheeler) — selected sections for the GR unit
Recommended: Spacetime Physics (Taylor & Wheeler) — relativity problem source
Grades and assignments live on Canvas. Everything else is here.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
- Think like a physicist. Apply relativity and quantum mechanics to explain, analyze, and predict real phenomena.
- Think critically. Identify where relativity and quantum mechanics defy common sense, and trust evidence over instinct. Nature is always right.
- Solve problems. Apply problem-solving heuristics in relativity and quantum mechanics. Communicate your reasoning clearly, on paper and at the board.
- Connect theory to experiment and application. Describe key experiments that shaped modern physics. Explain technologies — MRI, GPS, semiconductors — that depend on them today.
Format
This course is co-taught by David and Jesse.
Physics education research is consistent on one point — you learn physics by doing it, not by watching someone talk about it — so most of our time together is discussion, problem solving, and chalk talks at the board, not lecture.
Come prepared: read the assigned material before class, and bring pencil, a calculator, and your laptop or tablet.
We will use a leapfrog method as we work through the text.
- Read the chapter and attempt a few practice problems before class.
- Ask questions. Discuss and apply the new concepts during class.
- Attempt challenging problems after class.
- Repeat.
Grading
There are no exams in this course. Your grade comes from problem sets, chalk talks, and two projects.
| Component | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Problem Sets | 50 |
| Chalk Talks | 15 |
| Midterm Project | 15 |
| Final Project | 20 |
Problem Sets include practice problems due before class each day and challenge problems due each week. Solutions to the challenge problems will be available for self-assessment and corrections. Most of your grade on problem sets (30 points) comes from completion. The remaining points will be assigned at the end of the term by looking at the overall quality of your body of work: effort, clarity, accuracy, critical thinking, and reflection.
Chalk talks. Much of class time is discussion — of problems, of your questions. You’ll occasionally share your own work informally at a chalkboard. Regular attendance and visible, steady effort earns full credit here. You don’t need the right answer to get credit for a chalk talk. There’s a difference between being confused and being unprepared, though.
Midterm project. Research a key experiment in the development of modern physics and present it as we discuss the topic in class. These will be spread throughout the term.
Final project. Research a technology application of relativity or quantum physics. Prepare a written report and peer-review classmates’ reports.
Academic Integrity
Work with others, use outside resources, learn from peers and tutors — but submit your own original work. What you turn in should show your own reasoning, your own calculations, your own conclusions. Generative AI is useful for composing text and as a tutor — you are welcome to use it. But don’t ask it to do your assignments for you. You do the thinking, you ask the questions. If AI contributes substantially to your work, acknowledge it, like any other source you would cite.
Presenting someone else’s work — human or AI — as your own is academic dishonesty. Confirmed plagiarism or cheating earns zero credit for the assignment in question, and reporting to the Student Affairs Office is mandatory. Review Oregon Tech’s Student Academic Integrity Policy if you’re not already familiar with it.
Accessibility
If you need accommodation because of a disability, contact us at the start of the term and reach out to Disability Services — we rely on them to coordinate accommodations.
University Policies
Oregon Tech’s Commission on College Teaching syllabus statements and the “Campus-Wide Syllabus Information” document on Canvas are part of this syllabus. Where they conflict with this document, this document takes precedence.
Tentative Schedule
- Leapfrog through Unit R (Relativity, ~3 weeks)
- Quick survey of general relativity (selections from EBH, ~2 weeks)
- Leapfrog through Unit Q (Quantum, ~5 weeks)
| Date | Reading | Topic | Experiments | Problems |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1 | — | Course intro | ||
| Oct 6 | R1 & R2 | Coordinate time | Michelson–Morley, Hafele–Keating | R1: T1, T2, B1, B2, B5 — M2+R2, M7 R2: T1, B1, B3, B5, B11 — M6, R3, A1 |
| Oct 8 | R3 | Spacetime interval | Kennedy–Thorndike | T1, T2, B1, B3, B9 — M5, R2 |
| Oct 13 | R4 & R5 | Proper time; coordinate transformations | Rossi–Hall (muons) | R4: T1, T8, B2, B4 — M6, R1, A3 R5: T1, T2, T3, T9, B1 — M3, D4 |
| Oct 15 | R6 | Lorentz contraction | T1, T3, T7, B1, B8 — M4, R1, D4, A2 | |
| Oct 20 | R7 & RB | Cosmic speed limit; Doppler effect | Bertozzi · Ives–Stillwell | R7: T1, T8, T9, B1, B8 — M2, R1, D7 RB: B1, B2 — M1, D3 |
| Oct 22 | R8 & R9 | Four-momentum, and its conservation | Anderson (positron) · Compton scattering | R8: T6, T9, T10, B1, B6 — M10, R1 R9: T4, T5, T10, B2, B4 — M11+R1, M13 |
| Oct 27 | EBH 1 & 2 | SR review → the curvature bridge to GR | ||
| Oct 29 | EBH 3 & 4 | Schwarzschild map; GPS | Pound–Rebka | |
| Nov 3 | EBH 6, 7 & 16 | Falling in; gravitational waves | LIGO · Cygnus X-1 · EHT | |
| Nov 5 | EBH 10 & 11 | GR’s classic confirmations | Eddington · Mercury’s perihelion · 2020 Nobel Prize | |
| Nov 10 | Q1, Q2, Q3 | Waves, interference, diffraction | ||
| Nov 12 | Q4 & Q5 | Photons; matter waves | Compton / Bothe–Geiger · Davisson–Germer | |
| Nov 17 | Q6 & Q7 | Spin; rules of QM | Stern–Gerlach · Franck–Hertz | |
| Nov 19 | QA & Q8 | Complex numbers; quantum weirdness | Bell tests (2022 Nobel Prize) | |
| Nov 24 | Q9 & Q10 | Wavefunction; simple quantum models | Jönsson (electron double-slit) | |
| — | — | No class — Thanksgiving | ||
| Dec 1 | Q11 & Q12 | Spectra; the Schrödinger equation | Lamb shift | |
| Dec 3 | Q13 & Q14 | Nuclei; nuclear stability | Rutherford · Cowan–Reines | |
| Dec 8 | — | Guest speaker: Jaime Evers, medical physics | ||
| Dec 10 | Q15 | Nuclear technology |
Attempt the italicized problems BEFORE class.
Attempt the bold problems AFTER we discuss the chapter in class. Solutions will be available the following Thursday, for self-assessment and corrections. (You can substitute a different problem of the same category from the same chapter and request a solution.)
All “A” and “D” problems are optional — difficult, but worth the effort.