8.021  Physics II

Who can register for 8.021?
This subject was designed specifically for students who have taken 8.02 or 8.022 in a previous term, did most if not all of the assignments, but did not obtain a passing grade. This stipulation was approved by the CoC and the CUP, and was part of the reason that the Institute Faculty voted to allow 8.021 to satisfy the E&M part of the General Institute Requirements.
If you have not AT LEAST taken exam # 1 AND turned in ~50% of the psets in 8.02 or 8.022 in previous semesters, you cannot register for 8.021: sorry!

Why is previous 8.02/8.022 experience required to enroll in 8.021?
8.021 will not have standard lectures, only recitations and problem solving sessions. Students must have already attended 8.02/8.022 lectures during past semesters.

How 8.021 works
- The philosophy: you already took the class, so you know the material, you have seen the demos. All you need to learn is how to solve E&M problems.
- The program is the same as 8.02. The level of difficulty is the same. What changes is the teaching style: while 8.02 takes a modern “hands-on” approach to physics, 8.021 has a more traditional approach: problem solving drills!

Weekly schedule
- Sun afternoon: reading assignments
- Sun 10 pm: Mastering Physics due
- Mon/Tue/Wed: 1 h/day of sections taught by faculty: 10-11(GS), 11-12(GS), 12-1(PJ)
- Thu: 1 h of problem solving taught by the Teaching Assistants 10-11, 11-12, 12-1
- Thu 6 pm: Weekly problem sets are due - Pset boxes are in the corridor between the 3rd floor of bldg 8 and the 4th floor of bldg 16 (ask Nancy Boyce at 4-315 if you cannot find them)
- Fri 11-12: weekly test. All efforts will be made to grade the test on Fri afternoon and post solutions by Fri night. Graded tests will be returned at the end of the Mon lecture.
NB: 8.021 will not have midterms or a final exam!

Grade:
22% homework, 60% weekly tests, 18% Mastering Physics

Policy for exams and homework
- Missed exam: the exam with the lowest score will be discarded from the average, or you can miss one weekly test without losing points. Anything beyond that will cost you points or will require a strong, well-motivated request from S3 (Student Support Services).
- Missed homework: the lowest score will be discarded from the average (or you can miss 1 homework without losing points). Anything beyond that will cost you points or will require a strong, well-motivated request from S3. No late homework will be accepted under any circumstances.
- Change in grade. Errare humanum est (To err is human): very occasionally graders make mistakes. Graded exams will be returned at the end of the Mon lecture. If you have objections to the way your exam was graded, return your exam to your instructor IMMEDIATELY (the exam cannot leave the room). Changes in grade will be considered during Prof. Joss's office hours on Tue. NB: if you take home the exam, the grade is final.

Textbooks:
- Required: Liao et al. “Introduction to Electricity and Magnetism” (same at 8.02)
- Suggested reading: Young and Freedman “Sears and Zemansky’s University Physics Vol. 2”

Mastering Physics:

www.masteringphysics.com