PHY2024 : Principles of Materials and Solid-State Physics
- Offered for Year: 2023/24
- Module Leader(s): Dr Irina Makarenko
- Owning School: Mathematics, Statistics and Physics
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
| Semester 2 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
Aims
To enhance the students' knowledge of materials and to strengthen their understanding of important material types (e.g. metals, semiconductors etc))
Outline Of Syllabus
What holds matter together?
Ionic and covalent bonding; Metallic bonding; Van der Walls and Hydrogen bonding.
Lattice vibrations:
1D monoatomic chains; 1D diatomic chains; phonons; phonon modes.
Crystal structure:
Lattice vectors; Unit cell; Bravais Lattices; Reciprocal lattice.
Wave scattering by crystals:
Bragg; Plane spacing; X-Ray diffraction;
Charge transport in materials:
Ion diffusion via lattice defects; Electrons in metals: Drude and Sommerfeld theory.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 37 | 1:00 | 37:00 | Completion of in course assignments/ examination revision |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Revision Lectures |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 20 | 1:00 | 20:00 | Formal Lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 41 | 1:00 | 41:00 | Preparation time for lectures, background reading, coursework review |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
Lectures are used for the delivery of theory and explanation of methods, illustrated with examples, and for giving general feedback on marked work.
The teaching methods are appropriate to allow students to develop a wide range of skills, from understanding basic concepts and facts to higher-order thinking.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 120 | 2 | A | 80 | N/A |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
| Prob solv exercises | 2 | M | 5 | Problem-solving exercises assessment |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
A substantial formal unseen examination is appropriate for the assessment of the material in this module. The format of the examination will enable students to reliably demonstrate their own knowledge, understanding and application of learning outcomes. The assurance of academic integrity forms a necessary part of programme accreditation.
Examination problems may require a synthesis of concepts and strategies from different sections, while they may have more than one ways for solution. The examination time allows the students to test different strategies, work out examples and gather evidence for deciding on an effective strategy, while carefully articulating their ideas and explicitly citing the theory they are using.
The coursework assignments allow the students to develop their problem solving techniques, to practise the methods learnt in the module, to assess their progress and to receive feedback; these assessments have a secondary formative purpose as well as their primary summative purpose.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- PHY2024's Timetable