PHYS - Physics

Required of all first-year students to be taken in their first semester on campus, this seminar provides an overview of academic requirements for graduation and helps establish meaningful career goals and objectives. Discussion of policies, standards, procedures, expectations, and resources will contribute to student success not only during the first semester, but throughout the student's academic career at GCSU.

This course provides both a basic introduction to the practical mathematical and problem solving techniques used in first semester introductory physics and an introduction to the philosophy and ethics of physics and astronomy.

This course provides an introduction to practical mathematical skills and basic programming techniques in Matlab, with a focus on applying these techniques to solve physics problems numerically.

Corequisite: PHYS1111L. An introductory course that will include material from mechanics, thermodynamics, and waves. Elementary algebra and trigonometry will be used.

Corequisite: PHYS 1111. Laboratory course to accompany PHYS 1111. Additional laboratory fee required; see semester course schedule for amount.

Prerequisites: PHYS 1111 and MATH 1113. An introductory course that will include material from electromagnetism, optics, and modern physics. Elementary algebra and trigonometry will be used.

Co-requisite: PHYS 1112. Laboratory course to accompany PHYS 1112. Additional laboratory fee required; see semester course schedule for amount.

Corequisite: PHYS 2211L. Prerequisites: MATH 1261 or ( PHYS 1011 and MATH 1113). An introductory course that will include material from mechanics, thermodynamics, and waves. Elementary differential calculus will be used.

Corequisite: PHYS 2211. Laboratory course to accompany PHYS 2211. Additional laboratory fee required; see semester course schedule for amount.

Corequisite: PHYS 2212L. Prerequisites: PHYS 2211, and MATH 1262 or (PHYS 1012 and MATH 1261). An introductory course that will include material from electromagnetism, optics, and modern physics. Elementary differential and integral calculus will be used.

Prerequisite: PHYS 2212. Laboratory course to accompany PHYS 2212. This course has a laboratory fee. Corequisite: PHYS 2212.

This course is required of all physics majors and is to be taken in the Fall semester of their second year. An overview of support services and leadership opportunities will be presented in order to facilitate development of an academic portfolio and an experiential transcript. These resources are expected to contribute to the student's successful completion of a BS in Physics at GC.

Prerequisite: Permission of department. Consideration of topics in which courses are not otherwise offered, but for which there is a current need at the freshman/sophomore level. This course is repeatable for credit.

Prerequisite: Department approval. PHYS 2999 will provide physics majors with a foundation in research methods. To this aim students will investigate areas ranging from exploring the physical literature to the understanding of physical research. This course is intended to serve as preparation for physical research (PHYS 4999). The subject of physical research is as diverse as the physics faculty and consequently the course content is expected to change at the discretion of the faculty member teaching the course. This course will count as an elective in the physics major. This course is repeatable for credit.

Prerequisites: MATH 1262 and PHYS 2211. An intermediate level course on the subject of the dynamics of an individual particle and a system of particles as determined by Newton's laws of motion and gravity. Also included are the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of dynamics.

Prerequisite: PHYS 2211. This course covers the basic theory of engineering mechanics, using calculus to study composition and resolution of forces, moments and couples acting on structures, equilibrium in two and three dimensions, free body diagrams, friction, centroids, centers of gravity, and moments of inertia.

Prerequisite: PHYS 3001. This course covers the basic theory of engineering mechanics, using calculus to study Kinematics and dynamics of particles rigid bodies in one, two, and three dimensions. Including work-energy and impulse-momentum concepts.

Prerequisites: MATH 1262 and PHYS 2211. An intermediate level course on the subject of the dynamics of an individual particle and a system of particles as determined by Newton's laws of motion and gravity. Also included are the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of dynamics.

Prerequisites: MATH 2263 and PHYS 2212 (These prerequisites may be taken concurrent with the course). A basic introduction to non-relativistic quantum physics and its applications to atomic and molecular systems and to Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity.

Prerequisites: MATH 2263 and PHYS 2212. An intermediate level course on the topics of electrostatics, magnetostatics, Maxwell's equations and electromagnetic waves.

Prerequisite: PHYS 2212. Laboratory course designed for junior level physics majors to explore experimental techniques and electronics. Required of physics majors. Additional laboratory fee required; see semester course schedule for amount. Offered only in the spring.

Prerequisites: PHYS 3010. This course covers concepts of temperature, entropy, and other characteristic thermodynamic functions, with application to macroscopic properties of matter. The laws of thermodynamics. Introduction to statistical mechanics, incluing quantum statistics.

Prerequisites: MATH 2263; PHYS 1012, PHYS 2212, and 2212L. Mathematical and numerical techniques taught in Matlab, used in advanced physics and engineering courses. Topics may include numerical integration, interpolation, FFT, linear algebra, initial and boundary value problems. Offered only in the fall of even years.

Prerequisites: PHYS 3010, MATH 2263, and MATH 2150. An introduction to nonrelativistic quantum physics with an emphasis on applications related to chemistry.

Prerequisite: At least 8 hours of physics. Presentation and discussion of issues in modern physics. Required of all junior physics majors.

Prerequisite: PHYS 3100. A course on the following advanced topics of electromagnetism: electromagnetic radiation; the Lorentz Transformation; four vectors, tensors, and the invariance of Maxwell's equations; the Coulomb and Lorentz Gauges; and gauge invariance. Offered only in the fall of odd years.

Prerequisite: PHYS 3000. An introduction to the theories of special and general relativity and their applications to cosmology and space-time. Offered only in the fall of even years.

Prerequisite: PHYS 2212 and PHYS 3321. An introduction to the physics of the atomic nucleus with an emphasis on experimental methods. Offered only in the spring of odd years.

Prerequisite: PHYS 3321. An introduction to non-relativistic quantum physics of systems of particles in multiple dimensions. Offered only in the spring of odd years.

Prerequisites: PHYS 3010. Laboratory course designed for senior level physics majors to explore experimental techniques and topics of modern physics. Required of physics majors. Additional laboratory fee required; see semester course schedule for amount. Offered only in the fall.

Prerequisite: PHYS 3920. Presentation and discussion of issues in modern physics. Required of all senior physics majors.

Prerequisite: Department approval. This course is repeatable for credit.

Prerequisites: minimum 15 semester hours of physics and department chairperson approval. A course designed to give physics majors an internship opportunity in their field of study.

Prerequisite: Approval of department chairperson. Selected advanced topics in physics taught in a study abroad program.

Prerequisites: 8 Credits of Physics, an additional 8 credits of mathematics, astronomy or chemistry, approval of department chairman. Course designed to offer the student a meaningful experience in scientific research. This course is repeatable for credit.