Is Modern Physics course hard?

[relativitydude]

Is "Modern Physics" course hard?

Is "Modern Physics" course hard? It's a 3 Credit course that deals with special relativity, atomic structure etc.

Would it be impossible to study for this on my own to test out of it?

 

[Poop-Loops]

It's 3 credits, so they either zoom over everything, or they just barely get to it. Ask people who have taken it in your school, or the prof who teaches it.

PL

 

[jtbell]

Is "Modern Physics" course hard? It's a 3 Credit course that deals with special relativity, atomic structure etc.

Is this a college/university or high school course? USA or UK or where? What are the prerequisites?

At my college, "Introductory Modern Physics" comes after two semesters of "General Physics" and is normally taken by second-year (sophomore) physics majors. It assumes students have had two semesters of calculus out of a four-semester sequence. It covers relativity, photons, atomic structure, hydrogen-atom energy levels and spectra, and a taste of quantum mechanics (Schrödinger equation for the "particle in a box"). This year I ran out of time before getting to the hydrogen-atom quantum numbers, spin, etc. We'll do that next semester anyway.

Would it be impossible to study for this on my own to test out of it?

Depends on your background and how sharp you are, and on whether your school let's you test out of courses to begin with. I think most of our students find relativity and wave/particle stuff rather difficult conceptually, although the math isn't very heavy for them (at least not until we get to the Schrödinger equation).