Advanced Placement: A score of 4 or 5 on the AP Physics 1, 2, or C exam earns college credit and counts toward the natural science common area requirement. Students with AP score of 4 or 5 in Physics 2 or Physics C may receive credit toward the minimum number of courses required for the Physics major or the Physics minor, or advanced standing in the physics curriculum.
Majors: Students interested in Physics should enroll in PHYS 115 in the fall of their first year. This is a calculus-based course suitable for students who will major in physics, chemistry, or biology, as well as for those interested in the Health Professions (premedical, predental, etc.), combined engineering programs, or ROTC.. No prior knowledge of physics is assumed, however, students must enroll in or have credit for Calculus 1 or the equivalent.
Advisory Note: Because mathematics plays an important role in Physics, majors are required to take Calculus 1, Calculus 2, and Multivariable Calculus, or the equivalent. Students who have already completed a year of calculus may be able to place out of one semester or more of math and are recommended to do so if appropriate. Please see the guidelines in the Mathematics section.
Courses
PHYS 115
Introductory Physics 1
Common Area: Natural Science
First semester course of a two-semester, calculus-based sequence, suitable for majors of physics, chemistry, or biology, as well as for those participating in the Health Professions Advisory Program (premedical, predental, etc.), the 3-2 Engineering Program, or in ROTC. Covers the theory of Newtonian mechanics and methods for solving quantitative and qualitative problems. Specific topics include motion in one and two dimensions; vectors, Newton's laws of motion, work and energy, linear momentum and collisions, rotational motion, static equilibrium, oscillatory motion, gravitation, fluid mechanics, and mechanical waves. There is an emphasis on applications of physics to natural phenomena and aspects of everyday life. The course meets four days per week and each class is a mixture of lecture and laboratory exercises; there is no separate lab meeting.
Back to First-Year Course listing »