The student finishing this course

• can describe and explain the basic experiments of this field,
• can solve simple problems in electrostatics using Coulombs Law
• can demonstrate knowledge of the basics of electric fields, the laws of Coulomb and Gauss, electric potential, capacitors and dielectrics, current, resistance, and Ohm's law, DC circuits, and the electromotive force.

This course introduces the basic concepts of electrostatics and DC electric circuits. The student is familiarized with the concepts of electric force, electric field and potential. In a more qualitative fashion, the importance of electrostatics in (physical) chemistry is discussed. Then, we discuss the flow of electric current through simple electric circuits of resistors, capacitors and batteries and how simple circuit diagrams are analyzed.