PHY481 - Electricity and magnetism I (Fall 2009)

Time and Place: Rm 1420 BPS, MWF 12:40-1:30pm.

Lecturer: P.M. Duxbury. Office: BPS 4260, Email: duxbury at pa dot msu dot edu

TA : Gavriil Shchedrin, Email: gavriil at msu.edu

Office hours (Duxbury): ; Tuesday 1:30-2:30pm, Wednesday 10-11am (BPS 4260)

Office hours (Shchedrin): ; Thursday 4-6 pm, Friday 3-5 pm (BPS 1308)

Text book (required): Introduction to Electrodynamics - Third Edition (ISBN: 0-13-805326-X), David J. Griffiths
Text book (recommended): Electromagnetism G.L. Pollack and D.R. Stump
For background material and good GRE level problems: Physics for scientists and engineers, volume II (second edition). Fishbane, Gasiorowicz and Thornton.
Lecture notes and solutions to problems in this book are available at, PHY294H: EM for honors students. The worked problems from Fall 2002 are quite challenging and good GRE practice. If you have trouble with integration problems in electrostatics and magnetostatics you might find the examples in these solutions helpful.

Grading Procedure

  • 1. (Approximately) Biweekly homeworks (20 points) (I will drop the worst grade)
  • 2. (Approximately) Biweekly (Optional) quizzes (20pts). Your total average quiz grade can replace your grade on one of the Midterms.
  • 3. Two Midterm exams - 20 points each (total 40 points)
  • 4. Final (40 points).
  • I will take the best of: (i) two midterms/quiz (40) plus final(40) OR (ii) best midterm(20) and final(60).
    The grades will not be curved and will be assigned according to:
    4.0(90-100), 3.5(80-89), 3.0(70-79), 2.5(60-69), 2.0(50-59), 1.5(40-49), 1.0(30-39), 0.0(0-29).

    Exam Dates

  • Midterm Exam 1: Covers roughly chapters 1-3 (Friday October 16th - BPS1410 (large lecture hall))
  • Midterm Exam 1B: Covers roughly chapters 1-3 (Monday October 26th - BPS1420)
  • Your midterm 1 score will be the best of your scores on Midterm 1 and 1B.
  • Midterm Exam 2: Covers roughly chapters 5, 7 and section 9.2 (Friday November 20th - BPS1410 (large lecture hall))
  • Final Exam: Covers all material, but emphasizes Chapters 4 and 6 (Monday December 14th, 12:45-2:45 p.m. - BPS1415)
  • Makeup Final: 10am-12am Wednesday December 16th - Room BPS4270
  • Please rate the class at this site

    Quiz dates

  • Wednesdays after homework is due 12:40-1pm. BPS1420 (usual place)

    Course material Griffiths Chapters 1-7 and Section 9.2. We will spend approximately two weeks on each chapter and there will be six homework sets with each homework (roughly) devoted to one chapter, except chapters 4 and 6 for which there will be one combined homework.

    Homeworks: Hand in rm 1420 before class

  • Assignment 1 (Due Monday 14th September): 1.3, 1.4, 1.7, 1.13, 1.23, 1.30, 1.32, 1.37, 1.39, 1.46, 1.54, 1.58 Outline of solutions (pdf)
  • Assignment 2 (Due Monday 28th September): 2.6, 2.11, 2.13, 2.18, 2.21, 2.22, 2.28, 2.29, 2.32, 2.36, 2.38, 2.39 Outline of solutions (pdf)
  • Assignment 3: (Due Monday 12th October): 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.20, 3.22, 3.23, 3.25, 3.27, 3.33, 3.41, 3.44, 3.49 Outline of solutions (pdf)
  • MidtermI and solutions (pdf)
  • MidtermIB and solutions (pdf)
  • Assignment 4: (Due Monday 2nd November): 5.3, 5.6, 5.8, 5.9, 5.10, 5.13, 5.15, 5.24, 5.25, 5.29, 5.33, 5.37 Outline of solutions (pdf)
  • Assignment 5: (Due Monday 16th November): 7.1, 7.2, 7.7, 7.8, 7.11, 7.13, 7.17, 7.20, 7.23, 7.27, 7.54, 9.9 Outline of solutions (pdf)
  • MidtermII and solutions (pdf)
  • Assignment 6: (Due Monday 7th December): 4.22, 4.26, 4.28, 4.32, 4.34, 4.40, 6.5, 6.6, 6.8, 6.13, 6.18, 6.25 Outline of solutions (pdf)

    Lecture notes will be posted here after each class

  • Lecture 1 (pdf)
  • Lecture 2 (pdf)
  • Lecture 3 (pdf)
  • Lecture 4 (pdf)
  • Lecture 5 (pdf)
  • Lecture 6 (pdf)
  • Lecture 7 (pdf)
  • Lecture 8 (pdf)
  • Lecture 9 (pdf)
  • Lecture 10 (pdf)
  • Lecture 11 (pdf)
  • Lecture 12 (pdf)
  • Lecture 13 (pdf)
  • Lecture 14 (pdf)
  • Lecture 15 (pdf)
  • Review for Midterm 1 (pdf)
  • Lecture 16 (pdf)
  • Lecture 17 (pdf)
  • Monopoles in a material (pdf)
  • Lecture 18 (pdf)
  • Lecture 19 (pdf)
  • Lecture 20 (pdf)
  • Lecture 21 (pdf)
  • Lecture 22 (pdf)
  • Lecture 23 (pdf)
  • Lecture 24 (pdf)
  • Lecture 25 (pdf)
  • Review for Midterm 2 (pdf)
  • Lecture 26 (pdf)
  • Lecture 27 (pdf)
  • Lecture 28 (pdf)
  • Lecture 29 (pdf)
  • Lecture 30 (pdf)
  • Lecture 31 (pdf)
  • Review of dielectric and magnetic materials (pdf)

    Some useful URL's

  • GRE preparation
    GRE www site a free Physics GRE test and test information. There are four practice tests circulating. This is the most recent.
    Stanford physics student site. Four Physics GRE practice tests and good advice on studying.
    OSU physics student site. The same four Physics GRE tests and solutions (not validated)

  • Hyperphysics from Georgia state
  • MIT course in EM
  • Eric Weisstein's world of physics-an encyclopedia of physics
  • History of physics from the aps
  • Electrostatics in the body
  • How to build a Van de Graff generator
  • Ways to make capacitors
  • The best nano-engineer
  • APS selections of best www sites
  • History of optics