School: Science

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Waves and Electricity
  • Unit Code

    SCP1112
  • Year

    2025
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    3
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
  • Unit Coordinator

    A/Prof Steven HINCKLEY

Description

This unit develops a broad understanding of electric and magnetic phenomena. Coulombs Law, electric fields, Gauss's law, electric potential and capacitance are covered in the electrostatics section. The magnetism and electromagnetism section explores sources of magnetic fields, Ampere's Law and Faraday's Law. This leads to Maxwell's equations as a complete description of electromagnetic phenomena. Electric circuits involving resistors, capacitors and inductors are also studied.

Prerequisite Rule

Students must pass 1 unit from (SCP1132, SCP1134, SCC1123) OR scaled score >49.99 in (ATAR Physics OR ATAR Chemistry) AND either (MAT1108, MAT1137 OR scaled score >49.99 in ATAR Mathematical Methods) OR equivalent

Equivalent Rule

Unit was previously coded QST0020, SCP1121

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Apply process and problem solving skills in dealing with conceptual and experimental situations.
  2. Demonstrate proficiency in handling a range of physics equipment used to make measurements of electric and magnetic phenomena.
  3. Describe, explain and apply concepts, theories and principles relating to electricity, magnetism and electric circuits.

Unit Content

  1. ELECTROSTATICS: Electric charge, conductors and insulators, Coulombs Law, electric fields, point charges and charge distributions, motion of charges. Electric flux, Gauss' Law, charged insulators, conductors in electrostatic equilibrium. Work done by charges in electric fields, conservative forces, potential energy, electric potential, potential difference. Capacitance, capacitors in series and parallel, energy stored in capacitors, dielectrics
  2. ELECTRIC CIRCUITS: Emf, voltage, current and current density, resistance and resistivity, Ohm's Law, Ohmic and non-Ohmic conductors, resistors in series and parallel, power, multiloop circuits, Kirchoff's Rules, measuring voltage, current and resistance. Transient phenomena of capacitors and inductors, RC, RL, LC and RLC circuits, AC circuits.
  3. MAGNETISM AND ELECTROMAGNETISM: Magnetic fields and forces, motion of charges and current elements, Hall effect, Biot-Savart Law, Ampere's Law, magnetic flux, Gauss' Law in magnetism, displacement current, magnetism in matter. Faraday's Law of induction, Lenz's Law, generators and transformers, mutual and self inductance, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves.

Learning Experience

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

JoondalupMount LawleySouth West (Bunbury)
Semester 213 x 3 hour labNot OfferedNot Offered
Semester 213 x 2 hour lectureNot OfferedNot Offered

For more information see the Semester Timetable

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures, seminars, tutorials, and laboratory experiments.

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Due to the professional competency skill development associated with this Unit, student attendance/participation within listed in-class activities and/or online activities including discussion boards is compulsory. Students failing to meet participation standards as outlined in the unit information may be awarded an I Grade (Fail - incomplete). Students who are unable to meet this requirement for medical or other reasons must seek the approval of the unit coordinator.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
AssignmentFortnightly theory based problem sets30%
Laboratory Work ^Laboratory performance30%
ExaminationFinal examination.40%

^ Mandatory to Pass


Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

SCP1112|3|1