The goals of this course are to teach you to understand basic electricity and magnetism at the conceptual level, and to help you develop general problem-solving skills that will be useful in your future studies. Success requires your active participation, including: (a) reading the material in advance, and thinking about the "big picture" that is being laid out; (b) attending class regularly and participating in class discussions; and finally (c) following up the reading and lectures with independent efforts at problem solving, based on physics principles rather than formula manipulation.
 

PHYS 2211 or PHYS 2231 is a prerequisite for this course.
MATH 2401 is also a prerequisite, but it may be taken concurrently.
 

Successful completion of this course will require a sustained effort on your part to keep up with the material and understand the topics as they are presented. It is expected that you will read the indicated portion of the text prior to the lecture. Please turn off all cell phones and computers during lecture.

A tentative weekly schedule is available which lists the chapters to be covered, homework assignments due, and quiz dates.

1) Classes meet from 11:05 AM to 11:55 AM – MWF
2) Location: Lecture Room 1 - Howey Physics Building
3) Instructor: Prof. Carlos A. R. Sa de Melo
4) Office Number: N112
5) Office Hours: Wednesdays after class from Noon to 1:00 PM.
 

Labs start the week of Jan 16, 2006.. Attendance in lab is a course requirement. To pass this course, you must pass the laboratory portion with an average of 60% or more. Two lab absences will result in a significant reduction in your overall lab grade, and three absences from lab will result in automatic failure of the lab, and, therefore, the course.

No student is automatically exempt from lab. However, students who have already passed PHYS 2212 with a grade of "D" or better (and are repeating the course) may request a lab exemption. The deadline for such requests is Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006.

Before labs begin, please read all the lab policies at www.physlab.gatech.edu, as well as reviewing all of the 2212 Administrative lab pages. Check the "Lab Hours, Rooms, and TAs" page shortly before your first lab meeting, in case the room has been changed.
 

Homework assignments will be administered and graded electronically, through an internet-based system called Mastering Physics. This homework system is specifically keyed to the textbook, and a two-year registration code is automatically bundled in with new textbooks. (If you have a used textbook, you will need to purchase an access code from the MP web site.) After acquiring an access code, you will need to register with MP in order to activate your homework account.

Homework is due according to the course schedule.
 

Five regular quizzes will be administered in this course. The lowest of the five test scores will be dropped, and the remaining four tests will be renormalized to a total of 500 points. Makeup tests will not generally be allowed for any single quiz absence; such instances will automatically count as your dropped quiz. However, allowances will be made for students who have two or more excused quiz absences (defined as being either an official Institute-approved excuse or an absence which has been approved by the Dean of Students).

You must come to all quizzes. Quizzes will be held according to course schedule.

You are responsible for reading and following the Rules and Procedures for Quizzes and Final before coming to the first regular quiz.

Quizzes will consist of both quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (conceptual) questions, which will reflect material covered in the text, on the homework assignments, and in the lectures. Quizzes will include both multiple-choice and handwritten (free response) questions.
 

The final examination will be cumulative. It will include all topics covered in class, in regular quizzes plus all material covered after the last quiz.

The date of the final exam will be announced later in the semester. Note that a common exam time, for all sections, will be set by the Registrar's Office. This announcement will take precedence over any other listed exam times (e.g. OSCAR, the Technique, etc.). Do not expect the final exam period to match the "standard" exam period set for your class meeting times.
 

The policy on academic honesty as stated in the GIT Honor Code will be fully enforced during this course.

Academic honesty guidelines specific to this course can be found here.
 

This is not an easy course. No amount of faculty instruction (by itself) can teach you the material, nor will a superficial reading of the text be sufficient learn the relevant ideas. Remember: The Physics is in the analytical steps that lead to an understanding of a particular problem, not in any specific formula or equation. You will find that if you can master the analytical process in the context of this course, you will be well-prepared to excel in your own major field of study, whatever that major may be.

As the semester progresses, bear in mind that the purpose of the homework is not simply to obtain a given set of answers in order to accumulate a particular number of points. The process of understanding physics and analytical techniques is one of acquiring a skill, rather than "memorizing a particular body of knowledge". As with any skill, success only comes through repeated practice. Don't short-change your problem-solving skills by cutting corners on the homework. Remember: 70% of your grade will be based upon your test-taking ability.

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