Welcome to Physics 251      
 

  Syllabus Featured Links:

Discovery of the Higgs Boson (3:23)

The Standard Model (5:21)

The 6 Billion Dollar Experiment (7:39)


The God Particle (11:14)


MRI: Bad things can happen (2:01)


How MRI Works (2:08)


Tsar Bomb - The biggest bomb ever (57 Megatons) (3:51)


Nuclear Fusion (1:01)


Nuclear Fission (1:06)


Special Relativity: Time Dilation (4:11)


Schroedinger's Cat on Prime-Time TV (2:19)


Double Slit Experiment (5:04)


Why submerged objects seem closer to the surface than they are.

Geometric Optics Table


Diffraction Gratings(3:29)


Interference (0:27)


LASIK(LASer In situ Keratomileusis) Surgery Explained (2:23)


An Actual LASIK Surgery (7:40)


How Light Enters the Eye (2:39)




Reason for double rainbow
Double Rainbow (0:28)


How a Rainbow Works (3:17)


Total Internal Reflection (0:12)


Putting Metal Objects in a Microwave Oven (1:35)


Electromagnetic Spectrum (5:19)


Rail Gun (3:09)


DC vs AC (0:10)


The Right Hand Rule and the Magnetic Field due to a Current Loop


The Right Hand Rule for the Magnetic Field of a Straight Wire (0:09)


Right Hand Rule For Cross Products (0:10)


The Aurora Borealis (1:14)


Charge in a Magetic Field (0:27)


Magnetic Field in a Solenoid (0:08)


Magnetic Field in a Toroidal Coil (0:08)


Direct Current Electric Motor (0:20)


Ohm's Law Part 1 (9:31)


Ohm's Law Part 2 (4:36)


The Mystery of Lightning (46:41)


Capacitance (13:35)


Electrostatics (Part 1)

Electrostatics (Part 2)

Bend Water with Static Static Electricity (0:38)


Cell Phone and Static Electricity (2:14)


Static Electricity Demonstrations (4:24)



Flash Player Required 		Physics Mystery:
 Lecture Schedule
 HW & Test Schedule
 Homework Assignment
 Homework Solutions
 Labs
 Study Aids
 Lecture Notes
 Announcements
 Contact Prof
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  Homework Assignment 1 (Due 1-20-15 2-03-15)

   Chapter 17 C: 1,3,6  MC: 1,3,5,7  P: 6,24,25,39,76        
   Chapter 18 C: 1,3  MC: 7,9  P: 14,48

   For the benefit of those who don't yet have the textbook, the Ch 17 problems are posted here,
   and Chapter 18 problems are posted here.
 
  Homework Assignment 2 (Due 2-17-15)

   Chapter 19 C: 1,3,5  MC: 3,5,7  P: 3,21,36,44        
   Chapter 20 C: 1,3  MC: 1,5,7  P: 24,43,60        
 
  Homework Assignment 3 (Due 3-10-15)

   Chapter 22 C: 1,4,5  MC: 1,10
   Chapter 23 C: 1,3,7  MC: 1,3,7 P: 10, 11, 19

 
  Homework Assignment 4 (Due 4-07-15)

   Chapter 23 P:34, 44, 45, 57
   Chapter 24 C: 1,3,7,9,15  MC: 2,3,5,7,15  P:5,9,13,24,29,37,39,49,50
   Chapter 25 P: 20,21
   Chapter 26 MC: 4,8 P:3,9,24,25,35,43

 
  Homework Assignment 5 (Due 4-28-15)

   Chapter 27 MC: 1, 3 P: 3, 11
   Chapter 28 C: 13  MC: 1,5,9  P: 1,3,30, 52
   Chapter 29 C: 4  P: 1,9
   Chapter 30 MC: 1,5,7,13; P: 17,23,27,29,58



    Announcements:

  Final Exam Answer Key

  Try this sampling of Final Exam Practice Problems.
  Answers are here.

  CDU email is back up. If it goes down again, you can reach me at enricorodrigo@yahoo.com

  Please bring your completed lab notebook to the Final Exam.
  Note: In order to receive full credit for your lab notebook, it must
  
  • have a table of contents
  • have a writeup for each of this semester's labs
  • have a labeled conclusion section for each lab
  • have a diagram or photo of each experimental setup
  • use straighted edges for tables and the axes of graphs
  • be legible
  • use only strikeouts to correct errors
  • use no whiteout


  Formula for the score (FA) you need on the Final Exam to get and 'A' in the course:

      FA = (93.333 - 0.05×H - 0.05×Q - 0.40×E - 0.30×L)/0.2

      where
      H = (H1 + H2 + H3 + H4 + H5)/5 (i.e. your average homework score)
      Q = (Q1 + Q2 + Q3 + Q4 +Q5)/5 (i.e. your average quiz score)
      E = (E1 + E2 + E3 + E4 + EC)/4 (i.e. your average exam score with extra credit added)
      L = your lab notebook score (= 100 if you meet the requirements listed above)


   Quiz 5 Results:
  

   Quiz 4 Results:
  

   Exam 3 Results:
  

   Quiz 3 Results:
  

Here's what you need to know to ace Quiz 3:
  1. The order of the electromagnetic spectrum from low to high frequency is radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays.
  2. The visible light with the highest frequency is violet. That with the lowest frequency is red.
  3. In an electromagnetic wave, the electric field and the magnetic field are perpendicular to each other and to the direction of the wave's propagation.
  4. The direction of propagation of an EM wave is given by the cross product E X B.
  5. The speed c of light in a vacuum is 3.0 x 108 m/s.
  6. The speed at which light travels through a material is given by v = c/n, where n is the material's index of refraction.
  7. Refraction is the bending of light that occurs, when it passes through an interface of materials with distinct indices of refraction.
  8. The angle of incidence = the angle of reflection. [Angles are defined relative to a line normal to the interface.]
  9. Snell's Law (of refraction): n1sin(θ1) = n2sin(θ2)
  10. The magnitude of the Poynting vector S (S=E X B/μo) is the energy delivered per unit time per unit area by an electromagnetic wave. (units: Watts/m2)
  11. The frequency of a light beam does not change, as it passes through an interface.
  12. The wavelength of light beam changes as it passes through an interface. [If wavelength in vacuuum = λ, wavelength in a medium with index of refraction n = λ/n.]
  13. And these Quiz Prep Tips.


   Exam 2 Results:
  

   Quiz 2 Results:
  

   Exam 2 Practice Test
   Exam 2 Practice Test Answers

   As stated in class, there is typo in the notes:
   The energy density of a magnetic field is proportional to the square of the the field, i.e.

         (energy density) = B2/(2μ0)


   Exam 1 Results:
  

   Quiz 1 Results:
  

  HW1's due date has been postponed to 1/28/14.

  Quiz 1 will still occur on 1/14/14. You need to know the following to do well:
  • The total charge of closed system cannot change
  • Charge is quantized
  • The definitions of "conductor" and "insulator"
  • The unit of electic charge is the Coulomb.
  • The formula for Coulomb's Law
  • The definition of an electric dipole
  • The process of charge induction
  • The definition of polarization
  • That it's possible for a charged object to attact an electrically neutral object