PHYSICS 115: CONTEMPORARY PHYSICS III

PHYSICS 115: CONTEMPORARY PHYSICS III
Spring 2024

Instructor: Prof. Michael S. Vogeley
Department of Physics
Office: Disque 811
Email: vogeley@drexel.edu
Office hours: Thursday 2:00-3:30pm (see Learn for Zoom link)

Teaching Assistant: Kendall Butler
Email: kjb388@drexel.edu
Office hours: Tuesday 11:00am-12:00pm, Thursday 10:00-11:00am in Disque 704

Physics Fellows: Christina Ludwig, Arnav Sharma
Email: christina.marie.ludwig@drexel.edu, arnav.sharma@drexel.edu
Office hours: TBA

Announcements
Course Meetings
Syllabus
Course Outline
Course Learning Outcomes
Textbook and Reading Assignments
Grading
Homework
Homework Solutions
Programming Assignments
Exams
Course Schedule
Course Rules of Conduct

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

This web page is the syllabus for the course. To see further details of the course you must have access to the course in Drexel Learn. This course is available only for registered students at Drexel University.

Course Meetings

We will meet for lectures on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00-10:50am in Disque 704. If necessary due to a closure or emergency, I will post a password-protected link for a Zoom meeting on the Drexel Learn site. Our class meetings will be a mix of lecture and problem solving. You should do the reading assignments ahead of time so that you are prepared to ask and answer questions.

Recitations will be on Wednesdays 2:00-3:50pm in Disque 704.

Syllabus

This web page is the syllabus. Please print this out and save it and/or bookmark this website for the future (no printed copies will be distributed). If you're reading a printed copy, and don't remember the URL, you can find the web page at http://www.physics.drexel.edu/~vogeley/Phys115. You should check the Blackboard Learn site frequently for updates.

Course Outline


In this final, and most fun of all part of Contemporary Physics, we'll delve into further properties of electricity and magnetism. Topics include
  1. Magnetic Fields
  2. Electric Circuits
  3. Magnetic force (including the Hall Effect)
  4. Patterns of EM fields (focus on Gauss's Law)
  5. Faraday's Law
  6. Electromagnetic Radiation (yeah!)
  7. Waves and Particles (EM waves are also particles!)

Course Learning Outcomes

  1. Understand the causes of magnetic fields: in particular the motion of charged particles and phenomena that result from quantum mechanics.
  2. Solve problems involving current, voltage, power, etc. in electric circuits and understand the fundamental physical basis of these properties.
  3. Compute the effects of magnetic force (including the Hall effect).
  4. Use Gauss's Law and other methods to understand the pattern of electromagnetic fields.
  5. Show how Maxwell's equations predict electromagnetic radiation and be able to compute properties of this radiation.
  6. Understand experiments that show particle vs. wave-like behavior for both photons/EM radiation and massive particles.

Textbook and Reading Assignments

Chabay and Sherwood, Matter & Interactions, 4th Ed. In Physics 115, we will cover chapters 17-23 and Supplement S3. That supplement is online at Supplement S3: Waves.

Other resources are online at Matter and Interactions Resources for Students.

See the course schedule below for the reading assignments. You should do the reading before class so that you are prepared to ask questions about material that you did not understand.

Grading

Grades will be based on the following weighting of different components of the course:
Homework: 35% (2/3 written problem sets and 1/3 computer assignments)
Midterm: 25%
Final Exam: 35%
Class Participation: 5% (Woody Allen said "90% of life is just showing up." In this class you get somewhat less.)

Homework: Problem Sets


Problem sets will be due before the beginning of class on each Friday (except the first week and week 6 of the midterm). Solutions will be available in Learn on that same day, so late homework will not be accepted. If you're not finished by the deadline, then hand in what you've done. The lowest homework will be dropped (so you're covered for one and only one hungry dog incident or late homework if that's how you want to use it). Please neatly and accurately write up your solutions to these problems before uploading into Learn.

You may discuss the homework with your classmates, but you and you alone are responsible for the work that you turn in. Please write up your own solutions to the problems and computer assignments. Breaches of this policy will result in homework scores being divided by the number of ``participants.'' Second offenses may result in failure (of the class).

Note that answers to odd-numbered problems are in the back of the book. You get zero credit for just copying those numbers. Use of solutions to these problems from any other source without reference constitutes plagiarism. You must attribute (by giving the correct reference) any significant help that you receive from outside sources.

Problem Set Solutions


Solutions will be posted in Learn on the afternoon of the day that they are due.

Programming Assignments


Programming assignments will be discussed in recitation, will count as one-third of your total homework grade, and are due before the beginning of recitation on Wednesday in weeks 3, 5, 8, and 10 (see schedule below)

Exams


The midterm will be during recitation in Week 6 (on Wednesday, May 8). It will cover chapters 17 through 20. An equation sheet will be provided.

The final exam date will be during exam week on a day and time TBA. It will include material from the entire course, with more weight given to the second half (roughly 30% first half, 70% second half). An equation sheet will be provided.

Course Schedule

Please note the following schedule of readings and assignments. Dates are for lectures. This schedule may be revised, so you should recheck this web page. Notation of "HW#" indicates that a homework is due that Friday at the start of class. "Program#" means that a programming assignment is due that Wednesday at the start of recitation. You should do the indicated reading before class.

Week Class Dates Reading Homework Exams
1 April 1, 3, 5 ch. 17
2 April 10, 12 (no class 4/8 for solar eclipse!) ch. 18 HW1 due
3 April 15, 17, 19 ch. 19 HW2 due, Program 1 due
4 April 22, 24, 26 ch. 20 HW3 due
5 April 29, May 1, 3 review chs. 17-20 HW4 due, Program 2 due
6 May 6, 8, 10 ch. 21 Midterm in recitation 5/8
7 May 13, 15, 17 ch. 22 HW5 due
8 May 20, 22, 24 ch. 23 HW6 due, Program 3 due
9 May 29, 31 (no class 5/27) ch. S3 HW7 due
10 June 3, 5, 7 review chs. 21-23, S3 HW8 due, Program 4 due
11 Exam Week Final Exam TBA

Course Rules of Conduct and Academic Policy

Following is an incomplete list of policies. It is your responsbility to be be familiar with and follow all Drexel policies. As the saying goes, "ignorance of the law is no excuse." Also see "More Drexel Policies" on the Blackboard Learn site for this course.

Most of this is common sense, but some folks need a gentle reminder. Meetings on Zoom are more relaxed in some respects, but still require that we all adhere to some basic rules to stay focused.

Electronic distractions: Silence your cell phone. Turn off notifications on your phone and computer so that they don't pop up and distract you.

Plagiarism: Use your own very large brain (you're a physicist!) and don't even think about cheating. The usual University rules apply. By stepping into the classroom, you agree to abide by Drexel's policy on Academic Integrity (www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/academic-integrity/)

Students with disabilities requesting accomodation and services at Drexel University need to present a current accomodation letter (AVL) to faculty before accomodations can be made. This cannot be done retroactively. AVL's are issued by the Office of Disability Services (ODS). For additional information see drexel.edu/disability-resources/support-accomnodations/student-family-resources/ 3201 Arch St., Suite 210, 215-895-1401 (V), or 215-895-2299 (TTY).

Course Add/Drop Policy (drexel.edu/provost/policies-calendars/policies/course-add-drop/)

Course Withdrawal Policy (drexel.edu/drexelcentral/registration/courses/course-withdraw/)

Drexel Student Code of Conduct (www.drexel.edu/studentlife/community_standards/code-of-conduct/)

Course Syllabus Change policy: Details of this syllabus are subject to change at any time. Please pay attention to announcements during class and email from the instructor. All changes will be announced in writing by email sent to all registered students.

Last update:March 21, 2024