Lectures: MWF 11:30-12:20 in A114.  Lectures will include material not in the text.

Examples classes: (sometimes called "recitations"): Tuesday 11.30-12.20 in B109.  In the examples class each week we will work through a set of problems illustrating concepts from the MWF classes and giving clues as to how to do the homework questions.  Solutions to these will not be posted!  The only way to get them, if you can't do the problem yourself, is to attend the examples classes.  These are an integral part of the course, being the fourth class of the week in this 4-credit course.  The exams will have questions closely related to problems discussed during these examples classes as well as to the homework problems.

Texts: the primary text is Introduction to Electrodynamics, by David J. Griffiths, (Prentice Hall, 1999, new hardback $108, used paperbacks from $35).  It is not possible to learn any subject properly from a single text book!  You are strongly urged to refer to at least one one other text.  This could be a book you find in the library which you particularly like.  One up-to-date possibility is Electromagnetism by Pollack and Stump, (Addison Wesley, 2002, ISBN 0-8053-8567-3, hardcover, $93 new: in the University Bookstore). 

Office hours: MW 12.20-1.00 pm and Th 4-5 pm .  At these times I will be available in my office (B432) to discuss anything you like if you just come along.  (Occasionally if I'm not there you can usually find me either in the Hbar or in my lab, B308)  Please make appointments to see me at other times.

Study sessions: These are informal gatherings of the 32x students where you can work in study groups.  They traditionally take place on Wednesday evenings in B109 between 5 and 9 pm.  The professor or a TA will be there some of the time before 7 pm.

Homework: Assigned weekly, usually due on Friday in class (see the schedule for specifics).  The solutions will be made available immediately after that class (you'll be told how to access them on the web site).  Late submissions should be brought to me in person.  Homework left in my mailbox will not be graded.  If you are likely to miss the deadline, you should email me your reason before the deadline so a special arrangement can be made.  Discussing the problems in groups, in the recitation sessions, or with the prof is acceptable, but each student must turn in his/her own solutions.  Homework will be graded (only a selection of questions each week will be carefully graded; the rest will be checked).  Marks will be given for clarity of presentation as well as correctness.  Homework will constitute 25% of the final course grade.

Exams: Midterm 1 and Midterm 2 are each 25% of the course grade.  The Final is 50%.  The dates are given on the schedule page.  Note that it's not your absolute score, but how well you do relative to the others in the class which matters (see next item.)  Exams are closed book and closed notes, and no calculators (here's why)!  You are expected to remember the relevant equations from the equation sheet, and you will get some guaranteed points for this memory feat.

Final grade calculation:  Your score on each component of the course (exam or homework) is scaled using the mean and standard deviation over the class so that it measures your performance relative to the rest of the class.  Also, you may have noticed that HW(25%)+MT1(25%)+MT2(25%)+final(50%) adds up to 125%.  To fix this problem, in calculating your final score, either one midterm score, half of the final exam score, or the homework score - whichever is worst - will be dropped.  So if you mess up one midterm you can get away with it.  The median final grade for the class has historically been around 3.2 to 3.3.

Web pages: Keep an eye on the web pages (courses.washington.edu/phys322/).  Announcements, homework, new resources, and surveys will be posted there frequently, and the class schedule will be continually updated.

Bonus questions: There will be extra advanced questions in addition the homework that are worth up to 2 points each. 2 points will be given only for a correct answer and a well written solution; 1 point only for an good attempt.  Solutions to bonus questions will not be posted, and may or may not be available on request.  Solutions to bonus problems will be accepted at any time during the quarter!  For special problems, where I don't know the solution (!) bonus points will be awarded for interesting attempts.  I may set bonus questions spontaneously in class if an interesting problem arises.  I will take account of accumulated bonus points if your final total score lies close to a grade boundary.  Your own suggestions for bonus problems will be welcome!  The main point of the bonus questions however is to give you a deeper understanding which you'll need if you continue to do physics after you graduate, and encourage you to look for new and harder applications of EM.  Bonus marks are not easily won!  To get 2 points for a question with a well known answer you will need to write out your solution or proof carefully, clearly, and convincingly.  This is mainly for your sake, but also because I don't have time to try to understand difficult and unconvincingly written proofs!  You should write out all intermediate steps.  I recommend handwriting because it's much quicker.  You should do the math and formulate the solution in the most efficient way you can, to elucidate the basic form and allow one to see the limits easily.  For instance, be sure to choose the optimal coordinate system.  You should consider all possible limits to test the validity of your solution - one is rarely enough, especially in a 3D problem.  Also, say anything you think is interesting about the solution or proof.

Discussion board: there is a discussion board for any issues that can be discussed publicly.  Examples of how you might use it are for: (1) a technical question which has been frustrating you; (2) a correction or clarification; (3) a useful piece of information or pointing to a web site; (4) arranging a study class.  At best, other students will respond.  The professor and TAs will also monitor it, and provide answers when appropriate.

Resources page: make good use of the web, for instance using the links given on the 'resources' page.  Please let me know by email if you find useful links that are not there.

Goals of the course: In 321 the student should gain understanding of electrostatics and the behavior of vector fields.  These are the essential foundation stones for later understanding of Maxwell's equations and the existence of electromagnetic radiation.  Heavy emphasis will be placed on problem solving, and mathematical methods learned in previous maths and physics courses will be employed.  Successful completion of the course should result in a student gaining a professional ability to solve a wide variety of technical problems involving partial differential equations.  We shall also discuss some modern physics topics within the context of electromagnetism.