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Module Profile |
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Module title: Electricity and Magnetism
Module code: PHYS1022
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School |
PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY |
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Credit Points |
10 |
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Level (e.g. HE1 or HE3) |
HE4 |
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Any pre-requisite and/or co-requisite modules |
A level Physics and Mathematics grade A or B |
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Programmes in which the module is core |
All BSc and MPhys Programmes. 0678, 0647, 0632, 0679, 0608, 2359, 2553, 2786, 0666, 0593, 0631, 0670, 0594 & 3080 |
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Module co-ordinator |
Professor B S Lanchester |
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Contact hours |
48 Lectures 3 hours/week problem workshop 1 hour/week |
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Non-contact hours |
72 Students are expected to devote a minimum of 4 hours per week of private study to background reading and problem solving.
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Total study time |
120 |
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Date approved by School Board |
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Introduction
The aim of this course is to establish a grounding in electromagnetism in preparation for more advanced courses. The major concepts covered are: the abstraction from forces to fields using the examples of the gravitational, electric and magnetic fields, with some applications; the connection between conservative forces and potential energy; how charges move through electric circuits; the close connection between electricity and magnetism, leading to the discovery of electromagnetic waves.
Aims and learning outcomes
After studying this course students should be able to:
- use Coulomb's law and Gauss' law for the electrostatic force; understand the ideas of the electrostatic field and electrostatic potential and the analogy to gravitation
- use the Lorentz force law for the magnetic force; use Ampere's law to calculate magnetic fields
- understand how the basic laws underlie the properties of electric circuit elements
Summary of syllabus content
- Electric field: Coulomb's law, superposition principle, electric field and electrostatic potential, field patterns and equipotentials, Gauss' law, capacitance, conductors and insulators, analogy to gravity
- Magnetic field: vector product, Lorentz force, Ampere's Law, electric motors, magnetic field patterns, magnetic induction (Faraday's law), dynamo, mutual and self inductance, transformers
- Electric circuits: Ohm's law and resistance, DC networks, Kirchoff’s laws, transient behaviour of RLC circuits.
Summary of teaching and learning methods
The course comprises three lectures and one ‘workshop lecture’ per week over a 12 week period. Core lecture material is covered in lectures with worked examples and class exercises. Workshops concentrate on problem solving and cover a range of generic problem solving skills, linked to core material. Problem sheets, graded in difficulty and numbering ten in total, are handed out weekly. Students work on these independently before bringing them to the workshop, where help will be available on these and similar problems. Students also have the opportunity to discuss these problem sheets in weekly meetings with their tutors. Weekly reading is assigned and tested by an online quiz each week. A short test will be held mid-way through the semester for feedback purposes. It is assessed and counts 10% towards the final mark
Summary of assessment methods
Assessment is: 70% written examination, 20% problem sheets, 10% mid-semester test. Marks from the online reading quizzes are counted with the problem sheets. The examination lasts two hours and has three sections. Section A comprises short questions while Section B contains four longer questions. Students should answer all questions in section A plus two questions from section B.
Special features of module
N/A
Resources
- Wolfson, Essential University Physics, 1st edition, Pearsons, 2007.
- Young and Freedman, University Physics, 11th edition, Pearsons, 2004.
- Paul A. Tipler and Gene Mosca, Physics for Scientists and Engineers (extended), 5th ed, Freeman, 2004.
- Randall D. Knight, Physics for Scientists and Engineers: a strategic approach, (extended ed with Mastering Physics), Pearson, 2004.
- D Halliday, R Resnick and J Walker, Fundamentals of Physics (Extended) 6th ed., John Wiley, 2001.
There are numerous other general physics texts and books on electromagnetism. It is worth spending time in the library to find some whose style and approach you find most accessible.
Students will receive handouts which summarise each lecture. Other material is available from the course web pages. As well as this there will be web-based resources associated with the set text book, which students will be encouraged to use regularly as part of the reading in preparation for the weekly quiz, and extra homework problems.