AP Physics C – Electricity and Magnetism

Text Book Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Modern Physics (4th edition) by Giancoli ISBN-10: 0131495089 ISBN-13: 978-0131495081 Overview This is a Calculus based course designed to mirror an introductory Electricity and Magnetism course at the collegiate level. The course is one semester (18 weeks) in length. All students in this course must have completed AP Physics C – Mechanics in the fall semester. Given our school does not offer a pre-AP physics course, a rigorous pace will be maintained to make up for this deficiency. Students will develop a strong conceptual and analytical understanding of Electricity, Magnetism, their interactions to together, and the inherent properties of matter to apply a wide variety of problem solving strategies and lab-based skills to reinforce this understanding. Lecture, discussion, guided-inquiry, and open-inquiry will be used both in the classroom and in the lab. Emphasis will also be placed on communicating an understanding of physics orally and in writing both to the instructor and peers. Various supplementary resources including instructional videos that I will create will be made available online and via a thumb drive (if needed). On a typical week, we will meet 70 minutes per day for 5 days each week. We will spend one day per week in the lab working on various experiments and exercises. Course Evaluation Your grade will be determined in the following manner:

Exams……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………40%

Homework…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15%

Quizzes………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….20%

Laboratory…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….25%

Homework Homework will be assigned from the University of Texas’ online Quest system. The problems will be collegiate level problems designed to prepare students for the AP Exam in May. Additional problems from the text book will be assigned for recommended practice but they will not be for a grade. Exams and Quizzes Exams will be given once per unit and quizzes two or three times per unit. They will incorporate questions that will integrate multiple concepts such as on the AP Exam. Multiple choice and Free Response questions will be utilized. Some questions will be written by me and others will be released questions from past AP Exams from College Board. Laboratory Students will work in small groups once per week on hands-on experiments and investigations. Most labs will primarily be hands-on and inquiry-based. A few may utilize simulations or offer detailed guidance in the inquiry process. Each lab will require a detailed lab report, which after being graded, students must keep in a portfolio. The write-ups will emphasize communicating procedures used to test hypotheses, concise data reporting, graphical analysis, error propagation, error analysis, drawing data-

driven conclusions. Microsoft Excel and Vernier Logger Pro will be utilized to either collect or analyze data. Course Overview Unit 1: Electrostatics [4 weeks]

Electric Charge and Dipoles

Coulomb’s Law & Motion of Charges Under Its Influence

Electric Potential Energy

Electric Fields and Potential of Point Charges

Electric Fields and Potential of Charge Distributions

Gauss’s Law Unit 2: Conductors, Capacitors, and Dielectrics [2 weeks]

Electrostatics of Conductors

Capacitors o Parameters affecting capacitance o Parallel Plate Capacitors o Spherical and Cylindrical Capacitors

Capacitors in Series and Parallel

Energy Stored in a Capacitor

Capacitors with Dieletrics Unit 3: DC Circuits [2 weeks]

Electric Current

Ohm’s Law & Applications

Resistors in Series and Parallel

Energy Transfer in Circuits

Kirchoff’s Rules

Internal Resistance

RC Circuits Unit 4: Magnetic Fields [2 Weeks]

Basic Properties of Magnetic Fields

Force On a Moving Charge In a Magnetic Field

Force on Current-Carrying Wires o Torque on Current-Carrying Loops

Fields Generated by Current-Carrying Wires

Biot-Savart Law and its Applications

Ampere’s Law and its Applications Unit 5: Faraday’s Law of Induction [2 weeks]

Electromagnetic Induction

Lenz’s Law & Faraday’s Law and their Applications

Electric Motors, Generators, and Transformers

Unit 6: Maxwell’s Equations [2 weeks]

Introduction to the Equations of Electromagnetism

Expounding on Ampere’s Law

Maxwell’s Equations: Understanding Them Conceptually and Their Implications Unit 7: Inductance [2 weeks]

Self-Inductance

LR-Circuits & Revisiting Kirchoff’s Rules

Energy Stored in Magnetic Fields

LC-Circuits o Electromagnetic Oscillaitions

Comprehensive Semester Review [2 Weeks] Labs

An Open Investigation of Electrostatics

Mapping Equipotential and Electric Field Lines

Ohm’s Law and Internal Resistance

Series and Parallel Resistors in DC Circuits

Determining the Time Constant of a Basic RC Circuit

Demonstrating the Force on a Current-Carrying Wire & Torque On a Current-Carrying Loop o Challenge: Levitating a Current-Carrying Loops

Measuring the Magnetic Field Inside a Solenoid

Determining the Relationship Between Magnetic Field Strength and Distance Using Curve-Fitting Techniques

Investigating Ampere’s Law of Straight Wire and Circular Loops

Constructing a Motor and Explaining Its Design

Extra: “Dissecting” a Basic Piece of Electronic Equipment and Explaining How It Works