Physics 15b: Electromagnetism

Physics 15b: Electromagnetism— Spring 2009 —Tu/Th 11:30 AM–1:00 PM, Science Center Dhttp://isites.harvard.edu/k52885SynopsisTextbookPrerequisitesInstructorsSection TFsLab TFsThis course studies Electricity and Magnetism as the second part of theintroductory physics sequence.E. M. Purcell, Electricity and Magnetism, Second Edition.Physics 15a or 16, or written permission of the Head Tutor.Mathematics preparation at least at the level of Mathematics 21a (multivariablecalculus) taken concurrently is required. Vector calculus, div,grad and curl are used extensively—in principle, this is taught in thecourse. Students taking Mathematics 21a concurrently will likely findthat some concepts are introduced in Physics 15b before they have seenthem in Mathematics 21a. Some students may wish to postpone Physics15b until they have completed Mathematics 21a.Masahiro Morii (lectures) morii@physics.harvard.eduMara Prentiss (labs) prentiss@physics.harvard.eduJonathan Heckmann jheckman@fas.harvard.eduBrian Shuve shuve@physics.harvard.eduCorry Lee (head TA) corrylee@fas.harvard.eduGiovanni Zevi Della Porta zevi@fas.harvard.eduJason Dowd jedowd@fas.harvard.eduAdministrator Angela Allen allen@physics.harvard.eduLectureThe course will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11:30 AM – 1 PMin Science Center D. Lectures will cover all the material in the textbook,as indicated in the schedule below. Your questions about the material arethe most important thing for you to bring to the lectures, and you areencouraged to ask them as they occur to you.You are strongly encouraged to attend the lectures. In case you do miss aclass, the course will be videotaped, and you may contact the teachingstaff for access to a particular lecture video.SectionsSections will start in the third week (Feb. 10) and meet weekly. You andthe Teaching Fellow will discuss the material introduced in the lectures1

as well as the homework problems.Use the online sectioning tool to sign up for a section. Tentative sectionmeeting times are Tuesday 2:00–3:30, 4:00–5:30, 7:00–8:30, andWednesday 7:00–8:30.HomeworkProblem sets are posted on the course web site on Fridays, and are dueon the following Friday at 4 PM. Submit your homework in your sectionTF’s mailbox in the Science Center. Late homework will not beaccepted. The graded problem sets will be returned to you at the sectionmeetings. The solutions will be posted on the course web site.Twelve problem sets will be given during the semester. (See theschedule below.) Sets #3 and #8 will be half the normal length becausetheir due dates follow the midterm exams. The last (12th) problem set isoptional and will be due during the Reading Period. If you do completethe 12th set, you may use it to replace the lowest score among the earlierproblem sets.Study Groups You are encouraged to work together with your peers on the problemsets (however all final written work must be your own). If you wouldlike help finding a study group, please indicate your preferences on thequestionnaire.Laboratory There will be 5 labs during the semester. You will work in groups of 2-3 and hand in your lab report at the end of the three-hour lab period.Your lab grade will be based upon the quality of your lab report. Youwill not be allowed to stay in lab after the three-hour period has ended.If you come to lab prepared (having read and understood the labhandout) and work efficiently, you should be able to complete each labin three hours. The lab writeups will be available on the course website aweek in advance of each lab.Use the online sectioning tool to sign up for a lab section. The labs willoccur: Monday 2-5 PM and 7-10 PM, Wednesday 2-5 PM, and Thursday2-5 PM. If you have questions/conflicts regarding scheduling, e-mailCorry.You will perform the labs in Science Center, room 104. The labs willcover chapters 3, 4, and 6-8 of Purcell after you have seen the materialin lecture. There are no separate pre-lab assignments for this course, butlab-related problems will be be included on your problem sets andexams. The lab writeups contain useful information to help you withthese problems. There is no required post-lab work.2

In lab, you will take data using oscilloscopes, LabVIEW, andLoggerPro. You will gain familiarity with these as the courseprogresses. If you would like your own copy of LoggerPro, it isavailable from FAS computing.There will be no make-up labs. If you cannot attend your scheduled labtime slot one week, e-mail Corry to arrange to attend another lab periodthat same week.The supplemental laboratory information posted on the website is notrequired reading. It simply offers additional information that may beinteresting or useful.ExamsThere will be two midterm exams: Tuesday, February 24, and Tuesday,April 7. They will cover the material discussed in Lectures 1–5 and 6–14, respectively. The problem sets that are due after these exams will beapproximately half the normal length.There will be a 3-hour final exam during the exam period.GradeWebsiteThe course grade will be determined by the weighted sum of the twomidterm exams (15% each), homework (25% for 12 assignments),laboratory (15% for 5 labs), and final exam (30%).The course website http://isites.harvard.edu/k52885 will contain all thehandouts, problem sets, and lecture notes. It will also contain anyannouncements (such as corrections to handouts).3

ScheduleBelow is the tentative schedule for the Spring 2009 semester.Date Lecture Textbook Homework Labs1/29 (Thu) 1. Coulomb’s Law 1.1–62/3 (Tue) 2. Gauss’s Law 1.7–15 #1 due on 2/132/5 (Thu) 3. Vector Calculus Chapter 2*2/10 (Tue) 4. Electric Field, Potential Chapter 2*2/12 (Thu) 5. Physics vs. Mathematics Chapter 2*#2 due on 2/202/17 (Tue) 6. Conductors, Insulators 3.1–42/19 (Thu) 7. Capacitors 3.5–8#3 due on 2/27 Lab 02/24 (Tue) Midterm Exam 1 (through Lecture 5)2/26 (Thu) 8. Electric Currents 4.1–6 #4 due on 3/63/3 (Tue) 9. Electric Circuits 4.7–113/5 (Thu) 10. Moving Charges 5.1–6#5 due on 3/13 Lab 13/10 (Tue) 11. Accelerating Charges 5.7–93/12 (Thu) 12. Magnetic Field 6.1–3#6 due on 3/20 Lab 23/17 (Tue) 13. Current and Mag. Field 6.4–73/19 (Thu) 14. EM Induction 7.1–5#7 due on 4/3Spring Recess3/31 (Tue) 15. Inductance 7.6–104/2 (Thu) 16. AC Circuits 8.1–3#8 due on 4/104/7 (Tue) Midterm Exam 2 (through Lecture 14)4/9 (Thu) 17. AC Circuits 8.4–5 #9 due on 4/174/14 (Tue) 18. Maxwell’s Equations 9.1–34/16 (Thu) 19. Electromagnetic Waves 9.4–7#10 due on 4/24 Lab 34/21 (Tue) 20. Electric Dipoles 10.1–64/23 (Thu) 21. Dielectrics 10.7–15#11 due on 5/14/28 (Tue) 22. Magnetic Dipoles 11.1–64/30 (Thu) 23. Magnetism in Matter 11.7–7#12 due on 5/8 Lab 4* Lectures 3, 4 , and 5 will cover Chapter 2 of the textbook in a mixed order.4