The Structure of the Exam
The examination consists of a written examination to be taken in two three hour periods on a single day shortly before the start of fall semester classes. The outcome of the common exam is based solely on the student’s score on the written examination. If a student’s score is above a “full pass threshold”, the student will have satisfied the common exam requirement. If a student’s score lies below the “full pass threshold” but above the “conditional pass threshold” the student will be directed to complete either PHYS 5010 and/or PHYS 5020 with a minimum grade of A-. A student with a conditional pass who satisfies the prescribed course requirements will have satisfied the common exam requirement. If a student’s score lies below the “conditional pass threshold”, the student will have failed that attempt at the common examination.
When the Exam Must Be Taken
All entering graduate students are required to take the Common Exam. The exam must be passed by the start of the second year of graduate work. A student is expected to take the exam just prior to the Fall semester in which the student starts graduate work. If the student fails that first attempt, a second attempt is permitted in the Fall of the following year. Students admitted to graduate work in the Spring semester are treated, for this purpose, as having started graduate work in the Fall semester of the following academic year. Students who register for Fall semester, but who arrive too late to take the written examination, will have forfeited their first attempt at the common examination. Students may petition the Common Exam Committee for a third attempt at the exam, but such a petition will be granted only for special circumstances.
Structure of the Exam
This exam will be administered Saturday, August 22, 2009. The exam will consist of two sessions, each lasting three hours. The first session begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 12:00 noon. The second session begins at 2:00 p.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m. The exam will be held in the rotunda JFB. Bring only a pencil or pen to the exam. All other materials, including calculators, will be provided. There will be NO oral component to the Common Exam. Past exams and their solutions are available (see left column).
Below are the general topics for the Common Exam.
The written examination will be confined to undergraduate course work, and will include the following subjects (levels are indicated by reference to Physics course numbers at the University of Utah):
1. General physics (at the level of 2210, 2220, 2230)
2. Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics (at the level of 3760)
3. Classical mechanics and special relativity (at the level of 4410, 4420)
4. Quantum theory and modern physics (at the level of 3740, 5450, 5460)
5. Electricity and Magnetism (at the level of 4410, 4420)
The books listed are NOT required but are good representatives of the material.
- General Physics: Physics Volume 1 by David Halliday, Robert Resnick, and Kenneth Krane; Physics Volume 2 by David Halliday, Robert Resnick, and Kenneth Krane
- Classical Mechanics: Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems by Stephen T. Thornton and Jerry B. Marion
- Electricity and Magnetism: Introduction to Electrodynamics by David Griffiths
- Quantum Mechanics: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics by David Griffiths
- Statistical Mechanics: Thermal Physics by Charles Kittel and Herbert Kroemer
- Modern Physics: Modern Physics by Paul A. Tipler and Ralf Llewellyn
- Thermodynamics: An Introduction to Thermal Physics by Daniel V. Schroeder
- Optics: Optics by Eugene Hecht
Common Exam Committee
Christoph Boehme, Chair
Stephan LeBohec
Eugene Mishchenko
Andrey Rogachev
Oleg Starykh
Common Exam Prep Committee
Mikhail Raikh, Chair
John Belz
Schedule
| Date |
Topic |
Committee Member |
| May 20 |
Classical Mechanics |
Mikhail Raikh |
| May27 |
Classical Mechanics |
Mikhail Raikh |
| June 3 |
Classical Mechanics |
Mikhail Raikh |
| June 10 |
Electricity and Magnetism |
Mikhail Raikh |
| June 17 |
Electricity and Magnetism |
Mikhail Raikh |
| June 24 |
Electricity and Magnetism |
Mikhail Raikh |
| July 1 |
Quantum Mechanics |
John Belz |
| July 8 |
no class |
|
| July 15 |
no class |
|
| July 23 (note change in date) |
Quantum Mechanics |
John Belz |
| July 29 |
Quantum Mechanics |
John Belz |
| August 5 |
Special Relativity |
John Belz |
| August 12 |
Thermodynamics |
John Belz |
| August 19 |
Statistical Mechanics |
John Belz |
