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Core Physics Courses

  • The core physics courses are courses that are necessary to take to complete different physics degrees. 3 year, 4 year, and Honours General Degree require different courses. Take a look at our Degrees page for an extensive look at what courses you need to take for each degree!

  • First Year

  • Second Year

    • Modern and Thermal Physics (6 credits)

      • Has a lab

      • You will spend about half the course learning the introduction to Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity and about the other half exploring the beginnings of thermal physics such as how engines work!

    • Electricity and Magnetism (3 credits)

      • Has a lab

      • You get introduced to Maxwell’s Equations, play around with how point charges interact, and explore circuits and dielectrics!

    • Optics and Waves (3 credits)

      • Has a lab

      • You gain an understanding of how light works by working more with Maxwell’s Equations and the Wave Equation to derive phenomena such as Snell’s Law and the Brewster Angle!

    • Mathematical Physics 1 (3 credits)

    • Mathematical Physics 2 (3 credits)

      • You will get an introduction to all of the math you will need in your undergraduate career in Math Phys 1 and 2! Such as how to change coordinates, how to evaluate differential equations, how to use Fourier Transformation, and many other useful techniques!

  • Third Year

    • Quantum Mechanics (6 credits)

      • Quantum Mechanics is an in-depth introduction to Quantum Mechanics! You will develop the skills to analyze simple cases of the Hydrogen Atom and rudimentary Quantum Computing!

    • Intermediate Mechanics (3 credits)

    • Advanced Mechanics (3 credits)

      • In Intermediate and Advanced Classical Mechanics you will learn many different tools to analyze situations such as pendulums and springs!

    • Thermal and Statistical Physics (3 credits)

      • In Thermal and Statistical Physics you will explore how Boltzmann derived statistical physics such as the Ideal Gas Law, Hemholtz Free Energy, and the Equipartition Theorem!

    • Intermediate Physics Lab (3 credits)

      • In Intermediate Physics Lab you will get an introduction to running, designing, and analyzing your own experiment! A huge element of this course is learning how to find the statistical error in your data!

  • Fourth Year

    • Electrodynamics (6 credits)

      • In Electrodynamics you will spend a lot of the class studying Maxwell’s Equations! You will look at all of the different forms of Maxwell’s Equations, such as how to solve it for different mediums! You will use them to understand how electric and magnetic change along objects surface and to understand how electricity is conducted!

    • Advanced Physics Lab (3 credits)

      • In Advanced Lab, you will learn how to conduct your own experiments! You will run, design, and analyze experiments on your own! This course will prepare you for future research work in experimental physics in industry, academia, and beyond!

    • Honours Thesis (6 credits)

      • In Honour Thesis you will do a research project under the supervision of a Professor over the course of the year. By April, you will write a thesis on your project, do a public presentation on your project, and defend your thesis! This course is a great introduction on how to write a thesis to prepare you for graduate school!

    • Advanced Quantum Mechanics (3 credits)

      • In Advanced Quantum Mechanics you will study many different applications of quantum mechanics such as quantum information theory and different approximation methods.

Other Physics Courses

  • These are physics courses that are either courses that were created for non-physics majors or courses that are geared towards physics majors, but they are not offered every year so they are not considered core physics courses.

  • First Year

    • Introduction to Physics (6 credits)

      • Has a lab

      • Broad overview of many concepts in Physics!

      • Less calculus than Foundations of Physics. Made for non-physics majors to take.

    • Astronomy (6 credits)

      • This is an awesome course all about our universe that was created for anyone to take! Not just physics majors or science students!

    • Concepts in Science (6 credits)

      • Another awesome course that was created for not just for science majors to take! In this course you'll learn about a broad range of topics in science!

  • Second Year

    • Medical Imaging (3 credits)

      • In Medical Imaging you are also going to get some really awesome real life input! In the past there has been experts on CT scans, ultrasounds, and MRIs come in to speak to the class!

    • Radiation and the Environment (3 credits)

      • Both Medical Imaging and Radiation and the Environment are awesome courses if you want to pursue a career in Medicine! Both are not super math heavy so even if math is not your strong suit that’s ok! There isn’t a ton of math as well as we have a super supportive department and students who would love to help you!!

    • Digital Electronics (3 credits)

      • Digital Electronics will teach you how to use computer programming in a more hands on way! In the past the students in the class have even built and programmed robots!

    • Scientific Computing (3 credits)

      • Scientific Computing will teach you C or C++ depending on the section.

    • Numeric and Symbolic Computing (3 credits)

      • A great introduction to computation that is commonly used in teaching, research, and industry such as Maple and Mathematica!

      • Unlike C, C++, or Python, Maple and Mathematica type software are more user friendly! You will learn how to use functions and arrays to plot and visual data! Basic algebra and pre-calculus knowledge is assumed as you do talk about linear algebra, integration, differentiation, and differential equation solutions.

    • Statics (3 credits)

      • It is all about objects that don’t move such a bridges, buildings, etc! You will use ideas formed in first year about classical mechanics and apply them to more real life situations!

    • Scientific Computing - Python (3 credits)

      • Very similar to Scientific Computing, except you learn Python instead of C or C++!

    • The Physics of Music (6 credits)

      • For about half the course you learn the fundamentals music such as notes, scales, etc and the other half is about the physics behind how sound waves work, pure tones, and how pure tones combine to form complex waves used to produce music such as golden ratios! This course is aimed at non-physics majors as well as physics majors so it is decently straight forward and not too math heavy! There are tons of demonstrations as well!

    • Cosmology (6 credits)

      • The second year version of Astronomy! There are some more complex topics discussed and more relativity is looked at, but it is aimed at non-physics majors and physics majors so there is not super complex math involved!

  • Fourth Year

    • Subatomic Physics (3 credits)

      • In Subatomic Physics you will gain an introduction to nuclear and particle physics! You will describe particle decay rates and scattering cross sections, study the role of fundamental symmetries in particle physics, and learn the rules of Quantum Electrodynamics.

    • Condensed Matter Physics (3 credits)

      • In Condensed Matter course you will look at how matter is formed by assembling a very large number of atoms to form a macroscopic piece of a solid. You will look at the ordering of atoms to form crystal structures, how the crystal structures vibrate, electronic characteristics of solid insulators, semiconductors and metals, magnetic properties of solids, and how defects significantly modify the physical characteristics of solids.

    • Introduction to General Relativity (6 credits)

      • In General Relativity you look at Einstein’s theory of general relativity where matter and energy bend spacetime!

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