Course Policy Statement
SP212/3321&5521, Spring 2016
Section
SP212/3321
SP212/5521
Lecture Time
MWF 0955-1045
MWF 1330-1420
Prof. Joel Helton
helton@usna.edu, x3-6674, CH259
Lecture Room
CH011
CH011
Lab Time
Tu 0955-1145
Tu 1330-1520
Lab Room
CH001
CH001
Textbook: Halliday and Resnik, Fundamentals of Physics, 10th edition by Jearl Walker.
My Course Website: http://www.usna.edu/Users/physics/helton/classes/SP212-Spring-2016.php
Learning Outcomes. After successfully completing SP212, a midshipman will be able to:
• Remember and recall statements of the definitions, concepts, and laws that govern classical electricity, magnetism, and light.
• Describe the concepts and laws that govern classical electricity, magnetism, and light.
• Apply the concepts and laws of classical electricity, magnetism, and light to solve both qualitative and quantitative single-step problems.
• Analyze quantitative and qualitative problems involving two or more concepts and laws of classical electricity,
magnetism, and light.
• Combine concepts and laws to solve such problems.
• Evaluate how well the concepts and laws of electricity, magnetism, and light fit observations of physical phenomena.
Course Evaluation:
Grades in this class will be determined by the following assignment weighting and grade scale:
WileyPlus Homework
Two-hour Exams† (Exams II, IV, & V)
One-hour Exams† (Exams I & III)
Labs
Group Quizzes
Final Exam§
10%
33% (3 × 11% each)
11% (2 × 5.5% each)
8%
8%
30%
≥90%
80%-89.9%
70%-79.9%
60%-69.9%
<60%
A
B
C
D
F
The 6-week and 12-week grades will be determined by redistributing the Final Exam weighting using a 48% weighting
for two-hour exams, a 24% weighting for one-hour exams, and a 10% weighting for group quizzes.
†
Students missing one of the five scheduled examinations with an excused absence will be expected to make
the examination up in a timely manner. The exams will be multiple choice; however in many problems you will be
expected to provide the scientific notation exponent. 10% of the credit for correct answers will be subtracted when
the exponent is incorrect; a correct exponent with an incorrect answer is not worth any credit. Some problems might
also allot some portion of the credit to the direction of a vector; a correct direction with an incorrect magnitude
generally will still receive credit for the direction.
§
The final exam is common with all other SP212 sections, and is written by the SP212 course coordinator.
If it helps your grade, I will replace one of your exam scores (post corrections) with your final exam score.
In order to protect personally identifiable information, I will not discuss or distribute grades (class grade or
any exam grade) through email.
The final course grade will be determined by the course evaluation weighting and cutoffs listed above, although I reserve the right to adjust the grade cut-offs down very slightly to better capture the distribution of student
performance. Under no circumstances will any student be offered special extra credit or other opportunities not
available to their classmates.
Physics is comprehensive! As we progress through this semester, newer material will build upon older material. I’ll expect you to remain sharp on material from early in the semester in order to build upon previous knowledge.
Course Policy Statement
SP212/3321&5521, Spring 2016
Prof. Joel Helton
helton@usna.edu, x3-6674, CH259
Homework: Online homework will be assigned through WileyPlus. The due dates will be at 2300 (11pm) on the
day before Exam II, Exam IV, or Exam V for the material covered in those exams. Homework completed after those
due dates will have a 30% penalty applied. You should be doing the homework well before these deadlines, so I will
not consider extending the deadlines further. Students are permitted (and encouraged!) to work with their peers on
homework. However, each student is responsible for their own work. Putting in the effort to work through difficult
problems is by far the best way to master physics.
Office Hours/Extra Instruction: I teach 3rd and 5th periods MWF and 3rd through 6th on Tuesday. I
will generally be available for EI most other times on those days, though I may have research students scheduled. On
Thursdays I will usually be away from USNA. Feel free to try stopping by my office. You can also contact me to set
up a mutually agreeable time for EI.
Exam Corrections: For each of the five exams, students will have the option to correct their exams after
they have been graded and returned. Exam corrections should be written out on paper (not on the returned exam
itself) and turned in with the original exam no later than one week after the graded exams were handed back (in
the case of Exam V, corrections are due before the SP212 Final Exam). Corrected problems will earn 1/3 of the
points that were originally lost. Students correcting their exams are permitted to use their notes and the textbook
as well as any material posted on my course webpage, but not other resources. You will have the option to correct
any problem that didn’t initially receive full credit, though the entire problem must be written out for the correction
with your work demonstrated.
Student Conduct:
Drinking is permitted in the classroom; eating is not.
Cell phones and other electronic devices are not permitted for use in the classroom.
Laptops will be permitted only in lab for data analysis and research.
Students should remain attentive during class; sleeping in class is not permitted at USNA.
You may not discuss the content of quizzes or tests with any other student until the graded quiz or test has been
returned to you.
You are not permitted to possess or use any instructor’s solution manual for our textbook or any textbook whose
authors include David Halliday, Robert Resnik, or Jearl Walker.
Class Participation: I intend to take advantage of a variety of active learning techniques this semester.
This will require that students remain attentive and engaged in class, and willing to participate as active participants
in the learning environment. You should also come to class prepared to contribute, having already read the relevant
sections of the textbook.
Course Policy Statement
SP212/3321&5521, Spring 2016
Schedule:
Please read the relevant sections of the textbook before each lecture.
Week 1: 12 January - 15 January
Tuesday (Monday schedule): Class introduction
Wednesday: 21 Charge and Coulomb’s Law
Friday: 22.1-22.3 Electric fields due to charges and dipoles
Week 2: 19 January - 22 January
Tuesday: Lab 1 - Electrostatics
Wednesday: 22.4-22.5 Electric fields due to continuous charge distributions
Friday: 22.6-22.7 Charges and dipoles in an electric field
Week 3: 25 January - 29 January
Monday: 23.1-23.2 Electric flux and Gauss’ Law
Tuesday: Lab 2 - Electric Fields
Wednesday: 23.3-23.6 Applying Gauss’ Law
Friday: 23.3-23.6 Applying Gauss’ Law continued
Week 4: 1 February - 5 February
Monday: EXAM I (Chapters 21-23)
Tuesday: 24.1-24.3 Electric potential and equipotential surfaces
Wednesday: 24.4-24.5 Electric potential due to dipoles and charge distributions
Friday: 24.6-24.8 Electric potential energy
Week 5: 8 February - 12 February
Monday: 25.1-25.3 Capacitance, capacitors in parallel and series
Tuesday: Lab 3 - Electric Potential
Wednesday: 25.4 Energy stored in an electric field
Friday: 25.5 Capacitors with dielectrics
Week 6: 16 February - 19 February
Tuesday: EXAM II (Chapters 21-25)
Wednesday: 26.1-26.3 Electric current, resistance and resistivity
Friday: Demo Day #1 - CH100
Week 7: 22 February - 26 February
Monday: 26.4-26.5 Ohm’s Law, power in electric circuits
Tuesday: Lab 4 - Capacitors
Wednesday: 27.1 Single loop circuits
Friday: 27.2-27.3 Multiloop circuits
Week 8: 29 February - 4 March
Monday: 27.4 RC circuits
Tuesday: Lab 5 - Kirchhoff ’s Laws
Wednesday: EXAM III (Chapters 25-27)
Friday: 28.1 Magnetic fields
Week 9: 7 March - 11 March
Monday: 28.2-28.3 Crossed fields
Tuesday: Lab 6 - Magnetic Force
Wednesday: 28.4 & 28.6 Magnetic force on wires and circulating particles
Friday: 28.7-28.8 Current loops, magnetic dipole moment
Spring Break: 14 March - 18 March
Week 10: 21 March - 5 March
Monday: 29.1-29.2 Magnetic field due to a current, force between parallel currents
Prof. Joel Helton
helton@usna.edu, x3-6674, CH259
Course Policy Statement
SP212/3321&5521, Spring 2016
Tuesday: Lab 7 - Current Balance
Wednesday: 29.3 Ampere’s Law
Friday: 29.4-29.5 Solenoids and toroids
Week 11: 28 March - 1 April
Monday: 30.1 - Induction, Faraday’s Law and Lenz’s Law
Tuesday: 30.2, 30.4-30.5 Energy transfer, inductors and inductance
Wednesday: 30.6-30.8 RL circuits, energy stored in a magnetic field
Friday: Demo Day #2 - CH100
Week 12: 4 April - 8 April
Monday: 31.1 LC Oscillations
Tuesday: EXAM IV (Chapters 26-30)
Wednesday: 32.1-32.3 Maxwell’s Equations
Friday: 33.1-33.3 Electromagnetic waves, Poynting vector, radiation pressure
Week 13: 11 April - 15 April
Monday: 33.4-33.5 Polarization, reflection and refraction
Tuesday: Lab 8 - Faraday’s Law
Wednesday: 33.6-33.7 Total internal reflection, polarization by reflection
Friday: 34.1-34.2 Mirrors
Week 14: 18 April - 22 April
Monday: 34.3-34.4 Lenses
Tuesday: Lab 9 - Thin Lenses
Wednesday: 35.1-35.2 Young’s double-slit interference
Friday: 35.4-35.5 Thin films, Michelson interferometer
Week 15: 25 April - 29 April
Monday: 36.1 & 36.3 Diffraction
Tuesday: Lab 10 - Diffraction Gratings
Wednesday: 36.5 Diffraction gratings
Friday: Class wrap-up
Week 16: 2 May - 3 May
Monday: Demo Day #3 - CH100
Tuesday: EXAM V (Chapters 31-36)
Final Exams: 5 May - 12 May
Prof. Joel Helton
helton@usna.edu, x3-6674, CH259