Courses Detail Information
PHYS2401J – General Physics II
Instructors:
Credits: 4
Pre-requisites: PHYS1401J
Description:
Credits: No credits are counted towards graduation for those who have completed PHYS2500J or PHYS2600J
Background and Goals: General Physics PHYS1401J-PHYS2401J is a course sequence in university physics that is oriented towards applications and examples. New ideas are introduced in a robust and easy to understand manner, with additional discussion and some practical activities to help drive home the meaning and application of the concepts covered in the class.
Alternatives: PHYS2500J Physics II emphasizes patterns and principles, while PHYS2600J Honors Physics II takes a more mathematical approach.
Course Topics:
Content: The present course focuses on the physics of electricity and magnetism.
Topics include electric charge and Coulomb’s law; Gauss’s law, symmetry, and flux through a surface; electrostatic potential energy; capacitance and dielectrics; electric current, resistance and the electromotive force; Direct-Current circuits; magnetic fields and the Biot-Savart law, magnetic forces; Amperes law, and sources of magnetic field; Lenz’s law, Faraday’s law and electromagnetic induction; inductance; alternating current; electromagnetic waves; elements of wave optics: interference and diffraction (optional); light: polarization, reflection and refraction.