The City College of New York
Department of Physics
Summer 2019
PHYS 208 – GENERAL PHYSICS II
Sections 1XB, 1XB2, 1XB3
John Di Bartolo: Office: MR423; Email:
sdibartolo@ccny.cuny.edu
Required text: Halliday, Resnick and Walker, “Fundamentals of Physics, 10th Edition”
Office hours: Wednesdays, 9:30-10:30AM (or by appointment)
Important Information for Physics 208 students:
After successfully completing this course, students should be able to…
1) understand the properties of mechanical waves, including longitudinal and transverse waves, standing
waves and normal modes
2) understand the properties of sound waves, including the fall-off of intensity for a point source, the
decibel scale, the resonant frequencies of stretched strings and waves in pipes, and the Doppler effect
3) understand the properties of plane and spherical mirrors and thin lenses and be able to locate the
images they produce
4) understand single- and double-slit diffraction and be able to calculate the positions of minima and
maxima on a distant screen
5) calculate electric fields and forces as well as electric potentials and potential energies associated with
simple point-charge configurations or charge configurations with planar, cylindrical, or spherical
symmetry
6) calculate the capacitance and stored energy for simple conductor arrangements
7) solve simple direct-current circuits by combining series and parallel resistors and by using Kirchoff’s
laws and be able to calculate the behavior of simple R-C, L-R, and L-C circuits
8) calculate the magnetic force on a point charge moving in a magnetic field
9) calculate the magnetic fields associated with simple current-carrying configurations
10) calculate the induced emf due to changing magnetic fields and motion of a wire through a magnetic field
and apply Lenz’s law to determine the direction of induced current flow
11) calculate mutual and self-inductances for simple coil configurations
12) calculate the voltages, currents, phases, and powers associated with an R-L-C series AC circuit
Relationship of course to program outcomes:
The outcomes of this course contribute to the following departmental learning outcomes…
a) students will be able to synthesize and apply their knowledge of physics and mathematics to solve
physics-related problems in a broad range of fields in classical and modern physics, including mechanics,
electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics and statistical physics, optics, quantum mechanics, and
experimental physics.
b) students will be able to design and carry out experiments in different fields of physics and to analyze
and interpret the results.
c) students will be able to communicate their knowledge effectively and in a professional manner, in both
oral and written forms.
d) students will be able to work cooperatively with other students and with faculty.
e) students of other disciplines will be able to use computers effectively for a variety of tasks, including
data analysis, instructional-technology (IT) assisted presentations, report or manuscript preparation,
access to online information sources, etc.
f) students of other disciplines will be able to synthesize and apply their knowledge of physics and
mathematics to solve physics-related problems at an appropriate introductory level in important fields
of classical physics, including mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, optics, and
experimental physics, as appropriate to their majors.
g) students of other disciplines will have the background in physics needed to perform well in advanced
courses in their own disciplines for which introductory physics courses are a prerequisite.
Reading assignment: The text material that will be covered in class each day is listed on the Course
Outline and Schedule. You should read the indicated sections in the textbook before coming to class. Note
that we will cover one or two chapters of the text every week. Solutions of some illustrative examples will be
presented in recitations. You can try them before coming to class!
Homework: Homework problems are taken from the textbook and selected problems will be collected on
Mondays and Wednesdays at the beginning of recitation. You will spend the recitation period reviewing parts
of the homework that gave you difficulty.
Grades: Student performance will be based on the following components:
Homework 5%
Midterm #1 15%
Midterm #2 15%
Quizzes (7) 25%
Final exam 30%
Lab reports (6) 10%
Note that attendance will be taken at every class. Also, class participation is essential.
Quizzes and exams: There will be seven quizzes (15 min., given during recitation), two midterm exams
(100 min., given during class time) and a final exam (100 min., during the final exam session). The lowest quiz
grade will be dropped. No exam grades will be dropped and no make-ups will be given except in the case of
documented illness.
Labs: The Physics Department Lab manual is available on line at https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/physics/introlabman.
There are six labs to be completed during the semester; see the attached schedule. Lab reports must be
submitted at the beginning of the following lab period. Note that the grade of incomplete (I) will be assigned
for Physics 20800 if all six lab reports have not been submitted by the required dates.
Extra help: Students can obtain extra help in this course by meeting with me either during office hours in
MR423 or at other mutually agreeable times. Drop-in tutoring for this course will be available and a
math/physics tutoring lab can be found in MR418S. You are encouraged and expected to take advantage of all
of these opportunities.
Effort required: Do not underestimate the amount of effort required for you to succeed in this course.
Many students will need to spend 15-20 hours per week, every week, studying physics and doing the assigned
homework problems, in addition to the time spent in lecture, recitation and lab .
SCHEDULE
week Monday (lec) Mon (rec) Wed (lec) Wed (rec) Thursday (lec)
1 6/3 6/3 6/5 6/5 6/6
Waves-I (16.1-16.3) Orientation Waves-I (16.4-16.5) HW1 due Waves-I (16.7)
2 6/10 6/10 6/12 6/12 6/13
Waves-II (17.1-17.3) HW2 due Waves-II (17.4-17.5) HW3 due Waves-II (17.6-17.7)
3 6/17 6/17 6/19 6/19 6/20
EM Waves (33.5-33.6) HW4 due Geometric optics,
images (34.1-34.3,
34.4)
HW5 due MIDTERM #1
4 6/24 6/24 6/26 6/26 6/27
Interference (35.1-35.2,
35.4)
HW6 due Diffraction (36.1, 36.3,
36.5)
HW7 due Charge & Electric Field
(21.1-21.3, 22.1-22.2,
22.4)
5 7/1 7/1 7/3 7/3 7/4
Gauss’ Law (23.1-23.3,
23.6)
HW8 due NO CLASS NO CLASS Electric Potential (24.1-
24.3, 24.6-24.7)
6 7/8 7/8 7/10 7/10 7/11
Capacitance (25.1-25.3,
25.5)
HW9 due Current and Resistance
(26.1, 26.3-26.4)
HW10 due MIDTERM #2
7 7/15 7/15 7/17 7/17 7/18
Circuits (27.1-27.2,
27.4)
HW11 due Magnetic Fields (28.1,
28.4, 28.6-28.7)
HW12 due Magnetic Field due to
Currents (29.1)
8 7/22 7/22 7/24
Induction (30.1-30.2) HW13 due FINAL EXAM
Last Updated: 06/03/2019 11:45