PHYS 3220 - Physics for Scientists II (Honors) - Spring 2019

Course Description

Second semester of introductory physics for students planning graduate studies in physics or related field. Electromagnetism and optics. Preprofessional program. (4 credits) Recommended prerequisites: PHYS 3210, MATH 1220.

Textbook

Electricity and Magnetism, 3rd edition, by Edward M. Purcell and David J. Morin (Cambridge University Press, 2013).

For the optics part, some sections of Introduction to Modern Optics, 2nd edition, by Grant R. Fowles (Dover Publications, 1989).

Instructors

Prof. Paolo Gondolo
Office: 310 INSCC
Office hours: by appointment.
E-mail: paolo.gondolo@utah.edu

Grader: Shiyu Nie
Office: INSCC 305-5
Office hours: by appointment
E-mail: Shiyu.Nie@utah.edu

Lectures

Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00-3:55pm, Room JFB 101.

Grades

There are two categories of assignments: Homework and Exams.

Homework consists of Regular Homework and optional Extra Homework. Homework contains a combination of reading assignments, questions, and problems with and without solutions provided. Homework is due every class and is described in detail on the Homework webpage of this course (see navigation tab on the top left). Your score in the Homework category is determined as a percentage of 960 points (12 regular homework assignments of 60 points each, and 12 regular homework assignments of 20 points each).

Exams contain physics problems without solutions provided. Exams are take-home exams that must be worked out individually by each student, without the help of any other person (no cheating: see Honesty section below). There are three exams. Exam 1 (covering chapters 1 to 4) is due by end of class Tuesday February 12, Exam 2 (covering chapter 5 to 8) is due by the end of class Tuesday March 26, and Exam 3 (covering chapter 9 and optics) is due by the end of class Tuesday April 23. Your score in the Exams category is determined as a percentage of 120 points (3 exams of 40 points each). There are no makeup exams.

The final letter grade is determined according to the following table using the average percentage of the Homework and Exams categories.

Letter grade A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D-
Percentage 90% 82% 74% 66% 58% 50% 42% 34% 26% 18% 10%

Honesty

Cheating of any kind on homework or exams is a very serious violation of University rules and is unethical. Students caught cheating will receive a failing grade for the course and will be sent on to the University Disciplinary Committee for further action.

Holidays

Monday, January 21, Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Monday, February 18, Presidents' Day
Sunday-Sunday, March 10-17, Spring Break

Students with Disabilities

The University of Utah provides equal access to its programs, services and activities for people with disabilities. If you need accommodations in this course, contact the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Bldg, 581-5020 (V/TDD) to make arrangements for accommodation.