Courses

After completing this course, you will be able to:

Unit 1 - Electric Field and Electric Force

• Recognize the fundamental nature of charge
• Determine the magnitude and direction of the forces between two charged particles using Coulomb's law.
• Determine the magnitude and direction of the forces between a system of many charged particles using Coulomb's law.
• Calculate the electric field due to a point charge.
• Calculate the electric field due to a system of many charged particles.
• Sketch the lines of force around a configuration of charges so that you can determine the magnitude and direction of the electric field and force.
• Determine the motion of a point charge in a uniform electric field.
• Calculate the electric field of a dipole.
• Calculate electric fields for continuous charge distributions using integral calculus.

Unit 2 - Gauss's Law & Electric Potential

• Calculate the electric field flux through a closed surface.
• Calculate the magnitude and direction of the electric field for symmetric distributions of charge using Gauss's Law.
• Solve problems involving electric fields around conductors.
• Calculate the work done on a point charge due to an electric field in moving from one point to another.
• Relate electrical potential to the potential energy of a charge placed at a point.
• Calculate the electrical potential due to a point charge.
• Calculate the electrical potential due to a collection of point charges.
• Calculate the electrical potential due to a continuous charge distribution.
• Relate electric field lines and equipotential surfaces.
• State the definition of capacitance.
• Calculate the capacitance for a parallel plate capacitor.
• Recognize the role of a capacitor as a device to store energy.
• Solve simple circuit problems involving capacitors in series and parallel.
• Determine the role played by dielectrics in capacitors.

Unit 3 - Electrical Current and Circuits

• Understand current as the macroscopic (large scale) phenomenon resulting from the directed motion of individual charged particles.
• Understand electrical resistance as a fundamental property resulting from the structure of matter.
• Apply Ohm's law to simple circuits.
• Understand the variation of current in a circuit due to the temperature dependence of resistance.
• Understand EMF as the mechanism that supplies the energy to keep an electrical current flowing in an electrical circuit.
• Apply basic techniques for the analysis of dc circuits.
• Calculate currents in various branches of single and multi-loop circuits using Kirchhoff's laws.
• Understand basic ideas involved in electrical measurement.
• Understand the origin and behavior of transient currents in a RC circuit.

Unit 4 - Magnetic Fields

• Apply the force that a magnetic field exerts on moving electrical charges to determine the strength of a magnetic field.
• Relate that the force applied to a moving charge has some very special properties, which results in a rather complicated motion of the charge.
• State the cyclotron frequency.
• Describe force and torque acting on a current carrying wire placed in a magnetic field.
• Calculate the potential energy of a magnetic dipole in a magnetic field.
• Generalize the quantitative relationship between a magnetic field and the current that produces it.
• State the Biot-Savart Law.
• Calculate the magnetic field produced by various current configurations.
• Apply Ampere's law to calculate magnetic fields in situations with a high degree of symmetry.
• Determine the direction of a magnetic field produced when a current passes through a wire.
• Specify the direction and magnitude of a magnetic field due to current in a loop or a solenoid.
• Explain the magnetic properties of matter.

Unit 5 - Electromagnetic Function

• Be able to determine the magnetic flux through a surface and use Faraday's law to determine the magnitude of induced emf in a closed loop due to changing magnetic flux through the loop
• Be able to define Lenz's Law and use to determine the directions of induced magnetic fields, currents and  emfs
• Understand the concepts of motional emf and induced electric fields
• Learn how to correlate two nearby circuits that carry time-varying currents with emf induced in each circuit and describe examples in which mutual inductance may or may not be desirable
• Derive the self-inductance L for a cylindrical solenoid and rectangular toroid
• Learn how to analyze circuits that have an inductor and resistor (RL) and a resistor, inductor, capacitor (RLC) series circuits
• Be able to describe the relationship between the charge and current oscillating between a capacitor and inductor wired in series
• Determine the angular frequency of oscillation for a resistor, inductor, capacitor (RLC) series circuit

Unit 6 - Light

• Relate light to electromagnetic waves.
• Understand electromagnetic radiation as a consequence of Maxwell's Equations.
• Identify the different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum in terms of their frequency or wavelength.
• Differentiate between specular and diffuse reflection.
• Determine relative size and position of the object and image in a plane mirror.
• Distinguish between converging and diverging lenses.
• Define the focal length and focal point of a lens.
• Relate image position to focal length and object distance for converging and diverging lenses.
• Understand rays as a tool to construct geometrical optics.
• Understand the laws of reflection and refraction at a plane surface between two optical media.
• Understand the role of total internal reflection and calculate the critical angle.
• Apply the laws of reflection and refraction to plane and curved mirrors.
• Apply the laws of reflection and refraction to image formation by systems of lenses.
• Distinguish between virtual and real images.
• Identify applications of lenses for optical devices.
• Describe the failure of geometrical optics to explain small-scale optical phenomena.
• Explain how the wave theory of light leads to the phenomena of interference and diffraction.
• State the result of Young's double slit experiment.
• Calculate maxima and minima in single and multiple slit experiments.
• Define the phenomenon of interference from thin films.
• Define how light is polarized and calculate Brewster's angle.

Unit 7 - Modern Physics

• Distinguish between the Galilean transformation and the relativistic transformation.
• State the postulates of special relativity.
• Apply the Lorentz transformation to a simple time dilation and length contraction problem.
• Interpret the mass energy relation.
• Solve a problem involving relativistic momentum.
• Explain Planck's theory as applied to blackbody radiation.
• Analyze Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect.
• Interpret the Compton scattering of X-rays by electrons.
• Recognize that particles have wave properties and light has particle properties.
• Recognize the Schrodinger Wave Equation as the foundation of quantum mechanics.
• Determine the uncertainty in position and momentum from the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

• Unit 1: Electric Field and Electric Force
• Unit 2: Gauss's Law & Electric Potential
• Unit 3: Electrical Current and Circuits
• Unit 4: Magnetic Fields
• Unit 5: Electromagnetic Function
• Unit 6: Light
• Unit 7: Modern Physics

Your final grade will be based on the following breakdown. Please note that each instructor may choose to make modifications.

• Discussions/Participation - 10%
• Homework - 25%
• Labs - 20%
• Quizzes - 15%
• * Midterm - 15%
• * Final Exam - 15%

Microsoft Excel

Return policy for direct orders allows for unopened and/or unused kits to be returned within 30 days of purchase, with student assuming the cost of return shipping and 10% restocking fee.