Physics 125 General
Physics II Spring 2019 Syllabus
Instructor: Dr.
Brian M. Davies
Instructor's office:
Currens 532 (top floor, northwest corner)
Phone:
309-298-1307
Physics
Dept. Fax: 309-298-2850
Office Hours:
MWF 2:00 p
Instructor's e-mail address:
BM-Davies at wiu.edu
Instructor’s web site: http://faculty.wiu.edu/BM-Davies/
Required textbook: College Physics,
Laboratory book: Physics 125 Lab Manual, available at the
Union bookstore
Class Schedule:
Lecture: M W F
Laboratory sections:
Section 021: Thurs. 11
Section 022: Thurs.
Laboratory room: Currens 314
Lab Instructor: Mrs. Natalia Andreev (Currens
519E, phone 309-298-2577, N-Andreev
(at) wiu.edu)
Course Objective: To
introduce the student to basic concepts in electricity and magnetism, electric
circuits, light and optical instruments, modern physics including quantum
physics, and atomic and nuclear physics. Principles and concepts will be
emphasized, and active classroom participation will be encouraged by use of
reading quizzes, in-class worksheets, and other “active-learning”
techniques.
The material on the following web pages should be considered part of this syllabus:
Student Rights and Responsibilities: http://www.wiu.edu/provost/students.php
Academic Integrity Policy: http://www.wiu.edu/policies/acintegrity.php
Grading Scheme:
Point Breakdown:
4 exams: 15 % each, for a subtotal of
60%
Homework sets, quizzes, and in-class work: 20 %
10 Laboratory exercises: 2 % each, for a
subtotal of 20%
Assignment of Grades:
A 100%
- 85%
B 85% - 75%
C 75% - 65%
D 65% - 55%
(Plus and minus will be given for the top and bottom 3% or so of these
ranges, but there is no A+.)
These numbers may be lowered slightly depending on the difficulty of the exams. The exact cutoff for letter grades will be determined so that small differences in points will not change letter grades. You must pass the lab part of the course to pass the entire course. Homework is due at the beginning of the class on the due date. Late homework will lose 20% of the possible points for each day it is late. Late homework can only be turned in during class, during lab, or to the folder by my office door, Currens 532. Please do not give homework sets or late lab reports to the secretary in the Physics office (they may receive zero credit if you do this).
Physics 125 Class
Schedule Spring 2019
Content
Chapter
15 Electric charge, forces, and fields
Chapter 16 Electric potential, energy, and capacitance
Chapter 17 Electric current and resistance
Exam 1 February 15 (Ch. 15-17)
Chapter 18 Basic electric circuits
Chapter 19 Magnetism
Chapter 20 Electromagnetic induction and waves
Exam 2 March 20 (Ch. 18-20)
Chapter 22 Reflection and refraction of light
Chapter 23 Mirrors and lenses
Chapter 24 Physical optics: the wave nature of light
Exam 3 April 15 (Ch. 22-24)
Chapter 27 Quantum Physics
Chapter 28 Quantum mechanics and atomic physics
Chapter 29 The Nucleus
Final Exam May 6, 10 a.m. (Ch. 27-29)
Physics 125 Laboratory Schedule Spring 2019
Date Lab # Title of Laboratory Exercise
Jan. 17 No
lab
Jan. 24 Lab 1 Introduction to the Oscilloscope
Jan. 31 Lab 2 Electric Fields and Equipotentials
Feb. 7 No Lab
Feb. 14 Lab 3 Joule Heat
Feb. 21 Lab 4 Ohm’s Law
Feb. 28 Lab 5 Resistances in Series and
Parallel
Mar. 7 No Lab
Mar. 14 No
Lab, Spring Vacation
Mar. 21 No Lab
Mar. 28 Lab 6 Reflection and Refraction
April 4 Lab 7 Spherical
Mirrors
April 11 Lab 8 Spherical Lenses
April 18 Lab 9 Nuclear radiation: Half-life
April 25 Lab 10 The Geiger
Counter,
May 2
Makeup labs (only one allowed per
student)