CU Boulder PHYS 1120: General Physics 2
PHYS 1120 is the electricity-and-magnetism half of CU Boulder's calculus-based physics sequence: electric fields and potential, circuits, magnetism, induction, and electromagnetic waves. It's required for most engineering majors after PHYS 1110.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with University of Colorado Boulder. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
E&M is famously more abstract than mechanics: you can't picture a field the way you picture a block on a ramp, so intuition has to be rebuilt from scratch. Students who coasted on physical instinct in 1110 hit a wall when problems demand reasoning about invisible vector fields, and induction's sign conventions punish fuzzy understanding.
What you'll cover
- • Electric fields and Gauss's law
- • Electric potential
- • Capacitance and DC circuits
- • Magnetic fields and forces
- • Electromagnetic induction
- • Electromagnetic waves and optics basics
The PHYS 1120 study guide
How to study for CU Boulder PHYS 1120, step by step.
- 1
Rebuild intuition deliberately, don't wait for it
Mechanics intuition came free from daily life; E&M intuition has to be constructed. Draw field diagrams for every problem and narrate what the field does. Visualization is a skill this course requires you to practice, not possess.
- 2
Master the field/potential relationship early
Confusing field and potential is the classic conceptual failure that poisons everything downstream. Work both directions (field from potential, potential from field) until the distinction is structural, not memorized.
- 3
Make circuits a strength
Circuit analysis is the most algorithmic part of the course and the most reliable exam points. Drill Kirchhoff's rules and equivalent-resistance reductions until they're mechanical.
- 4
Be obsessive about signs in induction
Lenz's law and induced EMF directions are where partial understanding gets exposed. For every induction problem, state the flux change and the opposing response in words before writing equations.
- 5
Practice unfamiliar setups before each exam
Like 1110, the exams break homework patterns on purpose. Timed mixed sets from past exams and outside sources train the principle-selection skill the test isolates.
Today
Today's PHYS 1120 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for PHYS 1120. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is PHYS 1120 harder than PHYS 1110?
Most CU Boulder students say yes, not because the math is harder but because E&M is abstract. Mechanics intuition comes from daily life; field intuition has to be deliberately built, and students who coasted on instinct in 1110 feel the difference immediately.
How do I study for PHYS 1120 exams?
Draw field diagrams for every problem and practice the field/potential distinction in both directions. Make circuits automatic for reliable points, narrate induction problems in words before equations, and run timed unfamiliar problems before each exam.
Why is electromagnetic induction so confusing?
Because it chains an invisible cause (changing flux) to an opposing response (induced current) with strict sign conventions. Students who state the flux change and the opposition in plain words before computing stop losing the sign. Fuzzy setup, not hard math, is what fails these problems.