Course Descriptions

Below is the list of the courses offered by the Physics Department. Courses are offered based on demand unless indicated next to the course title.

PHYS 100: Conceptual Physics (4 Credits)
Six hours of integrated lecture/laboratory per week. An introduction to fundamental concepts in physics with emphasis on devices and applications. Topics include motion, energy, momentum, matter and waves as applied to one or more of the major subfields of physics. Fundamental knowledge of algebra
recommended.

PHYS 101. Freshman Physics Seminar (1 Credit; Offered Every Fall)
One hour per week. Prerequisite: MATH 110; co-requisite: MATH 140. This entry point in the Physics and Engineering Physics majors acculturates students into the JU physics program and the global physics community by discussing current topics of interest and overview of physics practice.

PHYS 104. Astronomy (3 Credits)
Three hours per week. A study of the behavior of astronomical systems. Topics include understanding observations made from a moving reference frame such as the earth, the development of modern astronomy, telescopes, the solar system, stars and stellar evolution, galaxies, cosmology and life in the
universe.

PHYS 111. Principles of Physics I (4 Credits; Offered Every Fall)
Six hours of integrated lecture/laboratory per week. Co-requisite: MATH 110 or MATH 112. Measurement and error analysis. An algebra-based treatment of classical mechanics, including kinematics and dynamics of translational and rotational motion, oscillations, waves and fluids.

PHYS 112. Principles of Physics II (4 Credits; Offered Every Spring)
Six hours of integrated lecture/laboratory per week. Prerequisite: PHYS 111. An algebra-based treatment of electricity and magnetism, AC and DC circuits and geometrical optics.

PHYS 116. Astronomy Laboratory (1 Credit)
Three hours laboratory per week. Co-requisite: PHYS 104. Selected experiments in astronomy, optics, radiation, and orbital mechanics.

PHYS 125. Aviation Physics (4 credits; Offered Every Fall and Spring)
Six hours of integrated lecture/laboratory per week. Co-requisite: MATH 110 or MATH 112. This course will not serve as a prerequisite for PHYS 112 or PHYS 152. An algebra/trigonometry based treatment of principles of physics relevant to aviation science, including mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics,
and electromagnetism, with application to pneumatic, hydraulic, electric, and mechanical instrumentation and controls.

PHYS 151. General Physics: Mechanics (4 Credits; Offered Every Fall and Spring)
Six hours of integrated class and laboratory per week. Prerequisite: MATH 140. Co-requisite: MATH 141. This calculus-based course introduces students to the major themes and principles of mechanics (forces, energy, linear and angular momentum, and conservation laws) and their applications in the context of
translational motion, rotational motion, and thermodynamics. Students will be guided in the basics of computational, experimental, and/or theoretical physics practice.

PHYS 152. General Physics: Electricity & Magnetism (4 Credits; Offered Every Fall and Spring)
Six hours of integrated class and laboratory per week. Prerequisites: MATH 141 and a “C” or better in PHYS 151. This calculus-based course introduces students to the major themes and principles of electricity and magnetism (fields, potentials, and Maxwell’s equations) and their applications in the
context of charge distributions, current distributions, circuits, and optics. Students will be guided in the basics of computational, experimental, and /or theoretical physics practice.

PHYS 189. Core Seminar (4 Credits)
The seminar is an intensive study of a topic from the perspective of a particular discipline. The course introduces students to basic research principles and methods appropriate to the discipline. All seminar courses include research assignments appropriate to the 100 level. Seminars also emphasize discipline appropriate communication skills, including writing, oral presentation, and/or artistic expression. Seminars may be cross-listed to promote inter-disciplinary studies. May be repeated for credit when topic is different.

PHYS 199. Introduction to Special Topics in Physics (var. 1-4 Credits)
This course may be offered on demand. Covers predetermined introductory special topics of student interest and physics significance.

PHYS 251RI. Computational Research Methods in Physics (2 Credits; F/S)
Two hours per week. Prerequisites: MATH 141 and PHYS 151. Students will learn skills and methods used in computational physics research, including the use of primary literature. Students will practice these skills and methodologies in projects throughout the course. This course is research-intensive and partially satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

PHYS 252RI. Experimental Research Methods in Physics (2 Credits; F/S)
Two hours per week. Prerequisites: MATH 141 and PHYS 151. Students will learn skills and methods used in experimental physics research, including the use of primary literature. Students will practice these skills and methodologies in projects throughout the course. This course is research-intensive and partially satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

PHYS 253RI. Theoretical Research Methods in Physics (2 Credits; F/S)
Two hours per week. Prerequisites: MATH 141 and PHYS 151. Students will learn skills and methods used in theoretical physics research, including the use of primary literature. Students will practice these skills and methodologies in projects throughout the course. This course is research-intensive and partially satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

PHYS 305. Classical Mechanics (3 Credits; Offered in Fall of Odd Numbered Years)
Three hours per week. Prerequisites: PHYS 101, PHYS 151, MATH 300, and MATH 331. Co-requisite: One of MATH 315, MATH 316, MATH 320, MATH 351, MATH 354, MATH 411, MATH 412, or MATH 423.
Newtonian mechanics of particles and mechanical systems. Linear and nonlinear oscillations. Minimization techniques as applied to physics. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics. Rigid body motion.

PHYS 306. Statistical Mechanics (3 Credits, F EVEN)
Three hours per week. Prerequisites: PHYS 152. Co-requisite: MATH 331. Students will learn about the principles of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics such as equipartition theorem, heat capacities, entropy, free energies and phase transition in systems involving ideal gas, two-state systems, and solids.

PHYS 310. Electromagnetic Theory I (3 Credits; Offered in Fall of Even Numbered Years)
Three hours per week. Prerequisites: PHYS 101, PHYS 152, and MATH 331. Co-requisite: One of MATH 315, MATH 316, MATH 320, MATH 351, MATH 354, MATH 411, MATH 412, or MATH 423. Static electric fields and solution of electrostatic problems using vector analysis and differential equations. Electric
currents and electrical properties of materials.

PHYS 311. Electromagnetic Theory II (3 Credits; Offered in Spring of Odd Numbered Years)
Three hours per week. Prerequisite: “C” or better in PHYS 310 or consent of instructor. Static and time-varying magnetic fields. Magnetic properties of matter. Maxwell’s equations. Plane electromagnetic waves. Wave propagation in media, transmission lines, and wave guides.

PHYS 332. Junior Lab (1 or 2 Credits)
Three to six hours per week. May be repeated for up to three credit hours if the included experiments are different. Selected experiments in thermodynamics, advanced optics, holography, mechanics, or modern physics.

PHYS 405. Advanced Topics (3 Credits)
Three hours per week. Prerequisite: consent of the instructor. May be repeated for credit provided the content is different. Topics covered will vary and will depend upon the instructor teaching the course.

PHYS 410WS. Senior Physics Seminar I (1 Credit)
Prerequisite: PHYS 101. One hour per week. A speech and writing-intensive seminar about recent problems in physics, and the history and philosophy of physics designed to enable students to communicate effectively in situations encountered by professionals in physics. Two oral presentations will be given in class: the first will be as a contributed talk at a professional meeting, and the second will be as an invited talk at a professional meeting. Each presentation will be accompanied by an abstract and a written report. Written critiques of class presentation will be required.

PHYS 413. Quantum Mechanics I (3; Offered in Spring of Even Numbered Years)
Three hours per week. Prerequisites: MATH 300, and MATH 331, and a “C” or better in PHYS 203 or consent of instructor. The Schrodinger equation. Wave packets and free particle motion. The linear harmonic oscillator. Constant potential in one dimension. Central forces and the hydrogen atom.
Angular momentum. Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics.

PHYS 414. Quantum Mechanics II (3, S EVEN)
Three hours per week. Prerequisite: MATH 320, MATH 331 and “C” or better in PHYS 413. This course will be built on the principles of quantum mechanics. Students will learn about modeling identical particles, time-dependent and time-independent perturbation theory, various approximation techniques, and scattering.

PHYS 481RI. Senior Project (var. 1-3; Offered in Fall and Spring)
Two hours per week per credit hour. Prerequisite: PHYS 250RI; co-requisite: PHYS 305, PHYS 310, or PHYS 413. May be repeated once. The student will plan, implement, and evaluate original computational, educational, experimental, or theoretical physics research under the guidance of a designated physics faculty. The student is required to submit a research paper and/or make an oral
presentation of the project. This paper and/or presentation may also be submitted in PHYS 410SI/WI. This course is research-intensive and partially or wholly (depending on the number of hours registered for) satisfies the experiential learning requirement.

PHYS 495. Research Participation (var. 1-3 Credits; max. 3 Credits)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. May be taken for credit more than once, but only three credit hours will be counted toward satisfying the departmental degree requirements. Student participation directed by a member of the sciences or engineering faculty

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Department of Chemistry and Physics

Office location

Merritt Penticoff 132A
2800 University Blvd N
Jacksonville, FL 32211

Telephone number

(904) 256-7300