| Date | Lecture Topics | Assignments Due |
| Jan. 8 | Introduction; Thermodynamic quantities | |
| Jan. 10 | NO CLASS (Prof. out of town) | Review Thermo |
| Jan. 13 | Thermodynamic relations | |
| Jan. 15 | Statistical mechanics: microstates and entropy | Problem set #1 due |
| Jan. 17 | Ideal gas: density of states and Gibbs factor | Read Pathria 1 |
| Jan. 20 | MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY | |
| Jan. 22 | Classical ensembles and Liouville's theorem | Problem set #2 due |
| Jan. 24 | Canonical ensemble; Boltzmann factor; Partition function | Read Pathria 2 |
| Jan. 27 | Helmholtz free energy; Entropic elasticity example | |
| Jan. 29 | Classical ideal gas; Equipartition theorem | Problem set #3 due |
| Jan. 31 | Paramagnetism; Importance of discrete spectrum | Read Pathria 3 |
| Feb. 3 | Chemical potential; Grand canonical ensemble | |
| Feb. 5 | Recovering thermodynamics from the grand partition function | Problem set #4 due |
| Feb. 7 | Quantum statistical mechanics; Density matrix in the canonical ensemble | Read Pathria 4 |
| Feb. 10 | Density matrix in the coordinate basis; Thermal wavelength | |
| Feb. 12 | Bosons and Fermions | Problem set #5 due |
| Feb. 14 | Multiparticle wavefunctions; Grand partition function for an orbital | Read Pathria 5 |
| Feb. 17 | ICE STORM -- NO CLASS | Read handout. |
| Feb. 19 | Ideal gas: Ortho and para hydrogen | Read Pathria 6 |
| Feb. 21 | Recap of important concepts and techniques | Assignment #6 due |
| Feb. 24 | Exam Review | |
| Feb. 26 | Ideal Bose systems: Thermodynamics and condensation | Midterm Exam due |
| Feb. 28 | Ideal Bose systems: Blackbody radiation; Phonons | |
| Mar. 3 | APS MARCH MEETING -- NO CLASS | Read Pathria 7 and 8 |
| Mar. 5 | APS MARCH MEETING -- NO CLASS | |
| Mar. 7 | Phonons: Dispersion relation for a 1D chain | |
| Mar. 10 | SPRING BREAK | |
| Mar. 12 | SPRING BREAK | |
| Mar. 14 | SPRING BREAK | |
| Mar. 17 | Ideal Fermi systems: Occupation numbers and Fermi pressure | |
| Mar. 19 | Ideal Fermi systems: Low temperature -- Pauli paramagnetism | Problem set #7 due |
| Mar. 21 | CLASS CANCELED | Read Pathria 9 |
| Mar. 24 | Interacting systems: Cluster expansion | |
| Mar. 26 | Interacting systems: Virial expansion and throttling | Problem set #8 due |
| Mar. 28 | Phase transitions: van der Waals gas | Read Pathria 11.1-11.9 |
| Mar. 31 | Phase transitions: Critical exponents | |
| Apr. 2 | Phase transitions: Ising model -- Bragg-Williams | Problem set #9 due |
| Apr. 4 | Phase transitions: Ising model -- Ising model -- Bethe | Read Pathria 12.1;13.1-2 |
| Apr. 7 | Phase transitions: Ising model -- 1D exact solution | |
| Apr. 9 | CLASS CANCELED | Problem set #10 due |
| Apr. 11 | Phase transitions: Ising model -- Spatial correlations; Metropolis algorithm | Read something |
| Apr. 14 | Kinetic theory: Maxwell velocity distribution and pressure | |
| Apr. 16 | Kinetic theory: Transport coefficients | Problem set #11 due |
| Apr. 18 | Kinetic theory: Emission from a blackbody | |
| Apr. 21 | Kinetic theory: The H-theorem | Read Pathria 14.1-14.5 |
| Apr. 23 | Review | Problem set #12 due |
| May 2 | FINAL EXAM |