University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy
Electricity and Magnetism – PHYS 320
Fall 2015
___________________________________________________________________________________
Course Information

Course title: Electricity and Magnetism

Course number: PHYS 320

Instructor: Maryam Farzaneh

Contact: B105 Science Building, x--2423, mfarzane@uwsp.edu

Office hours: Tuesdays:
10:00 – 11:00 am
Wednesdays: 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Thursdays:
9:00 – 11:00 am
Fridays:
10:00 – 11:00 am
Otherwise, I have an open door policy. Please stop by as often as you wish or make an
appointment by emailing me.

Pre-requisites: PHYS 250, Math 222.

Textbook: Introduction to Electrodynamics, David Griffiths, 3rd edition, Pearson, ISBN 0-13805326-X.

Calculator: Please have a scientific calculator handy. A cell phone is not a scientific calculator.

Table of Integrals: I will hand out a table of integrals in class. Please keep it for use in class, for
your homework and during the exams.

Course description and objectives: In this course we will focus on chapters 1 to 7 of the
textbook. The course objectives are:
1. Learn and apply methods of vector calculus and other advanced mathematical methods.
2. Learn various techniques for calculating electric potential.
3. Understand and predict the behavior of electric and magnetic fields in vacuum and in
materials.
4. Understand and predict the behavior of time-varying fields.
5. Understand Maxwell’s equations.

Class times:
- Lectures (SCI- A109) MWTF 9:00 – 9:50 am

Homework: There will be one homework set per week which is due at the beginning of the class
period on the day indicated on the assignment. The solution to most of the homework problems
should follow a logical step-by step approach. You should use brief sentences to describe which
concepts you are using, write down any equations you are using and justify any approximation.
The numerical answers should have a unit and a brief description of why it makes sense
physically. Please refer to Homework Guidelines for more information. Homework counts for
30% of your final grade.

Lecture participation: I strongly encourage you to attend all the lectures and take good notes.
Sometimes the lecture covers more material than you might find in your textbook. We will also
have group problem solving exercises during the class and group office hours (if we can all agree
on a time). Participating in these activities will add bonus points to your homework.

Exams: There will be three midterm exams during the semester, not counting your final exam.
Each midterm counts for 15% of your grade. Midterm exams are tentatively scheduled for
Mondays September 21, October 19 and November 23 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
The final exam is comprehensive and scheduled for Thursday, December 17, 2:45 – 4:45 pm.
It counts for 25% of your grade.
General Course Policies

Disability services
Any student who has a disability and is in need of classroom and/or exam accommodations,
please contact the instructor and the Disability& Assistive Technology Center (715-346-3365).

Academic misconduct: As a student at UWSP, I expect you to be familiar with the following
document: http://www3.uwsp.edu/stuaffairs/Documents/RightsRespons/SRR2010/rightsChap14.pdf, especially Section 14.03. Simply put, do not copy each other’s
homework, lab reports and exams and pass them off as your own. Any confirmed incidence of
academic misconduct, including plagiarism and other forms of cheating will be treated seriously
and in accordance with University policy.

Make-up work will only be accepted in the case of excused absences. Excused absences include
death in the immediate family, illness with a note from the appropriate health care professional,
religious observance, an event in which you officially represent the UWSP and the event directly
conflicts with an exam. Excused absences must be approved with documenting materials
prior to the date of absence. You should contact me in advance to inform me of your absence.

The schedule for the finals is set by the University. I will not schedule an early final exam for
whatever reason.

Once you hand in your final exam, there is nothing more you can do to change your grade.
Grading and Evaluation
I will calculate your grade based on a weighted percentage of your scores as follows:
Homework
Exams (3 midterms, 15% each)
Final exam
30%
45%
25%
Your final grades will be determined as follows:
90% and above
86--89%
A
A-
82--85%
78--81%
74--77%
B+
B
B-
70--73%
66--69%
61--65%
C+
C
C-
56--60%
50--55%
below 50%
D+
D
F
Please note that I do not grade on a curve. Scores will be rounded up. For example, 85.6% will
become an A-, but 85.3 will remain a B+.
Tentative Course Schedule
The tentative course schedule is as follows. This might change and I will try my best to announce
any changes beforehand.
Week
Date
Chapter and Topic
Comments
Sept 2 (W)
(1) Introduction, dot and cross products
Sept 4 (F)
(1) triple products, gradient, del operator
Sept 7 (M)
NO CLASS!
Labor Day
Sept 8 (T)
(1) divergence, curl, second derivative, Laplacian
HW1
Sept 9 (W)
(1) integral calculus, examples
Sept 11 (F)
(1) spherical polar and cylindrical coordinates
Sept 14 (M)
(2) Electrostatics, Coulomb’s law
Sept 15 (T)
(2) Electric field lines, flux, Gauss’s law
Sept 16 (W)
(2) More on Gauss’s Law, div E, curl E
Sept 18 (F)
(2) Electric potential
Sept 21 (M)
Exam Review
Exam 1, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Sept 22 (T)
(2) Finding potentials, boundary conditions
HW3
(1)
(2)
(3)
HW2
(4)
Sept 23 (W)
(2) Work and energy
Sept 25 (F)
(2) energy of discrete and continuous charge dist.
Sept 28 (M)
(2) Conductors, Capacitance
Sept 29 (T)
(2) Chapter 2 examples
Sept 30 (W)
(3) Laplace’s equation in 1D
Oct 2 (F)
(3) Separation of variables (Cartesian)
Oct 5 (M)
(3) Separation of variables (Spherical)
Oct 6 (T)
(3) Legendre Polynomials (cont.)
Oct 7 (W)
(3) Multipole expansion, dipole moment
Oct 9 (F)
(3) More on multipoles
Oct 12 (M)
(3) Chapter 3 examples
Oct 13 (T)
(4) Atomic polarizability
Oct 14 (W)
(4) Polarization, bound charges
Oct 16 (F)
(4) Bound and free charges, electric displacement
Oct 19 (M)
Exam Review
Exam 2, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Oct 20 (T)
(4) Dielectric constant, capacitors
HW7
Oct 21 (W)
(4) Torque on dipoles, force on dipoles and dielectrics
Oct 23 (F)
(4) Chapter 4 examples
Oct 26 (M)
(5) Lorentz force, currents, continuity equation
Oct 27 (T)
(5) Biot-Savart law, parallel wires
Oct 28 (W)
(5) Ampere’s law, div B, infinite wire, plane, solenoid
Oct 30 (F)
(5) Toroid, moving planes, magnetic vector potential
Nov 2 (M)
(5) Magnetic vector potential, boundary conditions
Nov 3 (T)
(5) Multipole expansion, dipole potential and field
Nov 4 (W)
(5) Chapter 5 examples
Nov 6 (F)
(5) Chapter 5 examples
(5)
HW4
HW5
(6)
HW6
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
HW8
HW9
Nov 9 (M)
(6) Torques and forces on magnetic dipoles
Nov 10 (T)
(6) Atomic interaction, magnetization, bound currents
Nov 11 (W)
(6) Ampere’s law, auxiliary field H
Nov 13 (F)
(6) Linear media I
Nov 16 (M)
(6) Linear media II
Nov 17 (T)
(6) Chapter 6 examples
Nov 18 (W)
(7) Ohm’s law, motional emf
Nov 20 (F)
(7) Faraday’s law I
Nov 23 (M)
Exam Review
Exam 3, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Nov 24 (T)
(7) Faraday’s law II
HW12
Nov 25 (W)
(7) Faraday’s law III
Nov 27 (F)
NO CLASS!
Nov 30 (M)
(7) Faraday’s law IV
Dec 1 (T)
(7) Inductance
Dec 2 (W)
(7) energy in inductors, LC circuits
Dec 4 (F)
(7) Maxwell’s equations
Dec 7 (M)
(7) Poynting vector, Maxwell’s equation inside matter
Dec 8 (T)
(7) Chapter 7 examples
Dec 9 (W)
Catch up, review, more examples
Dec 11 (F)
Catch up, review, more examples
(11)
(12)
(13)
HW10
HW11
THANKS GIVING
BREAK
HW13
(14)
(15)
Final Exam: Thursday, December 17
(16)
2:45 – 4:45 pm
HW14