Descriptions of Physics Courses
(Each semester hour of credit represents approximately one clock hour of recitations and lectures per week for one semester, or the equivalent.)
- 101-102 General Physics Credit, 4 sem. hrs. each
- Prerequisite: MAT 102 or equivalent. Lecture three hours a week. Laboratory three hours a week.
- Mechanics, thermodynamics, waves, sound, light, electricity, magnetism, and modern physics.
- 103 Physics of Music Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Nature and transmission of sound, hearing, physical and physiological characteristics, musical instruments, acoustics, and electric sources of sound.
- 201-202 Fundamentals of Physics Credit, 4 sem. hrs. each
- Corequisite: MAT 122. Lecture three hours a week. Laboratory three hours a week.
- Mechanics, thermodynamics, waves, sound, light, electricity, and magnetism presented with the aid of calculus.
- 215 Descriptive Physics Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Selected topics in Physics will be presented on an elementary level. This course may not be used to satisfy requirements for major or minor in Physics.
- 216 Astronomy Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- History, methods, solar system, stars, and cosmology; presented on an elementary level. Night observation.
- 301 Modern Physics Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: PHY 202.
- Relativity, quantum theory, atomic, nuclear and particle physics.
- 308 Classical Mechanics Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisites: 201, MAT 221
- Two and three dimensional kinematics and dynamics, curvilinear coordinates, vector analysis, projectile motion, conservative and non-conservative forces, potential theory, rigid bodies.
- 313 Optics Credit, 4 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisites: 202, MAT 122. Lecture three hours a week. Laboratory three hours a week.
- Fundamental concepts of simple optical systems, including lenses and mirrors. Physical optics including interference, diffraction, polarization, optical spectra, and lasers.
- 315 Thermodynamics Credit, 3 sem.,hrs.
- Prerequisites: 202, MAT 222
- Fundamentals of thermodynamics of ideal and real gases- Phase states. Heat engines and applications to systems. Statistical mechanics.
- 401 Quantum Physics Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: PHY 301 or instructor's consent.
- Schrodinger wave mechanics including application to atomic structure.
- 402 Special Projects Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: instructor's consent
- After consulting with the instructor in charge the student may be assigned to special study in theoretical physics or may be assigned a research problem.
- 404 Electricity and Magnetism Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisites: 202, MAT 222
- The fundamental principles of electrostatic fields, electric potential, dielectrics and magnetic induction. Maxwell's field equations.
- 409 Mathematical Physics Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisites: MAT 352
- Topics in vector analysis and curvilinear coordinates, complex variables and applications, special functions in physics applications, and elements of matrix analysis.
- 413 Nuclear Physics Credit, 4 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: 301 or instructor's consent. Lecture three hours a week. Laboratory three hours a week.
- Isotopes and nuclear structure, natural radioactivity, induced nuclear transformations, nuclear energy sources, high energy processes and cosmic rays.
- 417 Selected Topics in Physics Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- A course offering formal study of selected topics in physics or applications of physics.
Descriptions of Engineering Science Courses
- 105 Computational Tools for Physical Science I Credit, 2 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: MAT 102
- The use of spreadsheet packages such as Excel to store data from laboratory experiments, to perform calculations on those data, and to generate charts from the results.
- 205 Computational Tools for Physical Science II Credit, 2 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: ESC 105, CSC 116
- An introduction to the use of commercially available array processing software packages such as MATLAB to analyze large blocks of data (e.g., multiple time-dependent temperatures)
- 208 Statics Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: PHY 201
- Forces in equilibrium, free body diagrams, beams, trusses, engineering principles, bodies in tension and compression, stress and strain.
- 220 Dynamics Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: ESC 208
- Vector treatment of the kinematics and kinetics of particles and rigid bodies, Netwon's laws, work and energy, impulse and momentum, impact, mass moments of inertia, rotating axes.
- 305 Electrical Circuits Credit, 4 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: PHY 202. Corequisite: MAT 352. Lecture three hours a week. Laboratory three hours a week.
- Principles of DC circuits, Kirchoff's laws, analysis theorems, AC circuit components, transient behavior, filters, integrating and differentiating circuits, diodes, rectifiers, transformers.
- 306 Digital Circuits Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: PHY 202 or instructor's consent. Lecture two hours a week. Laboratory three hours a week.
- Binary, hexadecimal, octal number systems, Boolean algebra, binary logic, Karnaugh maps, digital circuit principles, flip-flops, switches, counters, basic computer circuits, LED'S, introduction to microprocessors.
- 310 Electronics Credit, 4 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: ESC 305. Lecture three hours a week. Laboratory three hours a week.
- Semiconductors, solid state electronics, principles of active devices, JFET'S, amplifier circuits, operational amplifiers, analog measurements, oscillator circuits, linear integrated circuits.
- 321 Strength of Materials Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: ESC 220. Lecture three hours a week.
- Relationship between internal stresses and deformations produced by external forces acting on deformable bodies, design principles based on mechanics of solids: normal stresses, shear stresses, and deformations produced by tensile, compressive, torsional, and bending loading of members; beam deflections; elastic energy and impact; multi-dimensional stress states; buckling of columns.
- 330 Vibrations Credit, 3 sem. hrs.
- Prerequisite: ESC 220. Lecture three hours a week.
- Undamped and damped free vibrations of bodies, forced vibrations, resonance, transient and nonlinear vibrations, numerical methods for multi-degree-of-freedom systems, Lagrange's equation.
- Mechanics, thermodynamics, waves, sound, light, electricity, magnetism, and modern physics.
If you have any questions just call us at 601-925-3287 or e-mail us at the Physics Department..