General Information

Third course in introductory engineering sequence.

Prerequisites

PHYS 2213 (or strong performance in PHYS 2208); vector calculus at the level of MATH 1920 or, MATH 2220 or, MATH 2240 or MATH 2130.

Topics Covered

  • driven oscillations and resonance
  • mechanical waves, sound waves
  • electromagnetic waves
  • standing waves
  • Doppler effect
  • polarization
  • wave reflection and transmission
  • interference
  • diffraction
  • geometric optics and optical instruments
  • wave properties of particles
  • particles in potential wells
  • light emission and absorption
  • quantum tunneling

Workload

  • Pre-lecture quizzes, weekly psets, weekly quizzes, a lab section (usually bi-weekly), two prelims and a final (with equation sheet).

General Advice

  • This class is a very qualitative treating of waves, so for tests and stuff I would focus more on understanding vs. computation. If I remember right, the slides were very useful for tests, specifically things written in red. [Spring 2023]

Testimonials

The coverage of this course includes SHM, classic damped oscillations, general wave equation, free waves at boundaries, fourier series and transform, EM waves including diffraction, brief intro to quantum with particle in a box, QHO, and coloumb potential. Overall this class is mostly focused on teaching you the qualitative features of the physics of waves, with few complicated calculations. Furthermore, for every test you are allowed a double sided formula sheet, so most complicated equations can just be written down on that. This class, like other intro physics, is flipped classroom, which, in my experience meant a lot of busy work, with less useful lectures (these were however still pretty good, as Glenn Case is a great lecturer). Additionally, there is a lab component for pretty much no reason. It adds very little to the class. If you’re a physics major, I would definitely recommend 2218. This class is not going to teach you much of the math behind a lot of the content, or at least it will not be emphasized or tested. Rating 4/5. [Spring 2023]

Past Offerings

Semester Professor Median Grade Syllabus
Fall 2006 Tomas Arias — Course Page
Spring 2023 Glenn Case B+? PHYS2214_SP23.pdf
Fall 2022 Glenn Case B+ PHYS2214_FA22.pdf