Course Syllabus

Phys 302/Elec 206: Electromagnetism

Koç University, Fall 2021

Instructor: Ali Mostafazadeh (Office: Sci.154; Office Hours: TBA)

Textbook: “Introduction to Electrodynamics,” D. J. Griffiths, 4th Edition (Pearson, 2013)

Website: http://portal.ku.edu.tr/~amostafazadeh/Phys302/Phys302_2021F/phys302.htm

Topics to be covered: Review of vector calculus; electrostatics, Gauss' law, Poisson's equation, dielectric materials, electrostatic energy, boundary-value problems; magnetostatics, law of Biot and Savart, Ampere's law, magnetic forces and materials, magnetic energy; electromagnetic induction; Faraday's law; Maxwell's equations.

Objective: This is the first part of a two-semester upper-level undergraduate course in classical electrodynamics. Its principal aim is to provide the student with a working knowledge of electrostatics and magnetostatics as well as an introduction to Maxwell’s formulation of electrodynamics. It is an indispensable prerequisite for further study of classical electrodynamics and its applications.

Evaluation method: Students’ progress will be evaluated according to their performance in homework assignments (10%), three midterm exams (60%), and a final exam (30%). If a student fails the course and takes the remedial exam, his/her grade in this exam will be substituted for his/her grade in the final exam and his letter grade will be determined accordingly.

Eligibility to take the final exam: In order to become eligible to take the final exam, a student must not miss all of the midterm exams and his/her average grade in these exams should not be below 30 out of 100.

Policy for Homework Assignments: Homework papers should be uploaded to Blackboard before the due date. Late homework papers will not be accepted. To reduce the workload of the course’s teaching assistant one or a few of the problems in each homework set will be graded. If the assistant decides that a solution to a homework problem has been copied from a solution manual or is someone else’s work, the student will receive a zero in that homework assignment. The students who object to this decision will be invited to record a video problem session in which they solve all the problems in that homework set. The student’s grade in this homework set will then be decided by the TA based on his/her performance in this problem session.

Make-ups & Remedial Exams: If a student misses a midterm exam and has a valid excuse, his (her) grade in the final exam will be substituted for the grade in the missed midterm exam(s). If (s)he also misses the final exam, (s)he will be given zero in the midterm exam(s) that (s)he has missed regardless of whether (s)he has a valid excuse or not. If a student misses the final exam and has a valid excuse, (s)he will be given a make-up exam. Students who fail the course but have a chance of passing it by taking the remedial exam will be allowed to take this exam.

Rules for online education: The lectures will be pre-recorded and made available online as videos. The electronic files of these video lectures and their content must not be made available to third parties; students are not permitted to share any part of these videos in the social media platforms or post them in the internet.

Suggested Method of Study: Students are advised to study the subjects covered in class immediately after the lectures. Reading the lecture notes and the book is necessary for grasping the subject, but it is by no means sufficient. Students must try to reproduce the derivations of the results covered in class on their own. They are expected to spend an average of three hours per week on studying the material covered in class in addition to the time spent on homework assignments.