Same chapters from Griffiths being used for EM1 and EM2?

[Ghost117]

Hi everyone, I'm looking at MIT's opencourseware as a template. It seems the same textbook was used for Electromagnetism 1 and 2, even the same chapters, which seems really odd.

For example, both EM 1 (in 2006) and EM 2 (current year 2014) studied Vector Analysis and Electrostatics from the first 2 chapters of Griffiths... What's going on here? Why is EM 2 covering the same stuff as EM 1, from the same textbook no less?

Compare the readings of EM1 from 2006, using Griffiths 3rd edition
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-022-physics-ii-electricity-and-magnetism-fall-2006/readings/

To the course outline of EM 2 from 2014, using Griffiths 4th edition
http://web.mit.edu/8.07/www/geninfo/inf1-f14.pdf

In UofT, for calculus 1A and 1B we used the same textbook (Stewart), but not the same chapters obviously. The same book is even used for Calc II, but it continues forward from Chapter 10...

So this isn't making any sense to me, apparently EM 2 is restudying the same stuff from EM 1...p.s. I just checked, even the rest of the chapters are the same! EM1 from 2006 is actually covering more material then EM 2 today

 

[QuantumCurt]

The two courses are from different years, and likely from different instructors. They may have structured the courses in different ways.

It's also possible that they felt a brief review of the first two chapters would be helpful for the second semester of E&M.

 

[Ghost117]

But the same chapters are covered throughout the two courses... Actually, EM1 covers more stuff then EM 2 now apparently... EM1 goes up to Chapter 12, giving an intro to GR and QM which EM 2 doesn't even touch...

this is really weird...

 

[dextercioby]

You can always drop an e-mail to the instructor (of the 2014 course, of course) and ask him about the change of content: LECTURER: Alan H. Guth, Room 6-322, 617-253-6265, guth@ctp.mit.edu

 

[bolbteppa]

The class topics in 2006
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-022-physics-ii-electricity-and-magnetism-fall-2006/readings/
are easier than those from 2014
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-07-electromagnetism-ii-fall-2012/calendar/
and the prequisites from 2006
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-022-physics-ii-electricity-and-magnetism-fall-2006/syllabus/
are less than those from 2014
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-07-electromagnetism-ii-fall-2012/Syllabus/
so 2006 is more Purcell than Griffiths (but leaning in Griffiths direction) and 2014 is more Griffiths than Jackson (but leaning in Jackson's direction).