PHYS 212 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Course Description

University Physics: Electricity & Magnetism

Credit: Credit is not given for both PHYS 212 and PHYS 102.

Prerequisite: Credit or concurrent registration in MATH 241

Physics 212 is a calculus-based approach to electricity and magnetism. Topics include:

• Coulomb's Law
• electric fields
• Gauss' Law
• electric potential
• capacitance
• circuits
• magnetic forces and fields
• Ampere's law
• induction
• electromagnetic waves
• polarization
• geometrical optics.

Course Goals

By the end of this course the student will be able to:

• understand the main concepts of electricity and magnetism.
• develop the mathematical framework to explore fields and potentials in detail.
• be able to apply them quantitatively for solving relevant problems.
• appreciate qualitatively how they play a role in many aspects of daily life.

Course Components

All students are required to participate in all course components. Credit is granted in each course component. All course components are subject to the Academic Integrity Policy.

Learning Strategy

To effectively learn new material, students need a wide array of experiences. Our learning philosophy is tailored to help students efficiently process problems in physics by providing the necessary experiences.

In introductory physics, the learning philosophy of the Department of Physics can be summarized as follows:

1. Think About It! (pre-lectures and checkpoints)
2. Untangle It! (lectures)
3. Challenge! (homework)
4. Apply and Explore It! (labs)
5. Close the Loop! (discussion)

This course covers a large amount of new material. Each concept builds on previous course concepts. Mastery of previous material is essential. This is the student's responsibility. In order to succeed the student must not fall behind!

Component Description

Think About It: Prelecture and Checkpoints

Due before each lecture, these research-based multimedia presentations and assessments are designed to introduce the key ideas/concepts of the lecture.

Prelecture

• Each question may be attempted several times.
• Each question must be answered correctly complete the activity.
• No late credit.

Checkpoints

• Available after prelecture is complete.
• Answer all questions for full credit.
• No late credit.

Untangle It: Lecture

Participation will occur as follows:

• Answer questions during lecture using the iClicker response system.
• Credit will be granted:
  • Participation in each lecture.
  • Bonus credit for correctiClicker questions answered.
• The notes from each lecture will be posted on the course website.

Lectures are formatted into subunits called interACTive learning segments. Each ACT includes conceptual questions and numerical problems which students will answer for participation credit. Students are invited to work in groups, ask questions of and discuss the problem or question with the lecturer during each ACT problem set.

Challenge: Homework

The web-based homework covering each week's material is due the following week. Homework is assigned and distributed within the homework system, smartPhysics.

Homework problems are designed to:

• Evaluate conceptual understanding.
• Develop problem-solving skills.

Background for the homework is provided by working through the prelectures and checkpoints, and attending the lectures. Students should use this background as a guide to finishing the weekly homework assignments.

To start work on a homework assignment:

• Go to smartPhysics .
• Select the assignment for the week.
• Each problem, or part thereof, may be worked an unlimited number of times.

• Full credit for each correct problem will be awarded when an assignment is completed before the deadline.
• Up to 80% credit will be awarded for finishing a problem up to one week after the deadline.

Apply and Explore It: Laboratory

The lab cycle (see course schedule) is designed to provide the opportunity to explore the applications and implications of the concepts developed in lecture.

The laboratory portion of this course will consist of four (4) 3-hour laboratories.

1. A prelab exercise due the morning of each laboratory period.
2. The laboratory exercise in which students will:
   1. plan and set up simple experiments to investigate topics studied in class
   2. perform measurements of different phenomena studied in lecture
   3. analyze experimental results
   4. make conclusions based on their results and their understanding of the experimental system.
3. A laboratory write-up which will be completed during the session and turned in at the end of the lab session.

Close the Loop: Discussion

Weekly two (2) hour discussion sections are required. Students select a discussion section during registration. Students will upload their Discussion Problem solutions to GradeScope during the discussion section according to the course schedule.

Each discussion session will consist of the following:

• A tutorial facilitated by the section TA (35 min).
• Group Work on solving two Discussion Problems (1hr)
• Wrap-up (15 min), during which students upload their solutions to GradeScope

Each student is expected to:

• Arrive on time. If the student arrives more than 15 minutes late, they will get 20% deduction on the Discussion Problem Set.
• Come prepared. The required materials for each discussion section are:
  • A calculator
  • A writing implement (pen or pencil) and paper; or electronic writing tools.
  • An electronic device for uploading the solutions to GradeScope.

Because of class breaks during Week 4, 9 and 12, you will NOT upload Problem Set 4, Problem Set 9 and Problem Set 12 solutions to GradeScope.

Supplemental

Also there will be open office hours every week to give students one-on-one assistance if they need more help. Do not be bashful about taking advantage of these!

Academic Integrity

All activities in this course are subject to the Academic Integrity rules as described in Article 1, Part 4, Academic Integrity, of the Student Code.

Infractions include, but are not limited to:

• cheating
• plagiarism
• fabrication
• academic interference
• computer-related infractions
• unauthorized use of university resources
• sale of class materials or notes
• facilitating infractions of academic integrity.

Violations of any of these rules will be sanctioned and reported to the student's home college.

All aspects of the course are covered by these rules, including:

• discussion problem sets
• homework
• iClickers
• exams
• labs
• documentation submitted for petition for an excused absence

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If you have questions about this page, please e-mail the Undergraduate Office (undergrad@physics.illinois.edu).