Physics 208
General Physics
Spring 1995
Prerequisites: Physics 207 or equivalent. Algebra, trigonometry and
calculus will be used extensively.
Materials Needed: Text: Serway, Physics for Scientists & Engineers with
Modern Physics, third edition (updated).
Lab manual: Rollefson and Richards, Laboratory Experiments in
General Physics
Lab notebook: preferably hard bound with cross-hatched ruling.
Bring to your first laboratory meeting.
Calculator: preferably with trigonometric, exponential, and
logarithmic functions. Know how to use it, and make sure
batteries are charged for exams.
Lectures: 8:50 am MWF in 1300 Sterling Hall. Prof. J. C. Sprott
(Office: 3285 Chamberlin Hall, sprott@juno.physics.wisc.edu, 263-
4449). The lectures supplement but do not substitute for the
reading. Read the assigned material before lecture. The Friday
lectures are optional except for exams and for honors students.
Everyone is encouraged to attend.
Discussion sections: Your discussion section will be led by your TA who
will be your prime contact and source of assistance. General
questions about the homework are allowed before it is due, but
don't expect your TA to work out the solutions for you in advance.
Quizzes will occasionally be given in your discussion session and
will count toward your grade.
Laboratory: Follow the "General Instructions" in the laboratory manual
(pages 1-3). The experiments are to be written up during the
laboratory period in the lab notebook. Have your lab instructor
initial and date the work before you leave the lab. The lab
notebook is not to be taken from the lab except with permission of
your instructor.
Homework: The homework problems are assigned in the syllabus for each
week and should be handed in at the first discussion section the
following week. Late problem sets will not be accepted. Homework
will count toward your grade. You may work with others on the
homework, but make sure the paper you turn in is not simply copied
from someone else. The solutions will be discussed in your
discussion session and placed on reserve in the Physics Library
(4220 Chamberlin).
Hour Exams: Exams will be given during the Friday lecture as follows:
February 24, Chapters 23-30
March 31, Chapters 31-37
April 28, Chapters 38-43
The exams will be closed-book, but you will be allowed one 8 1/2 x
11-inch sheet of notes. The exams will be graded and handed back
in your first discussion session of the following week. Solutions
will be discussed and placed on reserve in the Physics Library
(4220 Chamberlin Hall). There will be no makeup exams.
Final Exam: The final exam will be at 12:25 pm on Sunday, May 14
(room to be announced). The exam will cover the entire course
(Chapters 23-47) with equal weight. You will be allowed two 8 1/2
x 11-inch sheet of notes.
Grading: The course grade will consist of the following components:
3 hour exams 300 points
Final exam 200 points
Laboratory 100 points
Homework & discussion 100 points
----------
TOTAL 700 points
Lab, homework and discussion grades will be assigned by your TA
and will be normalized to the distribution on the hour exams.
Letter grades will be assigned based on the total number of points
accumulated.
Consultation Room: Room 2312 Sterling is staffed by TA's from Physics
202 and 208 during much of the week. See the schedule card on the
door. You may ask questions of any of the TA's or come during the
hours that your TA is there. You may also make an appointment
with your TA at any mutually convenient time and place.
Alternate References: To see the same topics explained differently, try
the following (on reserve in Physics library - 4220 Chamberlin):
Halliday and Resnick, Fundamentals of Physics
Giancoli, Physics for Scientists and Engineers
Rusbult, Tools for Problem-Solving
General Advice: Physics is not something you read and memorize, rather
it is something you learn how to do. Try the following study
procedure:
1) Read the chapter prior to lecture, so that you
will know what it's about.
2) Listen carefully to the lecture and take notes.
3) This is crucial: Do not go back and read and
re-read the chapter until you "understand it." Rather,
start working problems, going back through the chapter
to clarify points as they come up.
PHYSICS 208
SPRING 1995
SYLLABUS
References are to Serway, Physics, 3rd edition (updated).
Lab manual is Rollefson and Richards.
Week Reading Problems Lab
1/23 Ch 23,24 23:13,14,29,50,67,70; 24:8,12,26,44,53,56 no lab
1/30 Ch 25,26 25:9,11,32,41,42,54; 26:7,24,38,49,63,90 E1
2/6 Ch 27,28 27:8,21,38,46,53,59; 28:20,29,47,65,75,82 E2
2/13 Ch 29,30 29:3,20,27,35,49,55; 30:9,16,27,38,50,61 E3
2/20 Ch 31 31:14,23,38,42,53,60 E6
Exam (2/24) Chapters 23-30
2/27 Ch 32.33 32:13,24,39,50,62,83; 33:1,12,19,29,38,69 E7
3/6 Ch 34,35 34:2,20,30,34,42,53; 35:7,11,31,34,44,51 E8
3/20 Ch 36,37 36:10,25,30,42,49,77; 37:10,22,40,48,51,59 E9
3/27 Ch 38 38:5,24,30,50,66,69 E10
Exam (3/31) Chapters 31-37
4/3 Ch 39 39:3,14,18,30,42,47 L2
4/10 Ch 40,41 40:9,24,28,39,46,65; 41:4,18,20,31,51,58 L1
4/17 Ch 42,43 42:2,16,25,27,35,39; 43:1,10,14,23,29,35 L5,6,7
4/24 Ch 44 44:2,8,11,17,22,27 L8
Exam (4/28) Chapters 38-43
5/1 Ch 45,46 45:4,21,25,29,45,62; 46:6,9,15,21,30,33 N1
5/8 Ch 47 47:2,5,12,13,19,25 makeup
Final (5/14) Chapters 23-47
Physics 208
Spring 1995
Special Friday Lectures
1/27 Richards - Electrostatic Accelerators
2/3 Tour of Nuclear Physics Laboratory
2/10 Richards - Atmospheric Electricity
2/17 Sprott - Fractals
2/24 Exam #1 (Chap 23-30)
3/3 Sprott - Plasma Physics
3/10 Tour of Plasma Physics Laboratory
3/17 Spring Break
3/24 Richards - Rainbows, Halos, and Glories
3/31 Exam #2 (Chap 31-37)
4/7 Sprott - Radio Communications
4/14 Good Friday holiday
4/21 Cameron - Biological Hazards of Radiation
4/28 Exam #3 (Chap 38-43)
5/5 Barschall - Development of the A-bomb
5/12 Review for Final
Physics 208 (Sprott)
Lecture Demonstrations
Spring 1995
Monday, January 23
Electric Fields
Handouts
Classical and Modern Physics posters
Pith balls
Rods and fur
Wednesday, January 25
Gauss's Law
Pith balls (again)
Rods and fur (again)
Overhead projector with E and phi pictures
Toepler-Holst (or Wimshurst) with irregular conductors
Electroscope
Rubber ball
Friday, January 27
Electrostatic Accelerators
(Richards)
See Richards for any demos
Monday, January 30
Electric Potential
Conductor with pith balls in and out
Hair in E-field on overhead projector
Van de Graaff generator and stool
Rubber ball
Wednesday, February 1
Capacitance and Dielectrics
Sample capacitors
Exploding wire
Variation of voltage with plate separation
Table of dielectric constants
Jacob's ladder
Friday, February 3
Tour of Nuclear Physics Laboratory
No demos
Monday, February 6
Current and Resistance
Sample batteries
Table of resistivities
Ohm's law demo
Light bulb and coil in liquid nitrogen
Wednesday, February 8
DC Circuits
Ohm's law board
RC circuit with square wave on scope (exponential decay)
Sample galvanometers
Friday, February 10
Atmospheric Electricity
(Richards)
See Richards for any demos
Monday, February 13
Magnetic Fields
Classical and Modern Physics posters
Field patterns of magnets on overhead projector
Force on wire carrying a current
Sample galvanometers (again)
Magnet and CRT
Wednesday, February 15
Sources of the Magnetic Field
Oersted demo (current in wire and compass needle)
Magnetic field of wires on overhead
Force between parallel currents
Friday, February 17
Fractals
IBM PC and monitor
35-mm carousel projector
Monday, February 20
Faraday's Law
Magnet and solenoid with electrometer
AC and DC generators
Jumping ring
Can Crusher
Induction demo
Eddy currents (with big electromagnet)
Large Tesla coil
Wednesday, February 22
Review for Exam #1
No demos
Friday, February 24
Exam #1
No demos
Monday, February 27
Inductance
Overhead projector
Sample inductors
Big electromagnet (to show switch opening arc)
RL circuit with square wave on scope (exponential rise)
RLC circuit with square wave on scope (ringing)
Wednesday, March 1
AC Circuits
Light bulb with inductor and movable iron core
RLC circuit with sine wave on scope (resonance and phase)
Friday, March 3
Plasma Physics
Overhead projector (front screen)
Inner tube
Plasma discharge tube
Levitated ball
Monday, March 6
Electromagnetic Waves
Classical and Modern Physics posters
Chart of EM spectrum
Hertz experiment
Small Tesla coil and oscilloscope with antenna
Old radio set transmitter
Microwave source with polarizers
Radiometer
Wednesday, March 8
The Nature of Light
Classical and Modern Physics posters
Table of indices of refraction
Plane mirrors
Candle under water
Prism rainbow
Light guides and fiber optics
Total internal reflection
Friday, March 10
Tour of Plasma Laboratory
Inner tube
Monday, March 20
Geometric Optics
Plane, concave, and convex mirrors
Convex and concave lenses
Light source
Optics board
Box camera
Eye model
Magnifier
Microscope
Telescope
Wednesday, March 22
Interference of Light
Film loop showing water wave interference (Byron 8560)
Young's double-slit experiment on optical bench
Soap-film interference
Newton's rings
Optical flats with sodium lamp
Friday, March 24
Radio Communications
Demos to be determined (minimal)
Monday, March 27
Diffraction and Polarization
Optical bench with laser and apertures and gratings
Polaroids
Wednesday, March 29
Review for Exam #2
No demos
Friday, March 31
Exam #2
No demos
Monday, April 3
Relativity
Overhead projector
Wednesday, April 5
Relativity (continued)
Classical and Modern physics posters
Clock and meter stick
1-kg mass
Flashlight
Friday, April 7
Rainbows, Halos, and Glories
(Richards)
See Richards for any demos
Monday, April 10
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Blackbody curves on overhead
Blackbody radiation
Franck-Hertz experiment
Photoelectric effect
Line emission sources and hand-out gratings
Wednesday, April 12
Quantum Mechanics
No demos
Monday, April 17
Quantum Mechanics (continued)
Periodic table
Wednesday, April 19
Atomic Physics
Periodic table
Table of atomic sizes and ionization energies
He-Ne Laser (open for inspection)
Fluorescence
Phosphoresence (the big panel) with flash lamp
Friday, April 21
Biological Hazards of Radiation
(Cameron)
See Cameron for any demos
Monday, April 24
Molecular Physics and Superconductivity
Molecular models
Levitation of high-temperature superconductor
Wednesday, April 26
Review for Exam #3
No demos
Friday, April 28
Exam #3
No demos
Monday, May 1
Nuclear Structure
Overhead projector
Geiger counter with radioactive sources
Periodic table
Wednesday, May 3
Nuclear Physics Applications
Mousetrap chain reactor (?)
Friday, May 5
Development of the A-bomb
(Barschall)
See Barschall for any demos
Monday, May 8
Particle Physics and Cosmology
Teaching evaluations
Slides of accelerators
Balloon
Wednesday, May 10
Summary and Wrap-up
Classical and Modern Physics posters
Overhead projector (front screen)
Friday, May 12
Review for Final
No demos
J. C. Sprott