Electricity and Magnetism Session Schedule

Session I: The Interactions of Electric Charges

  1. Introduction of students, text and syllabus. Study groups are formed.
  2. Students take an electricity concept pre-test
  3. Test is currently being developed by Maloney, Heiggleke, and O'Kuma. [link to another homepage-don't know address yet
  4. Basic properties of electric interactions.
  5. Chapter 1 of Chabay-Sherwood text. (C-S)
  6. Students are given tape and investigate if invisible tape is electrically charged
  7. Assignment

Session II: Coulomb's Law

  1. Short discussion of review questions.
    a.) repulsion and attraction
    b.) charge by rubbing
    c.) conservation of charge
    d.) interactions through matter
  2. Short concept quiz on Chapter I.
  3. Discussion of Coulomb's Law for point particles.
    a.) magnitude of electric forces
    b.) superposition principle
    c.) students are given lab involving a modeling of Coulomb's Law as adapted from the "Workshop Physics" curriculum. Coulomb's Law
  4. Lab is due (individual reports) at beginning of Session VI.
  5. Class works on selected problems from ALPS kits sections VIII pp. A2-A16
  6. Discussion on dipoles
    a.) force on a charge by a dipole
    b.) approximations
    c.) induced dipoles
  7. Assignment

 Session III: Charges in Matter

  1. Discussion of review questions.
    a.) permanent dipoles and induced dipoles
    b.) dipole criteria
    c.) distance dependence of electric force
  2. Discussion of polarization
    a.) Work through as class and in small groups
    b.) Insulators and conductors
    c.) charges and neutral matter
    d.) charging by induction
    e.) discharging a charged object
  3. Continue work on Coulomb's Law Lab and Electric Field Hockey
  4. Assignment

Session IV: Electric Field--the concept

  1. Quiz on Chap 1 and on Chap 2 Review Questions
  2. Discussion of concept of electric field
    a.) Demo with VandeGraff Generator
    b.) Demo with linseed oil and rye grass seed
  3. Work through Chap 3 as a class
  4. Class works through selected problems from ALPS kits, section VIII pp. C5-C10

 Session V: Electric Field--applications

  1. Introduce EM Field
    a.) a computer software package involving fields
    b.) have students work on HW Prob. 3-7 in C-S in class.
  2. Electric Field of Distributed Charges
    a.) Begin discussion of Chap 4 .
    b.) Develop four step procedure for calculating electric field
    c.) Have study groups derive expression for electric field of uniformly charged ring as a group project in class.
    d.) Have study groups derive expression for disk.
    e.) Class discussion of method.
  3. Other charge distributions
    a.) Field of a parallel plate capacitor
    b.) Field of a shpherical shell[
  4. Assignment

 Session VI: More on Electric Field of Distributed Charges

  1. Quiz on Electric Field concepts and on Coulomb's Law
  2. Problem solving session
    a.) Students work on C-S Prob. 4-7 in class in small groups.
    b.) Homework problems are discussed and solved
  3. Class works on selected problems from ALPS kits section VIII pp. C11-C20
  4.  Assignment

Session VII: Electric currents

  1. Give Pre-test on circuits (quote source and test)
  2. Investigations into simple circuits.
    a.) Hand out kits with batteries and bulbs
    b.) Have students work in groups of two on Chap 5

Session VIII: Charges and Fields in electric circuits

  1. Elecric current and why we need an electric field inside a conductor
    a.) Electron current and drift speed
    b.) Magnetic effects of currents
    c.) Electric field and current in simple circuits
    d.) Where are the charges?
    e.) Feedback mechanism
    f.) Energy considerations
  2. Assignment

 Session IX: Exam I on Chap 1-4 of C-S and on Chap 23, 24 H-R-W

 Session X: Capacitors in Circuits

  1. What is a capacitor and what does it do?
    a.)Students are given two 0.47 F capacitors and work through chapter 7 in class. Students can either work alone or in groups of two.
    b.)With proper guidance and encouragement, students should be able to work through the chapter during class.
    c.) Review questions are due at the next session.
  2. Assignment

 Session XI: Electric Potential

  1. Go over assignment as a class.
  2. Quiz on capacitors
  3. A discussion of fields, potential energy, potential and potential difference.
    [Work through 8-4 as a class.]
  4.  Students work through selected problems in ALPS kits section VIII pp. D2-D8
  5. Assignment

 Session XII: Potential difference

  1. Demos and student participation
    a.) Students observe demo with foil plates in salt water solution to study and discuss "potential difference".
    i.) A salt solution is mixed in a flat bottomed container. ALuminum foil sheets are placed at opposing ends of container. A low voltage power supply is connected to the two sheets.
    ii.) a light bulb in a holder is connected to two leads. The disance between the leads can be varied as well as the orientation of the leads in the solution.
    iii.) students can see the light glow or not glow depending on the distance between the leads and the orientation of the leads.
    iv.) students can also put their fingers in the solution and "feel" the tingle that indicates magnitude of potential difference.
  2. b.) Can also use VandeGraff and neon discharge tube.
  3. Class works on Chap 8 HW problems 8-2 through 8-6
  4. Students take data on Electric Field Lab [link to lab]--lab report due session XIV
  5. Assignment

 Session XIII: Potential difference -- applications

  1. Discuss potential difference in a metal in static equilibrium and electric field as the gradient of the potential
  2. Class works through ALPS kits section VIII pp E1-E3
  3. Work on sections 8-7, 8-8, 8-9 in C-S
  4. Students finish Electric Field Lab
  5. Assignment

 Session XIV: More on capacitors

  1. Parallel Plate Capacitor [link to lab]
    a.) Investigations of the geometric dependence on capacitance using a textbook and aluminum foil to build a capacitor.
    b.) Evaluation of the permittivity of free space
    c.) The effects of dielectrics on capacitance using a parallel plate capacitor.
    d.) lab is due session XVI
  2. Assignment

 Session XV: Potential and Circuits

  1. Class works through section 9-1: Current and Resistance
  2. In groups of two, students work perform "Grapefruit battery" lab and investigate ohmic and non-ohmic behavior. Grapefruit Battery. Lab due Session XVIII.
  3. Assignment

Session XVI: More on Potential

  1. Continue work on Chap 9 section 9-4 Applications
  2. Begin investigation into Resistor Code and using an ohmmeter.
  3. Study series and parallel combinations of resistors. Workshop Physics --Chap 23 Resistors

 

Session XVII: EXAM II Chap 5-8 (75 minute exam)

  1. Kirchoff's Rules
    a.) Continue work on section 9.4 and section 9.5
    b.) Work on HW #9-5 as a class.
    c.) Show students how to use calculators to solve systems of equations.
  2. Continue Chap 23 in WSP.
  3. Assignment

Session XVIII: Capacitors in Circuits

  1. 1.) Charging and discharging capacitors--a mathematical approach
    Class works on section 9.6 and discusses review question 9-12
  2. 2.) Students use the current and voltage probes to study the discharging of a capacitor and find the RC time constant.
    a.) Workshop Physics Chapter 24.5 to end
    b.) RC Circuit [link to lab] Lab/worksheet is due session XX
  3.  Assignment

Session XIX: Gauss' Law

  1. Use ALPS kits to introduce concept of Gauss' Law section VIII pp. C21-C24
  2. Define Electric Flux
  3. Build simulations of circuits on Electronics Workbench and analyze these circuits. Use Electronics Workbench to solve assigned problems in H-R-W Chap 29

Session XX: More on Gauss' Law and Circuits

  1. Quiz on circuit analysis
  2. Go over RQ 10-1 through 10-6, HW 10-1 and 10-2 as a class project
  3. Designing your own electrical devices. Workshop Physics Chap 22.5

Session XXI: More fun with circuits

  1. Students will perform one or more of the following:
    a.) Lab: Determining the resistivity of wires using the Wheatstone Bridge [link to lab]
    b.) Lab: Building a Square Wave Generator and learning how to use an Oscilloscope [link to labs]
    c.) Electronics: Chapter 25 of Workshop Physics: using the oscilloscope, building an amplifier and a stop watch.
  2.  Assignment

Session XXII: Continue with lab investigations

Session XXIII: Exam III on C-S Chap 9, 10 and H-R-W Chap 25- 29

Session XXIV: Magnetic Field

  1. Magnets make magnetic fields
    a.) Students are to work through lab investigations on magnetic field C-S section 11-1 . It is best to do this experiment outside.
    b.) Gauss' Law for Magnetism
  2. Moving charges make magnetic fields
    a.) Biot-Savart Law : discussion and application through 11-4
    b.) Develop steps for calculating magitude and direction of magnetic field due to a current carrying wire.
  3. Assignment

 Session XXV: More on Biot-Savart and Solenoids

  1. Solve selected problems in ALPS kit section IX pp B1-B10
  2. Magnetic moments and the atomic structure of magnets.
    a.) Sections 11-5 through the end of chapter.
    b.) Discuss RQ # 11-7 through 11-9
  3. Applying the Biot-Savart Law to a Solenoid
  4. Begin lab: Measuring the Earth's Magnetic Field [link to lab]
  5. Assignment

 Session XXVI: Magnetic Force

  1. Magnetic Force
    a.) Magnetic force on a moving charge
    b.) Lorentz Force
    c.) The Hall effect
    d.) Work on sections 12.1 through 12.2 as a class.
  2. Students work on selected problems in ALPS Kits section IX pp. A1-A21
  3. Continue work on the lab
  4. Magnetic forces in moving reference frames.
  5. Assignment

 

TO BE CONTINUED ...............STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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Last modified 4/16/97 jfh