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Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1. Explain concepts of electric charge, current,
resistance, potential difference and emf.
2. Perform a number of experiments to analyze DC and AC
circuits including constructing circuits containing
various combinations of resistance, coils and
capacitors and making measurements using a digital
multimeter, the oscilloscope, and the computer with
current probes and voltage probes.
3. Measure magnetic fields using the computer and a
magnetic field probe and determine the direction of
induced currents produced by changing magnetic
fields.
4. Explain concepts involving the formation of images by
pin holes and lenses.
5. Construct a microscope and telescopes and explain
their operation.
6. Determine the wavelength of light from a gas
discharge tube using a spectroscope.
7. Use a computer with a radiation detector to measure
the activity of a radioactive source.
8. Construct graphs using computer graphing programs for
the analysis of experimental data including
variations of strength of magnetic field with
distance from a permanent magnet or electromagnet,
resonance curves for RLC circuits, the calibration
curve for a spectroscope, variations of intensity of
radiation with distance from a radioactive source.
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Topics covered include:
1. Electrostatics.
2. Fundamental concepts of DC circuits: current,
resistance, voltage, emf.
3. Fundamentals of DC circuits: resistance in series
and parallel.
4. Magnetic fields: the earth•s field, permanent
magnets, current-carrying coils.
5. Electromagnetic induction and transformers.
6. Inductance, capacitance and resonance.
7. Images formed using pin holes and lenses.
8. Microscopes and telescopes.
9. Analysis of light by a spectroscope.
10. Radioactive decay and the inverse square law of
radiation.
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Physics Laboratory Experiments by Wilson, 4th Edition, 1994, D.C. Heath &
Co.
