PHYS4321 and PHYS4322 constitute a two semester sequence of courses that teach the basics of electromagnetism at the senior undergraduate level. The material covered in these courses begins with a thorough review of vector calculus, followed by electrostatics and dielectrics, current and magnetism, the magnetic properties of materials, electromagnetic induction, magnetic energy, circuit theory, plasma physics, superconductors, electromagnetic waves, and radiation emission.
PHYS4321 covers chapters 1 through 6 of Introduction to Electrodynamics, third edition, by David Griffiths, Prentice-Hall, publishers. PHYS4322 covers the rest of the book. This book is a very good general purpose reference book for electromagnetic theory, so I strongly recommend that you buy it and plan to keep it as part of your library. There will be three hour exams in each course, at the ends of chapters 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. The final will be comprehensive for each course, but you need material from all previous chapters typically to work any problem in the book. The final will take place on Friday, Dec. 7, 2007 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM for fall 2007. No calculators or notes will be permitted during any examination; paper will be provided, so you only need to bring with you to each exam a pencil and an eraser. Each exam will test two aspects of learning physics: your problem solving skills, and your ability to memorize and regurgitate the relevant definitions and formulas that are covered in class. Homework assignments for each chapter will be made when we start the chapter. The homework for each chapter will be collected at the next class meeting following completion of the chapter. Each problem will be graded on a scale of 0 to 3. A 5 point penalty will be assessed for homework turned in late.The formula used to compute your grade is
Total= [HWyou/HWmax X 20
+ (Q1you/Q1ave + Q2you/Q2ave + Q3you/Q3ave) X 15
+ Fyou/Fave X 35] X Fudge
where Fudge is the factor required to make the average of the Total
distribution 65 (+/-). Note that the quizzes account for 45% of your grade.
The homework accounts for 20% and the final for 35%. The Fudge factor is
used to shift the grade distribution higher or lower
relative to the letter grade cuts. The cuts will be tweaked to fit the natural
breaks in the grade distribution after all of the grades are in.
After each set of papers is graded, I will enter the grades into the computer and print a set of summary sheets showing the grades and standing of each student. These sheets will be posted outside room 528 of Science and Research I. To protect your privacy, the grades will be identified only by the last five digits of your student number. If you do not wish to have your grades displayed, please provide me with a signed note so indicating and I will omit your data from the printouts. Note that these printouts provide you with valuable information on your relative standing in the class, which ultimately determines your final grade. By reviewing your posted grades throughout the course, you can avoid a nasty surprise at the end of the semester and help me to catch clerical errors while they are still easy to correct.