Course Descriptions

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  PHYS 1401. General Physics I: Mechanics and Heat and Sound.  
(Core 030)                                                                                          4:3:2    

For students whose career goals are related to medical fields (pre-med, pre‑vet, pre‑dent, etc.), pharmacy, biology, chemistry, geology, any applied technology, science education, and other areas of study requiring an understanding of elementary physical principles.  Topics include Newtonian mechanics, forces, statics, the laws of motion, gravity, energy, momentum, temperature, specific heat, heat exchange, simple harmonic motion, wave motion, and sound.  Prerequisite:  Credit for or concurrent enrollment in MATH 1316 or consent of the department head.

  PHYS 1402.  General Physics II: Electricity,  Magnetism, Optics, and Modern Physics. 
(Core 030)                                                                                            4:3:2

Continuation of PHYS 1401.  Includes electric charge, electric field and potential, DC circuits, magnetism, electromagnetic induction, AC circuits, optics, optical instruments, relativity, the solid state, atomic and nuclear physics, elementary particles. Prerequisite:  PHYS 1401 or consent of the department head.

  PHYS 2425.  Engineering Physics I:  Mechanics, Heat  and  Sound. 
(Core 030)                                                                                             4:4:2 

Intended primarily for students of engineering, physics, chemistry, and mathematics. This calculus-based course covers measurement, motion in a straight line, vectors, motion in a plane, forces and motion, work and energy, conservation of energy, systems of particles, collisions, rotational motion, torque and angular momentum, equilibrium and elasticity, oscillations, gravity, fluids, waves, temperature, first and second Laws of Thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases. The course provides part of the background necessary for higher level study, particularly in Physics and Engineering. Students who have not had high school physics should consider taking PHYS 1401 prior to enrolling in Physics 2425.  Prerequisite:  Credit for or concurrent enrollment in MATH 2414  or consent of the department head.

  PHYS 2426.  Engineering Physics II:  Electricity,  Magnetism and Optics.  
(Core 030)                                                                                            4:4:2

Intended for engineering, physics, chemistry, and mathematics students, this calculus‑based course includes electrostatic force, field and potential, electrical current, DC circuits, magnetic field, electromagnetic induction and applications, AC circuits, properties of matter, ray and wave optics. The course provides part of the background necessary for higher level study, particularly in Physics and Engineering. Prerequisites:  MATH 2414 and PHYS 2425 or consent of the department head.

  PHYS 2427.  Engineering Physics III:  Modern Physics.  (Core 030)   4:4:2

Intended for engineering, physics, and chemistry students.  Covers the special theory of relativity, introduction to atomic and nuclear physics, quantum mechanics, solid-state physics, and particle physics. The course provides an excellent background in modern physics to chemistry and engineering students, and it is an excellent introduction to further study in modern physics for physics students.  Prerequisite: PHYS 2426.