Download AP Physics C – Electricity and Magnetism

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 labbased 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
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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