Guided self-study

The aim of the guided self-study is to allow the student to acquire the background knowledge in mathematics, physics and chemistry needed for the Core curriculum. As students in the Top Master Programme in Nanoscience will have different backgrounds, a consolidation phase is needed. The contents of this phase will be determined on an individual basis (based on their Bachelor education and preknowledge) with the result that each student will have acquired the necessary prerequisite knowledge.

The learning objectives, literature, assesments and the time schedule can be found on Ocasys, all additional information can be found on this page.

To already start the preparation of studying these topics we have gathered some additional information for the students.

For Inorganic Chemistry:

-The tutor advises the students to first look at the following topics from the "chemistry library" at Khan academy for some basic concepts (https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry): Electronic structure of atoms, periodic table, chemical bonds, acids and bases, redox reactions and electrochemistry

-Then there is more in-depth treatment from UCI: https://open.uci.edu/courses/chem_107_inorganic_chemistry.html; The relevant lectures are 1-13, 15-16, 21-23.

Note that some topics from UCI are in more depth than covered in the Guided Self-Study.

For Organic Chemistry:

-The teacher advises the students to have a look at the following UCI videos: https://open.uci.edu/courses/chem_51a_organic_chemistry.html

Note from the tutor: The videos are not perfectly matching the content that we are covering in the guided self-study, but the essence is the same and together with the outline of what we cover in the guided self-study (as described on Ocasys) it may be helpful for the new students to prepare.

Solid State Physics

- The tutor advises to already have a look at the following topics before attending the lectures:

1. Statistical Mechanics

• Fermi-Dirac statistics
• Bose-Einstein statistics
• Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics
• Ensemble average and partition function

2. Quantum mechanics

• Schrodinger equation for electrons
• Hydrogen model

3. Calculus

• Fourier transforms
• Second Order Differential Equations

4. Classical mechanics

• Waves and wave propagation

5. Electrodynamics

• Maxwell’s equations

You might have a look at the websites of UCI, MIT or Khan Academy yourself to see wether useful videos are available.

For Quantum Physics no specific extra information is yet available, but based on the topics mentioned on Ocasys you might have a look at the websites of UCI, MIT or Khan Academy yourself. If more information will become available, we will add this here.

During the guided self-study tutors are available to help students in studying this material, one for each major topic. The tutors are mentioned on Ocasys.