UNIVERSITY of PENNSYLVANIA
School of Arts and Sciences
Department of Physics and Astronomy
PHYSICS 151/141 – Spring 2008
General Information:
The four "regular" hours class schedule is assigned to each Section. These regular classes will be used for
a combination of lectures and recitation sessions. One Laboratory lecture will be given on Thursday
February 7, 2008, 5:00-6:00 PM in DRLB room A1 and A2. The fifth hour (Thursday at 5:00 P.M) may
also be used on specific dates for review sessions.
There will be two mid-term examinations in the course.
The first mid-term is scheduled for
Thursday, February 14, 2008, 5:00-5:50 PM.
The second mid-term is scheduled for Thursday, March 27, 2008, 5:00-5:50 PM.
Each Section will be assigned to a specific lecture room a week before the exam.
The final examination is scheduled for Thursday, May 8, 2008, 6:00-8:00 PM.
Each Section will be assigned to a specific lecture room when information is available.
Homework will be regularly assigned and quizzes given approximately once a week.
Solutions to the assigned problems will be provided shortly after they are due. Although the homework will
not be graded, most students who neglect the homework assignments will encounter significant difficulties
on the examinations.
The instructions on the Laboratory experiments and related documentation will be given during the lecture
on Thursday, February 7, 5:00-6:00 PM.
Texts:
The text for the course is
David Halliday, Robert Resnick, Jearl Walker: Fundamentals of Physics, John Wiley & Sons, Paperback
edition, Volume 2, 8th Edition; ISBN: 978-0-470-12711-7,
[Chapters to be covered: 21-33 and 35-36.]
Students can also use the same book, Volume 2, 7th Edition; IBSN 0 47142960.
Web Site:
Announcements, assignments, and problem solutions will be made available on "Blackboard"
(https://courseweb.upenn.edu/)
Laboratories:
The laboratory experiments are intended to supplement the lectures in the course by providing concrete
demonstrations of the specific physical principles and by giving some insight into how those principles
operate in practice. In some cases (geometric optics, for example) the laboratory experiments will be used
to develop important topics that will not be covered in the normal classroom lectures. The experiments are
not intended to provide precise measurements of any physical constants, nor are they designed to
introduce students to sophisticated instrumentation.
The rooms in which the experiments will be performed will change from week to week. The exact schedule
of locations will be posted on bulletin boards located outside DRLB 3W5 and 3N18.
Tentative Schedule of Experiments:
Week Beginning
Experiment
February 11
February 18
February 25
March 3
March 10
March 17
March 24
March 31
April 7
April 14
April 21
The Thin Lens
The Electric Field
DC Circuits and Ohm's Law
Capacitors and Resistor -Capacitor Time Constant
Spring break - No Lab
Measurement of e/m ratio
Magnetic Field Measurements
Induced Voltages
Measurement of Wavelength with a Diffraction Grating
Interference and Diffraction
Make Up Experiments
Grades:
Grades in the course will be determined by giving the following weights to examinations, quizzes, and labs
and will be graded on a curve.
Physics 151:
Final Examination - 35%
Mid term Exam 1 - 15%
Mid Term Exam 2 - 15%
Quizzes - 20%
Labs - 15%
Physics 141:
Final Examination – 41%
MidTerm Exam 1 – 18%
MidTerm Exam 2 – 18%
Quizzes –23 %
Syllabus
Chapter 21: Electric Charge and Electric Force
Chapter 22: Electric Field: first principles = calculation
Chapter 23: Electric Field: symmetry principles = imagination (Gauss’ Law)
Chapter 24: Electric Potential Energy and Electric Potential
Chapter 25: Storing electric charge and energy: capacitance
Chapter 26: Moving electric charge: current, resistance
Chapter 27: Electric circuits with resistance and capacitance
Chapter 28: Magnetic Force
Chapter 29: Magnetic Field: first principles and symmetry principles (Ampere’s Law)
Chapter 30: Induced electric field; circuits with resistance and inductance (Faraday’s Law)
Chapter 31: Electromagnetic oscillations; circuits with capacitance and inductance; transformers
Chapter 32: Maxwell & speed of light (Maxwell’s Equations)
Chapter 33: Waves: Energy transport by electromagnetic waves
Chapter 35: Waves: Interference
Chapter 36: Waves: Diffraction
Chapter 37: Einstein & speed of light: special relativity (time permitting!)