Course Description

The theory of electromagnetism was one of the great accomplishments of 19th century physics and unifies and explains many phenomena associated with charged objects, currents and magnets. By the end of the century the theory had evolved to a compact and aesthetically pleasing form, which is still widely used.

Electromagnetism is arguably the most important way of probing and learning about the physical world. Almost all modern scientific laboratories and the experiments conducted in them would be impossible to imagine without the extensive use electronic equipment. Much of what is learned in these circumstances hinges on understanding the electromagnetic interaction between the equipment and the physical system that is being observed. Electromagnetism has made possible much of the technology that is characteristic of the industrialized world: electric appliances, electronics, electric motors, power generation, computers, wireless communication, etc,....

One of the predictions of the theory of electromagnetism is the existence of electromagnetic waves, which offer a complete description of the classical properties of light. Optics is the study of the properties of light. Some, such as reflection, refraction and image production using lenses are readily apparent. However, optics has consistently yielded surprising phenomena, which often provide fundamental insights into the nature of the physical world.

Modern physics, particularly quantum theory, covers phenomena which cannot be explained correctly using Newton's mechanics; these include the properties of atoms, nuclei, light particles, and solid materials. The concepts and results in this area are important for understanding chemistry, biochemistry as well as the workings of electronic devices, lasers, MRI and many more.

Phys 112 builds on Phys 111 and aims to introduce you to the phenomena of electricity and magnetism, optics and modern physics and the theories which describe them as well as some of their practical applications.

Course Number: PHYS 112

Instructor: Prof. David Collins, Physics

Contact Information:

Class Times: MWThF 10:00 - 10:50am (Section 001), MWThF 11:00 - 11:50am (Section 002)

Classroom: Wubben Science 203

First Class Meeting: Wednesday 19 January 2011

Prerequisites: Phys 111, Phys 111L.

Text: Knight, Jones and Field, College Physics, 2ed, Volume 2, Addison Wesley (2010).

First Day Handout: Pdf Format

Outline: Pdf Format


Syllabus

The following is subject to change.

  1. Electric charge, fields, potentials and currents.
  2. Electric circuits.
  3. Magnetic fields, interaction with currents.
  4. Electromagnetic waves.
  5. Geometric optics.
  6. Interference and diffraction.
  7. Modern physics of atoms.


Course Structure

Phys 112 meets four times per week. The Monday, Wednesday and Friday meetings will be in lecture format. You will be expected to read the relevant sections of the text beforehand and attempt designated exercises in the text.

The Thursday meeting will consist of a discussion session during which you will work in small groups (with the instructor's help) on assigned problems. You will be expected to attempt the assigned problems before the Thursday class meeting. There will be a 10 minute quiz covering the material at the end of the discussion session.


Homework Assignments

Complete homework assignments are below.

Homework Due date Problems (Numbers refer to Knight, College Physics)
Homework 1 26 January 2011 Ch 20 Questions: 7, 8, 23 Ch 20 Prob.: 7, 8, 14, 16, 50
Homework 2 31 January 2011 Ch 20 Questions: 14, 22, 24 Ch 20 Prob.: 22, 28, 35, 45 (only get the magnitude of the net electric field), 67
Homework 3 7 February 2011 Ch 21 Questions: 5, 7, 12 Ch 21 Prob.: 9, 16, 59, 60, 63
Homework 4 21 February 2011 Ch 22 Questions: 9, 19, 20 Ch 22 Prob.: 6, 11, 26, 37 (the text solution is incorrect since it is based on 130V rather than 120V), 46
Homework 5 28 February 2011 Ch 24 Questions: 16, 19, 23, Ch 24 Prob.: 6, 21, 27, 51, 53
Homework 6 7 March 2011 Ch 24 Questions: 26, 28, 29 Ch 24 Prob.: 31, 33, 35, 52, 61
Homework 7 21 March 2011 Ch 25 Questions: 12, 14, 15 Ch 25 Prob.: 13, 14, 16, 51, 56
Homework 8 4 April 2011 Ch 17 Questions: 4, 7, 22 Ch 17 Prob.: 8, 14, 18, 39, 41
Homework 9 11 April 2011 Ch 17 Questions: 13, Ch 17 Prob.: 25, 62, Ch 18 Questions: 5, 6 Ch 18 Prob.: 5, 7, 40
Homework 10 18 April 2011 Ch 18 Questions: 13, 24 Ch 18 Prob.: 14, 21, 31, 52a) and c), 56, 73
Homework 11 2 May 2011 Ch 28 Questions: 24, 34, 35 Ch 28 Prob.: 39, 53, 62, 65, 70

Homework Solutions

Homework solutions are posted on my shared H drive. You can access these from any computer connected to the MSC network. The directory is H:\DOWNLOAD\dacollin\2011Spring\Phys112\homework.


Quizzes

There will be a short quiz at the end of each of each Thursday discussion session. Quiz solutions are posted on my shared H drive. You can access these from any computer connected to the MSC network. The directory is H:\DOWNLOAD\dacollin\2011Spring\Phys112\quizzes.


Warm Up Exercises

There will be warm up exercise due by 9:30am approximately once per week. Exact dates will be announced by the instructor closer to the time. Warm up exercises are hosted on WebCT.

Exams

There will be three 50 minute exams during class on the following dates: Friday 11 February, Friday 25 March and Friday 22 April. There will be a comprehensive final exam on Monday 9 May (section 001) or Wednesday 11 May (section 002). Solutions to the exams for this semester will be posted below after the exams have been graded.


Exams and solutions from previous semesters.

Semester Exam
Spring 2010 Class exam 1 Pdf
Spring 2010 Class exam 2 Pdf
Spring 2010 Class exam 3 Pdf
Spring 2010 Final Pdf


Semester Exam Solutions
Spring 2010 Class exam 1: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2010 Class exam 2: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2010 Class exam 3: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2010 Final: Solutions Pdf



Exams and solutions from the current semester.

Semester Exam
Spring 2011 Class exam 1 Pdf
Spring 2011 Class exam 1: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2011 Class exam 2 Pdf
Spring 2011 Class exam 2: Solutions Pdf
Spring 2011 Class exam 3 Pdf
Spring 2011 Class exam 3: Solutions Pdf


Links and Animations

  1. Animations
    1. Activ Physics Large collection provided by Addisson Wesley.
    2. Falstad's animations Excellent and versatile animations by Paul Falstad
    3. PhET From the University of Colorado.
    4. LTU Applets Collection of simulations provided by Scott Schneider, Lawrence Technological University.
    5. Electromagnetism Applets Collection of simulations provided by Mats Selen, University of Illinois.
  2. Demonstrations
    1. PIRA 200 Large collection provided by WFU.
    2. WFU Video collection.
    3. UCLA Lecture Demos.
  3. Electric Fields
    1. Electric Fields Paul Falstad's 2 dim simulator.
    2. Electric Fields From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
  4. Circuits
    1. DC Circuits From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
  5. Magnetic Fields
    1. Magnet and Compass From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    2. Solenoid From Scott Schneider, Lawrence Technological University.
    3. Bubble Chamber tracks From Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
    4. Bubble Chamber tracks From FermiLab.
    5. Earth's Magnetic Field From National Center for Atmospheric Research.
    6. Trapped Charged Particle From Southwest Research Institute.
    7. Faraday's Electromagnetic Lab From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
  6. Electrons
    1. Discovery of the Electron from the AIP.
  7. Electromagnetic Induction
    1. Induction jump rope. from the University of Iowa.
    2. Rolling rods. from the University of Maryland.
  8. Electromagnetic Waves
    1. Radio Waves From PhET, University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    2. Electromagnetic Wave Generation From Caltech.
    3. Electromagnetic Wave Propagation From Victor Jones, Harvard University.
    4. Electromagnetic Wave Propagation From Amanogawa
    5. Electromagnetic Wave Propagation From Walter Fendt
    6. Electromagnetic Spectrum From LON-CAPA, Michigan State University
  9. Waves and Optics
    1. Geometric Optics From PhET, The University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    2. Waves on a String From PhET, The University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    3. WebTop Optics Simulations From Mississippi State University.
    4. Newton's Rings From The University of Iowa.
    5. Air wedge interference From The University of Iowa.
    6. Waves From Zona Land. Best with IE.
    7. Rectangular and Triangular Waves From Zona Land. Best with IE.
    8. Sinusoidal Waves From Zona Land. Best with IE.
    9. Two dimensional waves; ripple tank (From Paul Falstad) Best with IE.
    10. Diffraction of Ocean Waves Satellite image of two small islands off Luderitz Bay, Namibia. (From Google Maps)
    11. Single Slit Diffraction From Walter Fendt.
    12. Microwave Interference From The University of Iowa.
    13. Interference Fringes From Dietrich Zawischa, The University of Hannover.
    14. Soap Film Interference Fringes From HyperPhysics, Georgia State University.Michelson Interferometer From The University of Iowa.
    15. Michelson Interferometer From The University of Arizona.
    16. Poisson spot From the University of Melbourne.
    17. Diffraction from circular aperture From PhilScience.
  10. Quantum Physics
    1. Photoelectric effect From PhET, The University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    2. Quantum Wave Interference From PhET, The University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    3. Photon interference From the Lyman page, Princeton University.
    4. Physics Web Excellent summary of experimental efforts to demonstrate interference and diffraction of particles passing through single and multiple slits. From Physics World.
    5. Electron interference patterns from IMM Institute of the Italian National Research Council (CNR)
    6. Electron interference patterns from Hitachi, Japan.
    7. Electron scattering Electron scattering images from ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
    8. Fullerene Diffraction From Anton Zeilinger, University of Innsbruck, Austria,
    9. Electron microscopy Assorted images from Wikipedia.
    10. Electron diffraction Physics 2000, from UC Boulder.
    11. Hydrogen Spectrum From the University of Utah.
    12. Emission Spectra From Southeastern Lousiana University.
    13. Models of the Hydrogen Atom From PhET, The University of Colorado. Alternative link here.
    14. Rutherford Scattering From PhET, The University of Colorado. Alternative link here.

This page is maintained by David Collins
Last modified: 26 April 2011