The required readings are in bold face and are mainly from Hirose & Lonngren (HL) and Griffiths (G). Optional readings are in plain text and include Halliday, Resnick, and Walker (HRW) for an introductory-level presentation and Elmore & Heald (EH) for an advanced treatment.
| Week | Topic | Lab Chapter |
| Jan. 21 | Coupled oscillators and mechanical waves | HL 1-3, HRW 16-17 |
| Jan 28 | Mechanical waves and Fourier analysis | HL 4,13, G 9.1, HRW 13.6, EH 1 |
| Feb. 4 | Sound and reflection | HL 5-6, G 9.1, HRW 18, EH 3-4 |
| Feb. 11 | Multidimensional waves and Doppler effect | HL 7-8, HRW 18.8, EH 2, 5.8 |
| * First Exam Friday 2/15 * | ||
| Feb. 18 | Waves in electrical transmission lines | HL9.1-6, G9.2, HRW34, EH8.1-3 |
| Feb. 25 | Dielectrics, conductors, & cls. electron theory | G 9.3-4, HL 9.7, EH 8.5-6 |
| Mar. 4 | Waveguides and coherence | G 9.5, EH 8.7 |
| Mar. 11 | Interference | HL 11.1-5, HRW 36 |
| * Second Exam Friday 3/15 * | ||
| 3/18 & 3/25 Spring Break | ||
| Apr. 1 | Fraunhofer diffraction | HL 11.6-7, HRW 37, EH 10 |
| Apr. 8 | Fresnel diffraction | HL 11.8, EH 9.3-6, 11 |
| Apr. 15 | Geometrical optics | HL 12, HRW 35, EH 9.2 |
| Apr. 22 | Lasers | Handouts |
| * Third Exam Friday 4/26 * | ||
| Apr 29 | Water Waves | EH 6, Handouts |
| May 6 | Electromagnetic Radiation | HL 9, G 11 (relativistic & tough!) |
| * Final Exam: Wednesday 5/15, 9:00 am * |