PHYS 2620

This course was incredibly cool. I originally took this as an elective because I'm not a physics major, but after taking this class, I'd recommend it to anyone who is somewhat good at math and wants a difficult science class. The homework questions are all somewhat hard to solve and there are some parts of the course that will definitely make you scratch your head in confusion, but I'd say it's all worth it in the end. In this class, you will cover general relativity, relativistic dynamics (i.e. what happens when two subatomic particles collide), the photoelectric effect, heisenberg's uncertainty principle, basic quantum mechanics (i.e. steps and potential wells), atomic and particle physics, and general relativity and cosmology topics.

This class is hands down one of the coolest classes I've taken at UVA. The material is really fascinating - we covered relativity, quantum mechanics, nuclear and particle physics, and even some astrophysics. Most professors that have taught this class have only covered basic quantum mechanics, whereas Zheng exposed us to a broad range of fields. This meant that the class was pretty tough, but generally enjoyable. The weekly homeworks weren't too bad, and usually didn't take more than 4-6 hours. The 2 exams were pretty straightforward, and the final was more difficult, but still fair. (Definitely study hard for the final, because it's a whopping 40% of your grade.)

As far as the professors go, Zheng was awesome. She was very well prepared, approachable, and genuinely wanted all her students to do well. Her teaching style was a little different than intro physics classes, but I've been told this is normal for higher level courses. She basically focused all the time in lecture deriving equations and doing a lot of math in general - she kind of let the math drive us to interesting conclusions and concepts rather than the other way around. You can get a lot out of this approach if you read the textbook before the lectures (like she tells you to), so you are familiar with the concepts and can follow her math. It's easy to fall behind so make sure you stay on top of the material - it can get pretty dense and overwhelming. Overall, it's not enormously difficult to get an A-/A if you do the homeworks and practice exams well and read the textbook. All in all, a mostly painless experience - I would recommend taking it with Zheng.

TL;DR - Great prof, somewhat tough class but very interesting content, definitely would recommend even if you're not a physics major!

Xiaochao Zheng is a phenomenal professor. I have never come across a professor more caring, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend taking Modern Physics with her. But, there are a couple things you need to know about her style of teaching. First, its a bit weird, in that she spends a lot of time deriving equations and discussing the theoretical thinking behind each concept-most of which is not on the exam, and might make you feel like you're not understanding much. But, this is actually a good thing, given you ask questions if you don't understand something, because Modern Physics encompasses many great theories and to really understand them well you need to go beyond the textbook and listen to what Prof. Zheng has to say. Again, she's incredibly knowledgeable so take advantage of that. Second, you just have to spend the few weeks telling yourself everything is gonna be fine and that you are going to get used to her way of teaching and start understanding much more-it will happen, trust me.
The homework she gives might seem unnecessary or hard, but it is not. Most questions are rather difficult, and can take a lot of time, but as a Physics major this is going to be your academic lifestyle so get used to it sooner than later. The problems usually provide great insight into physical models and theories discussed in class and in the book.
There are three exams: two midterms (15% each) and a final (40%). The exams are relatively easy and do not really have problems similar to HW (they're much easier).
Overall, a great class to take for physics majors. You will learn a lot, but with that comes putting in many hours and hard work.

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