Schedule

This schedule is tentative. We will deviate from it as necessary as the course proceeds. Information given in class always trumps this schedule.

DateTopicKeynote Student Teaching Topic
Monday, 01/13Introduction; Coulomb’s Law 
Wednesday, 01/1513.1-5 Electric Field 
Friday, 01/1713.6-9 Electric Dipoles 
Monday, 01/20MLK Day 
Wednesday, 01/2214.1-4 Polarization 
Friday, 01/24(dipoles & polarization continued) 
Monday, 01/2714.5-8 Conductors 
Wednesday, 01/2915.1-4 Integrals of charge distributions 
Friday, 01/3115.5-9 Charged disks and spheres 
Monday, 02/03buffer 
Wednesday, 02/0516.1-2 Electric potential 
Friday, 02/0716.3-7 Potential differences along paths 
Monday, 02/10buffer 
Wednesday, 02/12Exam 1 
Friday, 02/1416.8-10 Dielectrics and energy storage 
Monday, 02/1717.1-4 Magnetic fields from moving chargesExplain how the direction a compass points is affected when it is placed near a wire that is carrying a current. (Taylor & Kristian)
Wednesday, 02/1917.5-8 Magnetic fields from currents 
Friday, 02/21buffer 
Monday, 02/2417.9-12 Dipoles and bar magnetsExplain how the magnetic field produced by a bar magnet relates to the magnetic field produced by a circulating current in a loop of wire. (Collin)
Wednesday, 02/2618.1-3 Electric fields and currentsExplain how electric fields cause currents to flow in a wire. (Marlee)
Friday, 02/2818.4-7 CircuitsExplain how feedback causes current to go around a bend in a wire. (Santana)
Monday, 03/02Spring Break 
Wednesday, 03/04Spring Break 
Friday, 03/06Spring Break 
Monday, 03/0918.8-11 Resistors and potential in circuitsExplain “Kirchoff’s Laws” (Khang)
Wednesday, 03/1119.1-4 Resistors and capacitorsExplain how the resistance of a resistor is determined by its geometry. (Trinity & Bryan)
Friday, 03/1319.5-8 Time dependence in circuits 
Monday, 03/16bufferExplain how you use a voltmeter and an ammeter (Tanden & Katrina)
Wednesday, 03/18Exam 2 
Friday, 03/2020.1-3 Magnetic forcesExplain how particles are accelerated in a cyclotron.
Monday, 03/2320.4-6 Hall Effect, Motional EMF, and RelativityExplain how a Hall Effect magnetic field sensor works. (Vanjie)
Wednesday, 03/2520.7-9 Magnetic torque; Motors and generatorsExplain how a DC motor works. (Chase)
Friday, 03/2721.1-5 Gauss’s LawExplain what is meant by “electric flux.” (Cassidy)
Monday, 03/3021.6-7 Ampère’s LawExplain what it means to take the path integral around a loop in a magnetic field. (Michael)
Wednesday, 04/01bufferExplain how to use Ampere’s Law to calculate the magnetic field inside a toroid.
Friday, 04/0322.1-6 Faraday’s LawExplain what happens when you drop a bar magnet through a loop or coil of wire. (Shelby)
Monday, 04/06bufferExplain how an electrical transformer works OR Explain why it is possible to use a superconductor to levitate a magnet.
Wednesday, 04/08Exam 3 
Friday, 04/10Easter break 
Monday, 04/1323.1-3 Electromagnetic radiationExplain how the radiated electric field produced by an accelerating charge is is different from other electric fields. (Diana)
Wednesday, 04/1523.4-6 Electromagnetic wavesExplain radiation pressure and how it could be used to drive a solar sail on a spacecraft. (Seth)
Friday, 04/1723.9-11 Geometric opticsExplain what it means that light from the sky is polarized (Tyler)
Monday, 04/20S3.1-3 Interference and diffractionExplain how we can learn about the structure of matter by studying diffraction of x-rays. (Kai)
Wednesday, 04/22S3.4-5 Standing wavesExplain the physics behind a guitar string. What determines the note that it plays? (Jayden & Thao)
Friday, 04/24S3.6 Wave/particle duality 
Monday, 04/27Final Exam (8 am) 
Friday, 05/01Final Exam (10:10 am)