SYLLABUS: Physics II - PHYS 2025
Catalog Description: A continuation of PHYS 2015. Includes topics from electricity,
light, and modern physics. Lecture 5 hours, laboratory 2 hours.
Prerequisite: PHYS 2015
Goals: At the end of the course you should understand basic physical phenomena
including: Electricity and magnetism, simple electric circuits, light and optics and
modern physics. Understanding at this level means not only being able to explain
experimental observations, but to intelligently apply mathematics to predict the outcome
of a given situation. In Bloom’s taxonomy this would be considered the third stage of
knowledge (“application”).
Policies
Class Time: MTWR 8:00 a.m. - 9:05 p.m. Room: SC 205
Textbook: PHYSICS for Scientists and Engineers by Giancoli. Fourth Edition.
Prentice Hall. ISBN:9780131495081
Instructor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Phone:
Email:
Website:
Mark Polson
SC-225 H
9:30 – 11:00 AM Monday and Wednesday or by appointment
(580) 581-3893
mpolson@cameron.edu
http://www.cameron.edu/~mpolson
Grading:
Laboratory:
Weekly assignments:
Exam Average:
Final Exam:
20%
20%
30%
30%
(The lowest score will be dropped)
Scale in percentage of total possible points:
90-100 A
80-90 B
70-80 C
60-70 D
0-60
F
Note about grades:
“D” is a passing grade and you will earn that if you can understand the simplest concepts
studied in this course and solve the most straightforward problems.
“C” is an average grade and implies a better understanding of physics; it also means you
can apply the concepts learned to problems that require some extra thinking, beyond
plugging values in formulas.
“B” is a very good grade and implies that you understand most of the material covered in
the course and are able to apply it to many situations, simple and complex.
An “A” in Physics II is outstanding and means that you have a good understanding of all
aspects of the course and you can apply it to most situations. If you get an A in this
course you are expected to do very well in any standard test of the subject (GRE, MFAT,
MCAT, etc) and you are expected to remember most of the material the rest of your
career.
To earn an “A” in this course you typically have to study every week and solve practice
problems in every chapter. In practical terms it also means that you will need to do well
on assignments, quizzes, and tests, you will need to write all your lab reports on time, and
you will need to do well on the final exam.
An average of 89.9 is a B, not an A. You need 90.0 out of 100 to get an A. Remember
that your instructor does not “give” grades, you earn your grades.
Contents:
Electricity: [Chapters 21-26 in your textbook]
Charge, potential, fields, currents and circuits.
Volts, amps, thunderbolts, capacitors, camera flash, flash memory, light bulbs, batteries
and superconductivity.
Magnetism [Chapters 27 and 28]
Earth’s magnetism, MRI, the magnets on your refrigerator, levitating trains and frogs…
Faraday’s law [Chapters 29 and 30]
Electric generators, car alternators, transformers and hard disks.
Electromagnetic waves [Chapter 31]
Maxwell’s laws, your cell phone antenna, your car radio antenna, your TV antenna, why
the sky is blue, why the sun looks red at sunset, so the moon at moonset.
Light and optics [Chapters 32-35]
Mirrors (rear view, make-up, dress, convenience store), fiber optics, magnifying glasses,
microscope, telescope, projector lens, cameras and correction glasses.
Modern Physics[Chapters 36-39, 41]
Relativity, Quantum theory, atomic physics, condensed matter, and radiation.
Students with disabilities
It is the policy of Cameron University to accommodate students with disabilities, pursuant to federal and state law. Students with
disabilities who need classroom accommodations must make their requests by contacting the Office of Student Development at (580)
581-2209, North Shepler Room 314.
Comments: This is a very ambitious course that covers a lot of ground in 16 weeks. It is
a 5 credit course that will ask time and effort on your part. The reward is worth the while
because you will get a better understanding of phenomena that are ubiquitous in our
world and make possible the technology that is changing the way we live.
Tentative Schedule
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Chapter
21/22
23/24
25
26
27/28
29
31
32/33a
34/35a
33b/35b
36
37
Exam 1 (Ch 21 – 26) – Sep 19
Exam 2 (Ch 27 – 33a) – Oct 19
Exam 3 (Ch 33b – 37) – Nov 22 Thanksgiving week
38/39
41
Final Exam (Dec 13 @ 8 – 10 AM)