Electricity and Magnetism, Part 1

Course Description

PHYS 102.1x serves as an introduction to electricity and magnetism, following the standard second semester college physics sequence. Part 1 begins with electric charge in matter, the forces between charges, the electric field, Gauss’s Law, and the electric potential. Electric current and resistance are introduced, and then DC circuits are described, including time-dependent behavior with resistors and capacitors. PHYS 102.1x consists of 5 weekly learning sequences, each with ~1.5 hours of video lectures, conceptual lecture problems, and online homework questions. The course concludes with an online exam during the 6th week. What are the prerequisites? We will assume that you are familiar with vectors, that you know how to calculate integrals, and that you have had introductory mechanics. These topics will be briefly reviewed as needed, but not in a systematic way. If you have not had classes in these topics it may be possible to complete the course with extra study. What textbook is required? The course will not strictly follow or make assignments from a specific textbook. Any recent freshman physics textbook will suffice. Reading assignments will be given by topic, including links to several free online physics textbooks.