Schedule of Classes

Algebra-based course for students with minimal physics background. Topics introduced include Newton's laws of motion, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, optics, and atomic theory. Emphasis is on basic physical principles. Includes laboratory.

Algebra- and trigonometry-based introductory physics course which covers Newtonian mechanics and conservation laws; fluid statics and dynamics; vibrations, waves, and sound; laws of thermodynamics. Includes laboratory.

Continuation of PHY 107. Electric and magnetic fields; electromagnetic induction; electromagnetic waves; geometrical and physical optics; the special theory of relativity; quantum theory, atomic physics, and nuclear and particle physics. Includes laboratory.

A calculus-based introductory physics course for scientists and engineers that covers Newton's laws of motion; conservation laws for momentum, energy, and angular momentum; fluid statics and dynamics; laws of thermodynamics. Includes laboratory.

A course for non-science students with minimal preparation in mathematics and science. Emphasizes basic concepts from the physical sciences and their significance for a scientifically literate society. Topics in physics, chemistry, computing, energy, and astronomy will be covered from an applications perspective. Students with prior college physics courses may not register for this course.

Continuation of PHY 110 covering electric fields and DC circuits; magnetic fields, electromagnetic induction and AC circuits; oscillations and waves; Maxwell's equations; and geometrical and physical optics. Includes laboratory.

An introduction to relativity and relativistic mechanics; quantum theory with applications to atomic and molecular physics; condensed matter physics; nuclear and particle physics.

Introduction to vector calculus; electrostatics in vacuum and dielectrics including boundary value problems; method of images, steady currents, and magnetostatics in vacuum.

Particle kinematics; Newtonian mechanics; classical gravitation; Lagrangian and Hamiltonian dynamics; linear oscillations; nonlinear oscillations; central force and planetary motion; collisions between particles; motion in noninertial systems.

Laboratory: design of experiments and techniques of measurement, particularly electronic instrumentation, in investigating fundamental relationships in all areas of physics. One three-hour laboratory session per week per credit hour required. May be repeated for maximum of 4 hrs. credit. Sections of this course may provide a lab component for PHY 202, 303, and 320.

A theoretical treatment of classical thermodynamics with applications of the first and second laws, and an introduction to statistical mechanics, including quantum statistics, canonical and grand canonical ensembles, general properties of the partition function, applications of statistical mechanics to fluid and solid systems, and the Ising model.

Qualified students work on an individually assigned problem and prepare oral and written reports on the problem solution. Approved for off-campus programs when required. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hrs. credit.

Inadequacies of classical physics when applied to problems in atomic and nuclear physics. Development of mathematical formalism used in basic quantum theory, with applications to simple models of physical systems.