The fundamental learning objectives for this course are for students to understand Maxwell’s equations. This means understanding the physical ideas contained in them, the logical steps of the arguments which leads to these equations, and the ability to solve problems involving them. The existence of electromagnetic waves as a consequence of Maxwell’s equations is also of particular importance. Learning objectives for the individual sections of the course are as follows.

1. Electrostatics
   Students should be familiar with Coulomb’s law and they should be able to calculate forces between static charges. They should understand the concept of the electric field and they should be able to calculate electric fields from given charge distributions. They should understand the concepts of linearity and superposition in the consideration of such problems. Students should understand the physical information contained in Gauss’s law and they should be able to apply this law to the calculation of field distributions in systems with specified symmetry. They should be able to calculate the work done when a charge is moved in an electric field and connection that this has with electrostatic potential. Students should be able to find the electric field for a system when the electrostatic potential is specified. Students should be familiar with the concept of a capacitor and its capacitance. They should understand the idea of regarding an electric field as containing energy. They should be able to calculate that energy in simple cases. Students should understand that the electrostatic potential obeys the equations of Laplace and Poisson under appropriate circumstances. Solutions of these equations in the general case are not expected. Students should understand and be able to explain the important properties of conductors as arising from their free electric charge.
   
2. Steady currents
   Students should be familiar with the definition of electric current and electric current density. They should understand the important information contained in the equation of continuity and they should be able to solve simple problems involving this equation. They should understand the physical origin of the electrical conductivity of metals and the collision model for Ohm’s law. They should be able to relate resistivity to power dissipation. Students should understand the physical origin of Kirchhoff’s two circuit laws and be able to use them in solving circuit network problems. Students should understand how Laplace’s equation applies in conductors. Students should also understand how the conductivity and resistivity of an anisotropic conductor is described by the use of a tensor quantity.
   
3. Magnetic effects of currents
   Students should be familiar with the Biot-Savart law and be able to calculate the magnetic field and magnetic forces in flowing currents. They should understand the concept of the magnetic field and be able to calculate this from given current distributions. Students should be familiar with the Lorentz force formula and the should be able to use it in calculating the force on a charged particle in an electric and magnetic fields. Students should understand how Ampere’s law arises as a consequence of the Biot-savart law. Students should know about the divergence and the curl of the magnetic field.
   
4. Maxwell’s equations
   Students should be familiar with the static properties of electric and magnetic fields. They should understand Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction and how it relates to the curl of the electric field. Students should be able to connect the current flowing into a capacitor and the law of conservation of charge with the idea of the displacement current. Students should understand how the Maxwell equations arise as a synthesis of the various individual electromagnetic phenomena considered so far. Students should understand how Maxwell’s equations lead to electromagnetic waves and how the speed of light is related to static properties of the vacuum. Students should be able to solve simple problems involving electromagnetic waves in free space.