Syllabus for Physics 313 – Spring 2024

Electricity and Magnetism I

 

 (Check here frequently for important announcements related to the course)

 

Official Course Description: Title: Electricity and Magnetism I; Credits: 4; Grade Method: REG/P-F/AUD;
Prerequisite: MATH241, PHYS273 (Waves) and PHYS274 (or equivalent); Topics: A first course in electricity and magnetism at an advanced level. Electrostatics; solutions to the Laplace and Poisson equations in Cartesian and spherical coordinates; electric fields in matter; and magnetostatics. Study of boundary value problems and extensive use of vector calculus.

 

Instructor: Professor Kaustubh Agashe [Phone: (301)-405-6018; Office (note different building than lecture!): Room 3118 of Physical Sciences Complex (PSC)         ; e-mail: kagashe_at_umd.edu]; Office Hours (note locations and days carefully): Monday 2.45-3.45 pm. and Thursday 11.45 am-12.45 pm., both in in Rm. 3118 PSC

                                                      

Teaching Assistant: Deepak Sathyan [email: dsathyan@umd.edu; office: Rm 3129 of Toll building]; Office hours (note locations and days carefully): 
Tuesday 1.30-2.30 pm and Friday 10- 11 am., both in Rm  3129 of Toll building.
 
(It might be possible to have office hours by instructor and the TA at other times by appointment.)

 

 

Lecture Time: 9.30-10.45 am. on Tuesday, Thursday; noon-12.50 pm. on Friday

Lecture Room: Room 4221, John S. Toll Physics Building

 

Required Textbook:  Introduction to Electrodynamics, D.J. Griffiths, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall

 

Homework: The homework assignments (problem sets) will generally be assigned here on Thursdays, and. Will typically be due on Monday of the next-to-next week. Late homework will be accepted at the discretion

of the instructor (in particular, a valid documented excuse such a medical problem, religious holiday, or serious family crisis is

required)., but not after solutions have been handed out.

 

No homework will be dropped for any reason.  For full credit for any written homework or exam problem,

in addition to the correct answer, you must show the steps/justify your approach as much as possible.

 

Solutions to homework (and exams) will be posted here.

 

See general guidelines on completing homework here and submitting homework for more details

 

 

Exams: There will be 2 exams given during the lecture periods (1 hours 15 minutes in length). Both exams will contribute to the final grade for the course. 

Tentatively, these are scheduled for March 14 (Thursday) and April 25 (Thursday).

The final exam will be given during the standard exam period: 8-10 a.m. on Monday, May 13 (apologies for final exam being so early in the morning, but note that this schedule is set by the university, i.e., not under instructor's control!).

You must take the final exam to pass the course. There will be no make-up for the exams, unless there is a strong documented excuse (medical problem, religious holiday, or serious family crisis).

Details such as which topics will be covered in each exam will be posted later.

Grade: The semester grade will be based on the homework, in-class exams and the final exam
with the following tentative weights: 2 in-class exams: 50%, homework: 15%, final exam: 35%

           

Attendance: Regular attendance and participation in this class is the best way to grasp the concepts and principles being discussed. Please try to attend every class and to read up the relevant chapter(s) of the textbook before coming to the class.

 

Some class notes will be posted here.

 

Academic Honesty: Note that, although you are encouraged to discuss homework with other students, any work you submit must be your own and should reflect your own understanding. In fact, the main way you will understand Physics (and thus do well on the exams) is by doing the homework (that too by yourself).

 

In addition, academic dishonesty, such as cheating on an exam or copying homework, is a serious offense which may result in suspension or expulsion from the University.

 

The University of Maryland, College Park has a nationally recognized Code of Academic Integrity, administered by the 
Student Honor Council.  This Code sets standards for academic integrity at Maryland for all undergraduate and graduate 
students.  As a student you are responsible for upholding these standards for this course.  It is very important for you to 
be aware of the consequences of cheating, fabrication, facilitation, and plagiarism. For more information on the Code of 
Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit https://po4.mail.umd.edu/wm/mail/fetch.html?urlid=60ba224f52decf4c3ca37cbe7bd3bfa5a&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shc.umd.edu.
 
To further exhibit your commitment to academic integrity, please sign the Honor Pledge (which covers all 
examinations and Assignments) and turn it in as “Homework 1”: 
 

"I pledge on my honor that I will not give or receive any unauthorized assistance (including 

from other persons and online sources) on all examinations, quizzes and homework assignments 
in this course."

 

Course Evaluations: Your participation in the evaluation of courses through CourseEvalUM is a responsibility you

hold as a student member of our academic community. Your feedback is confidential and

important to the improvement of teaching and learning at the University as well as to the

tenure and promotion process. CourseEvalUM (go here) will open during the last couple of weeks of the semester for you to complete your

evaluations for Spring semester courses. By completing all of your evaluations each semester, you will

have the privilege of accessing the summary reports for thousands of courses online at Testudo.

 

(TENTATIVE) schedule of Physics 411 topics, exams, and holidays (more detailed schedule, for example,

by chapter-sections, might be posted as part of the “announcements” here roughly at the beginning of each week.)

 

Week

Dates

Main Topics

Chapter in Griffiths

1

Jan. 25, 26

(Review of) Vector Analysis

1

2

Jan. 30, Feb. 1, 2

Electrostatics

 2

3

Feb, 6, 8, 9

Electrostatics

2

4

Feb. 13. 15, 16

Electrostatics

2

5

Feb. 20, 22, 23

Potentials

3

6

Feb. 27, 29, Mar. 1

Potentials

3

7

Mar. 5, 7, 8

                              Potentials

3

8

Mar. 12, 15

Electric Fields in Matter

4

8

Mar. 14 (Thurs.)

1st midterm

2, 3

9

Mar. 26, 28, 29

Electric Fields in Matter

4

10

April 2, 4, 5

Electric Fields in Matter; Magnetostatics

4, 5

11

April 9, 11, 12

Magnetostatics

5

12

April 16, 18, 19

Magnetostatics

5

13

April 23, 25

Magnetostatics; Magnetic Fields in Matter

 

5, 6

13

April 26 (Thurs.)

2nd midterm

 4, 5

14

April 30, May 2, 3

Magnetic Fields in Matter

6

15

May 7, 9

Magnetic Fields in Matter

6

 15.

May 10 (Fri.)

                  Final exam Review

Cumulative (2-6)

16.

May 13 (Mon.): 8-10 am.

Final Exam

 

Cumulative (2-6)