Physics: Fundamentals of Physics II

Calculus-based introduction to electricity, magnetism and optics. For students in the natural sciences. Laboratory content is integrated with the lecture. Credit not awarded for both PHYS 1550 and PHYS 1650. Prerequisites: PHYS 1500 or PHYS 1600; credit or concurrent enrollment in MATH 1248.

Prereqs enforced by the system: PHYS 1500 or 1600; Pre/Co-reqs: MATH 1248, PHYS 1600; Open to Degree and PACE students.

This course is a calculus-based introduction to electricity, magnetism, and optics. It is intended for students in the natural sciences. In this second semester we will cover topics including electrostatics (forces, fields, potentials, energies, and capacitance), electric current and cir- cuits, magnetostatics, inductance (Faraday’s Law), Maxwell’s equations, electromagnetic waves, and geometric and physical optics. While many students may have seen these topics in previous physics courses, successful completion of PHYS 152 should provide the level of understanding and communica- tion required to teach the topics to others. There will be four classroom meetings per week on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (times listed above) in Innovation Hall E330. This is a laboratory science class and lab activities are integrated into the daily activities. Safety is a priority. During any class activity, negligent or deliberate misuses of the equipment will not be tolerated and may result in an F for the assignment or the entire course.

This course will rely on a flipped-classroom model where students are required to read the assigned text before class, and complete scheduled reading quizzes as we move into each new chapter. You will be required to complete online reading quizzes on Mastering Physics, which are due before we begin covering content from each chapter in class. Nearly all of your class time will be spent in small-group activities, including demonstrations, problem solving, tutorials, labs, and exploring conceptual details. You will earn credit for participation in all in-class activities. You are expected to engage in productive discussion of the physics topics with your group during our class sessions, but are not expected to complete all of the in-class activities or to get every answer “correct”. Many of the questions are designed to help us identify misconceptions, and certain groups will benefit far more from an in-depth discussion of the first question than a rushed completion of all questions. Attendance is therefore very important, but illnesses and unexpected events often lead to absences. Three days of missed class activity will therefore be excused, but additional absences cannot be made up, though we will strive for maximum flexibility for absences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the course is centered on small-group activities, you are expected to prepare for each day’s activities in advance and to attend and actively participate on a daily basis. Be aware that this class will require significant time commitment outside the scheduled meeting times. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: 1) Apply physical principles and reasoning to draw conclusions based on given information. 2) To experimentally gather information (data) to draw conclusions when necessary information is not given. 3) To use written and oral expression to support the conclusions using a combination of verbal, mathematical, and graphical communication as needed. 4) Identify gaps in knowledge and understand how to secure the needed information or concepts. These goals will be accomplished within the context of the physics concepts covered in this course.

Homework: Homework will be due each Sunday by 11:59 PM (or 24 hours later in case of a Monday holiday), to be completed on Mastering Physics. The logical development of the theory and the problem solving depend heavily on what has come before. For this reason, it is imperative that you keep current; don’t fall behind. Late homework may be completed in the days following the due date, with maximum credit reduced by 20% each day following the due date with the reduced credit only for the questions answered late. A follow-up assignment will be granted to allow opportunities to make up missed points, due a few days after the original assignment and only available if the original score was below 90% of the total. Homework assignments will be completed on Mastering Physics, but it is strongly advised that each student keep organized detailed solutions. Preparing these solutions will help in studying for the exam and for working in groups on the homework. Exams: There will be three mid-term exams and one final exam. The exams will have two equally-weighted components, a group component where each group submits one answer sheet, and an individual compo- nent. One sheet of hand-written notes and a calculator are allowed as resources. The mid-term exams will cover the most recent material preceding the exam with group component during our class session in E330 and the individual component during our evening exam time. The final will be cumulative with an emphasis on the content covered during the last three weeks of the semester. Using external re- sources (including online cheating services) is surprisingly easy to catch on physics exams, is considered a violation of the Code of Academic Integrity, and will result in failing the course. • Midterm 1 will be on TBD • Midterm 2 will be on TBD • Midterm 3 will be on TBD • Final Exam will be on TBD. Course Grades: Each student will receive a total grade based on the grades of the exams, homework, in-class labs and activities, and reading preparation. The individual components will be scaled and converted to letter grades according to: Midterm Exams Final Exam In-Class Activities Homework Reading quizzes 21% (7% each) 14% 40% 20% 5% A = B = C = D = F = 90 - 100% 80 - 89.9% 70 - 79.9% 60 - 69.9% 59.9% or below Within each letter grade, the + and - will indicate above and example, grades above 77% but below 80% will receive a C+. All grades will be posted on Blackboard to ensure privacy. It is each student’s responsibility to verify the accuracy of the postings regularly. Report any discrepancies promptly.