Introduction to Physics II

General Information

Course Grading

There will be two mid-term exams and a final exam, together accounting for 400 points. In addition, up to 100 points can be earned by handing in homework assignments regularly, participating in classes (this includes answering questions with "clickers," see below), and attending recitations.   Late homework will not be accepted but the lowest homework score will be dropped allowing, in effect, for one missed assignment without impacting your grade.  Similarly, you can miss, without explanation, one lecture and one recitation during the semester for medical or personal reasons.  Beyond this margin of flexibility, if your illness or a serious personal problem extends longer than two days, please contact your class Dean.  There may be ad hoc homework quizzes as well as opportunities for extra credit.  The course grade, based on a nearly absolute scale, will be determined from the following:

 Mid-term Exams (2)

200 points

 Final Exam

200

 Homework & participation

100

                                        Total

500


Lectures and Reading

Lectures will stress the key concepts, techniques, and problem-solving strategies, leaving some of the material for individual study.  Occasionally, topics will be discussed which are not included in the text.  Approach to many concepts and sample problems selected for lectures will differ from those in the book, complementing your reading.  Reading the text will be helpful but will not substitute for lectures.  On the other hand, to benefit fully from the lectures, it will be necessary that you read or at least look over the assigned text before coming to the corresponding class.

Part of each lecture will be devoted to interactive learning with students' active participation using "clickers," hand-held devices operating at radio frequency (915 MHz). These clickers, which are required at each lecture, will also be used to take roll-call (attendance is mandatory and punctuality expected, as per BC general procedures).

 
Recitations

Recitation classes (PH 214) are an integral part of the course (attendance will be checked). They will be interactive and will focus on developing skills for solving problems. Assigned homework problems will not usually be discussed. However, you may ask any of the course instructors to provide you with a hint or help in solving homework problems. Recitation problems will be selected by your instructor from the book. They will be solved algebraically, with students' participation, and then the solutions will be evaluated numerically.  This approach has many advantages and will be helpful on the exams.

 
Homework

Problem assignments are posted on the syllabus.  Homework is due on Friday of the week for which it is assigned and will be collected before the lecture. Homework should be handed in to the lecturer (never to the TAs).  Current homework solutions will be posted here. They can be also obtained from your recitation instructor.


Exams

All exams will be "closed book," but a list of potentially useful equations will be provided. Calculators will not be needed (and will not be allowed). There will be no makeup mid-term exams. Mid-term exams missed for valid reasons will be "graded" by prorating numerical scores on the corresponding final exam problems.

 Exam I

Monday, February 18

 Chapters: 21-24

 Exam II

Monday, March 31

 Chapters: 25-29

 Final Exam

Tuesday, May 6

 Chapters: 21-33, 35, 36

 

Premedical Program

The primary purpose of the course is to serve as an introduction to the basic principles of electromagnetism. The course will build on material studied in the Introduction to Physics I (PH 211). Familiarity with the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics will be assumed. Because of the mathematical nature of the subject, students should also be prepared for a considerable dose of differential and integral calculus. The course will gradually develop concepts along the following topics: electrostatics (effects of stationary electric charges), currents (charges in motion), magnetostatics (effects of steady currents), magneto-dynamics (varying magnetic fields). This sequence will culminate in the formulation of Maxwell's Equations for electromagnetism (E&M). E&M waves, including light, and some of their properties (called physical optics) will conclude the course.

Students interested in medical applications of physics will find many in General Physics by Sternheim and Kane (Wiley, 2-nd ed. 1991). Two copies of the book have been placed on reserve in the O'Neill Library. Lectures will occasionally draw examples from it.

 

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