Physics 272 – Electric and Magnetic Interactions (Summer 2010)

In our course that translates into sixteen hours a week spent reading, doing homework, recitation and laboratory assignments and studying for the quizzes and exams.. Keep in mind though

Physics 272 – Electric and Magnetic Interactions (Summer 2010)

http://www.physics.purdue.edu/academic_programs/courses/phys272/

Physics 272 is the second half of a two-semester sequence of calculus-based physics courses primarily intended for engineering and science students The course deals with electric and magnetic interactions, which are central to our understanding of the structure

of matter, of chemical and biological phenomena and of most modern technology This course, therefore, emphasizes the atomic structure of matter and includes material on circuits, electromagnetic waves and optics It builds on the fundamental principles of physics learned in the prerequisite course, Physics 172 Just as in that earlier course, you will find that this course uses a relatively small number of fundamental physical principles to explain a wide variety of physical phenomena

A key concept introduced in this course is that of a vector field It is therefore important that you are comfortable manipulating vectors algebraically In all types of physics,

mathematics serves as the language used to explain physical phenomena In electromagnetic theory, the mathematics needed is vector calculus – an amalgamation of vector algebra and ordinary calculus The electric and magnetic fields that you will

encounter in this course serve as a “gateway” to the more general topic of field theory (a subject that will be left to a more advanced course!)

This is a 4-credit hour course However, since the course is condensed into an eight week session (half the time of a typical semester), the accelerated pace requires twice the amount of work The rule of thumb at this University is that you should spend twice as many hours (on average) studying for this course outside of class as you do in class In

our course that translates into sixteen hours a week spent reading, doing homework,

recitation and laboratory assignments and studying for the quizzes and exams Keep in mind though that these sixteen hours should be spent as productively as possible, such as trying to comprehend the material, solving problems by yourself, discussing problems with other students and instructors, recalling information Spending sixteen hours simply reading and/or staring at the textbook will not really help you to do well in the class

Instructors and TAs:

Lectures: (Weeks 1 – 4)

Christos Deligkaris

Office: Room 287, Physics Building

Email: cdeligka@purdue.edu

Office Hours: Thursday 2:00-3:00 PM and by appointment

(Weeks 5 – 8)

Jonathan Nistor

Office: Room 263, Physics Building

Email: jnistor@purdue.edu

Office Hours: By appointment

Lab and Recitation TAs:

Daniel Jensen

Office: Room 221, Physics Building

Email: jensend@purdue.edu

Kurt Jung

Office: Room 7, Physics Building

Email: jung68@purdue.edu

Mark Palenik

Office: Room 289, Physics Building

Email: mcpaleni@purdue.edu

Justin Sheek

Office: Room 283, Physics Building

Email: jsheek@purdue.edu

Zachary Wolff

Office: Room 137, Physics Building

Email: zwolff@purdue.edu

Required Books and Accessories:

Textbook:

“Matter & Interactions II – Electric and Magnetic Interactions” - 2 nd Edition, by Ruth

Chabay and Bruce Sherwood (Wiley)

WebAssign:

Go to www.webassign.net/login.html

You must be registered for this course with the online computerized homework service

WebAssign Instructions should come with your textbook Note that the first

assignment is due during the first week of class Homework assignments are

typically due on Thursday and Sunday nights

Other:

You will need a scientific calculator for exams, quizzes, labs

Schedule:

Four 50-minute lectures are scheduled each week Monday through Thursday at 1:10 PM

in room 2117 of the Civil Engineering Building

 Lectures are not optional You should read assigned sections of the text before

coming to class and use the lecture to clarify and to reinforce your understanding

 Quizzes will be given during some of the lectures They are graded and count toward your final grade Some lectures will begin with a quiz on the day’s reading

Each week you will attend two 50 minute recitation sessions These recitations are

scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:40 AM in room 238 of the Physics Building.

You will also attend two 1 hour and 50 minute laboratory sessions each week These are

also scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:00 AM in room 160

Two quizzes that count toward your final grade will be given in each week in either the Recitation or the Lab, so arrive promptly to each The decision as to where a

specific week’s quiz will be given will be made on a week-to-week basis and will not be announced in advance

There will be one midterm and one final exam The midterm will cover the material taught until Wednesday, July 7th and the final will cover the rest of the material See the Phys 272 plan for more information You will need your PUID for both exams If you do not have your ID, you will not be allowed to take the exams Please make sure that you have your ID before coming to take the exam Just knowing your ID number will not be sufficient for tests, as each student’s ID will be checked when turning in the exam

Grades:

Grades will be determined from points awarded in each of the following categories:

 One midterm exam (during lab, Thursday, July 8th ) worth 100 points

 A non-comprehensive final exam worth 100 points

 The weekly laboratory sessions are worth a total of 100 points

 The total score possible on WebAssign homework will be normalized to 75 points

 The total score possible on quizzes during lectures will be normalized to 25 points

 The total score possible on quizzes and recitation problems will be normalized to

100 points, with quizzes and recitation problems receiving equal weighting

Quizzes will be given in either the Recitation or in the Lab

Course Component Percentage of Total Possible Points

Recitation, including quizzes in either

Recitation or Lab

20%

TOTAL = 500 points.

The table below lists the percent (lower bound) corresponding to each letter grade These grade cutoffs may be lowered at the instructor’s discretion Within each letter grade range

“+” and “-“ designations will be assigned to approximately 1/3 of the students

Grade Lower Bound

A running tally of your scores will be posted in a gradebook on the CHIP system These posted scores will not be normalized! See the course homepage for a link to CHIP You

should check this on a regular basis and report any questions you have about grades to your instructor The last day to report problems with your grades on CHIP is Tuesday, August 3rd, 5:00 PM

Getting Help:

This course will require a significant amount of time and effort You will minimize the effort while maximizing your mastery of new material if you spend time on this course regularly, each day When you have a question because a topic is confusing or because you are stuck on a problem get help promptly Here are some ways to do that:

 Go to the Help Center, room 12 in the Physics Building A schedule of when the help center will be open will be posted on the website

 Ask the instructor or your TA during lecture, recitation or lab sessions

 Make an appointment with the instructor or see your TA during office hours

 Ask a fellow student in this class Discussing physics with others and figuring things out together (as opposed to simply exchanging answers to problems) is an extremely effective way to learn physics

Absences and Excused (EX) Grades:

Unexcused absences from exams and quizzes will receive a score of zero Homework and lab assignments on WebAssign must be submitted by the due dates; extensions may

be requested for illnesses and other documented absences See the Excused Absence form

When an Excused (EX) grade is given for an approved absence, the designation “EX” will appear in the CHIP gradebook This will be replaced by the average of your other scores in the relevant category at the end of the semester

Excused grades will be given for these three circumstances: (a) illness; (b) personal crisis (e.g., automobile accident, death of a close relative, weather conditions that make it impossible to get to the university) and (c) required attendance at an official Purdue activity (e.g., exam conflict, athletic event, band concert) In cases (a) and (b), contact

the instructor or relevant TA in advance (if at all possible) by email (preferably) or by

phone In all three cases, report at your earliest convenience to room 144 of the Physics Building to fill out an absentee form This form can be downloaded from the course

home page If you will be or have been away for five consecutive days, you must contact the Dean of Students office They will send us a letter on your behalf

 In case (a), go to the Purdue University Student Health Center (PUSH) You should receive a slip from the Center with the date, doctor’s name and a telephone number, OR go to your private physician and obtain a written excuse Take your excuse to the undergraduate office, room 144 of the Physics Building (We only need a doctor’s excuse, not a diagnosis or any other personal information)

 In case (b), after contacting us, go to room 144 of the Physics Building with written evidence of your excuse (e.g., police accident report, funeral announcement, …)

 In case (c) go to room 144 of the Physics Building at least a week in advance of

the event The undergraduate office staff will give you further instructions

Electronic Devices:

Please make sure to turn off and leave in your bag all cell phones, pagers, earpieces, earbuds, headphones, iPods, and all other electronic or noise-making devices before entering class They are disruptive to your fellow classmates Also, please refrain from bringing laptops to class

Extra Credit:

There will be no opportunities for extra credit, regardless of your current grade Please

study accordingly to achieve the grade you desire

Academic Honesty:

Academic dishonesty of any sort will not be tolerated.

Any effort to represent someone else’s work as your own or allowing your work to be represented as someone else’s is cheating

Working with other students on your homework, recitation problems (as opposed to quizzes) and during labs is NOT cheating In fact, it is encouraged However, having someone else solve assigned problems for you IS cheating

If a student is found cheating, he or she will receive an F for the course and be reported to the Dean of Students In serious cases, the Dean may suspend or expel the student from the university

For more information on Purdue University’s policy on the student code of conduct and academic integrity, please visit:

http://www.purdue.edu/usp/acad_policies/student_code.shtml

Syllabus Changes:

This syllabus and the information contained within it are subject to change Any new information will be distributed by the instructor as soon as changes are made Students are expected to keep up-to-date with any changes to the course or calendar changes If there are any questions or concerns, please contact the instructor as soon as possible

ADA Notice:

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all qualified students enrolled in this course are entitled to “reasonable accommodations” It is the responsibility of the students to inform the instructors of any special needs before the end

of the first week of class

Changes to Course Due to Major Campus Emergency:

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances Course information will, in general, be disseminated via one or more of the following routes: lecture, recitations, labs, the 272 home page and WebAssign

Building Emergency Evacuation:

It is vital that students know the appropriate exit routes in case of an emergency evacuation Purdue policy is that all classes are to be suspended immediately and the building evacuated in the event of a fire alarm

The designated location for our class to assemble immediately after evacuation is the fountain at the center of the Engineering Mall As quickly as possible, check in with the

instructor and stay close This is so the instructor can confirm your safe exit and we can

receive further instructions from first responders or the building deputy