Dr. Donald Luttermoser's PHYS-2020-002
Course Web Page


This web page has been set up for the students at ETSU taking PHYS-2020-002 General Physics II with Dr. Luttermoser. Links have been set up for the students to download the syllabus, course notes, homework assignments, homework solutions, review sheets, sample exams, sample exam solutions, and the textbook's WebAssign web page on this web page. The downloadable files are in PDF (Portable Document Format) (which requires Acrobat Reader to view). Note that we will be using Edition 4.0 of my course notes during the Spring 2024 semester.


On-Campus Attendance Required this Semester:

You will be required to attend class on campus in Brown Hall 370. The exception to this is if you have been tested positive with COVID-19, or you are sick from some other infection. Then you can watch the lecture via Zoom. You will not be required to wear masks in the classroom, however, I will require mask wearing if you get within 5 feet of me. This is due to the fact that your professor is immune-compromised due to the medications he is taking. Please, wear face masks if you plan to talk to me up close.

For providing information to keep the ETSU community safe and communicating updates regarding policy changes, please visit the ETSU COVID-19 Information web site. It remains the best place to find updated information regarding ETSU's protocols and safety measures concerning your health.


Course Overview

General Physics II is the second course in a two-semester sequence that covers the following four main sections of classical physics: (1) electromagnetism, including electric fields, forces, and energy, Coulomb's law, capacitance, current, resistance, circuits, magnetism, and inductance; (2) wave mechanics, which covers Hooke's law and the Doppler effect; (3) electromagnetic radiation and its interaction with matter, which covers the E/M spectrum, blackbody radiation, particle physics, the Bohr model atom, and atomic physics; and (4) optics, which covers reflection, refraction, diffraction, interference, and optical instruments. At the conclusion of the General Physics I & II courses, students will have a firm understanding of the basics of classical physics and an introduction to modern physics.


Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus for PHYS-2020-002, General Physics II


D2L Course Website and Lecture Recordings

Although this course is meeting on campus, I will be streaming and recording each lecture which will automatically be stored on D2L Course Website. So if you are sick, or refuse to wear a face mask in class (in which case, you will not be allowed in the classroom), or feel uncomfortable coming to the `on-campus' class, you can view the streamed lectures, or watch the recording from home. Prior to each scheduled lecture, I will be posting a Zoom link on the course D2L course web page that you can use to access the synchronous lecture remotely. If you cannot make the `in-class' lecture, you are expected to attend each Zoom lecture in `real time' remotely! However, if you are forced to miss a lecture due to illness, or be late to a class, each lecture will be recorded and the link for that recording will be pasted on the D2L course web page.

To access the ETSU D2L web site, click on the following link:

D2L Web Site Login Page.

then select the PHYS-2020-002 course link once you log in, to get to the D2L Course Web Page.


Course Notes Sections:

My lectures will be based on the following Course Notes that I have written. I have been teaching Physics and Astronomy for nearly 40 years. During the undergraduate and graduate years of my education, there were a handful of courses where I learned the material very well. In each of these case, the course notes were presented in an outline format. As a result of this, I have developed an outline format for my notes in all of the courses I teach. Although some students do not like this style of teaching, the majority of students I have taught over the past 40 years find it a very useful technique in gaining an understanding of Physics.

The course notes presented below are separated into sections, approximately following the chapters in the textbook, with a few exceptions. Finally note that the textbook refers to "Chapters" as "Topics", however I will refer to them as Chapters.

I. Electric Forces and Electric Fields
II. Electric Energy and Capacitance
III. Current and Resistance
IV. Direct Current Circuits
V. Magnetism
VI. Induced Voltage and Inductance
VII. Vibrations and Waves
VIII.   Sound
IX. Electromagnetic Radiation (Photons)
X. Interaction of Photons with Matter
XI. Reflection and Refraction of Light
XII. Mirrors and Lenses
XIII. Wave Optics
XIV. Optical Instruments


Homework Assignments, Reviews, and Sample Exams

There will be 4 homework sets assigned throughout the semester composed of two sections of questions. The first section will be problems posted on the textbook's WebAssign web site (see below for details on accessing this site). You will be given further information about WebAssign during the first week of class. These WebAssign problems will be graded and count as 10% of the course grade. The second section of problems will not be graded and will have solutions posted on the course web page. Try to do these problems by yourself before retrieving the solutions from the web page. Doing both sections of problems will be a big help in studying for the exams.

Homework Assignments:     Problem Set 1       Solution Set 1
Problem Set 2       Solution Set 2
Problem Set 3       Solution Set 3
Problem Set 4       Solution Set 4

Registering and Accessing WebAssign

To use WebAssign, you first need to register yourself into WebAssign.

How to Register for Your PHYS-2020-002 SPRING 2024 Course:

  1. Go to GetEnrolled.com.
  2. Enter this Course Key: ETSU45499502.
  3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete your WebAssign registration.
  4. Visit the Cengage Student Registration Page for a step-by-step guide and short video on how to register for your course.

Once you are registered, to access the textbook publisher's WebAssign web site click the following link:

https://webassign.com ,

then click on the Enter Class Key button on the upper right of this web page. The class key for this course is:

etsu 4549 9502

Should you need additional assistance with WebAssign, you can contact Technical Support information at:

https://webassign.com/support/student-support/

via the web or 1-800-354-9706 by telephone.


Preparing for Exams

Each Exam has a Review Sheet of topics and questions to prepare each student for that Exam. These Review Sheets can be very helpful in doing well on an Exam. In addition, I have posted past exams to help you prepare, and to give you a sense of the format of the Exams.

Exam Reviews:                     Exam 1 Review      
Exam 2 Review      
Exam 3 Review      
Exam 4 Review      

Past Exams to Review

The format of the exams will be similar to the sample exams posted below. Many of the "full-length" problems you will see on the exams will be modified versions of the example problems in the notes and textbook, and the supplemental and WebAssign homework problems.

Sample Exams:                     Sample Exam 1       Sample Exam 1 Solutions
Sample Exam 2       Sample Exam 2 Solutions
Sample Exam 3       Sample Exam 3 Solutions
Sample Final           Sample Final Solutions


Web site of course textbook publisher: Serway & Vuille's College Physics .


Click here to go to Dr. Luttermoser's home page.

Click here to go to the Department of Physics and Astronomy home page.


Last modified: January 10, 2024 by D.G. Luttermoser