PHYS 141 - Electricity and Magnetism

    Recent Professors
    Lowell E. Hazelton, Raj Misra, Arefa Hossain, Haifan Liang
    Recent Semesters
    Fall 2026, Summer 2026
    Class Size
    24–30 students
    Credits
    4
    Prerequisite
    PHYS-140 and MATH-101B
    Fall 2026 Sections
    View Fall 2026 sections of PHYS 141
    Transfers To
    UC and CSUCal-GETC Area 5C · Cal-GETC Area 5A · IGETC Area 5A · IGETC Area 5C · CSU GE Area B1 · CSU GE Area B3
    Description
    Corequisite: MATH-101C or prerequisite MATH-101C Accepted For Credit: CSU & UC Offered: All Terms, Every Year This course is the second semester of a three-semester sequence of calculus- based introductory physics for scientists and engineers. This course builds a strong foundation in the physical laws and principles of electromagnetism, grounded in a careful vector and calculus-based discussion. Throughout the course, emphasis is placed on developing the field-model of electromagnetism and on the strong connection between electrical and magnetic phenomena. Topics include the atomic basis of macroscopic electromagnetism; Coulomb's law; electric fields of static discrete and continuous charge distributions; electric dipoles; Gauss Law; electric potential and potential energy; conductors and insulators; capacitance, electrical current, and fundamentals of electric circuits including RC circuits, magnetism; Biot-Savart's law and the magnetic fields of common current distributions; magnetic dipoles; Lorentz force; Ampere's law; electromagnetic induction; and Lenz's and Faraday's laws. A brief introduction to displacement current, Maxwell's equations, and electromagnetic waves is provided. A graphing calculator is required for this course. (GR) C-ID PHYS 210
    Usually Held
    Mon 2:50pm–6:10pm, Mon 9:00am–12:20pm, Mon Wed 2:00pm–5:10pm, Thu 5:00pm–8:20pm