BACHELOR OF SCIENCE COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS MAJOR COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
PS261 College Physics I
Recommended for medical arts and general science students. Mechanics, heat, and sound are studied. Lecture-recitation and laboratory.
Prerequisite: Trigonometry and College algebra.
This is a general education course - 5 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Karen Camarda
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS262 College Physics II
A continuation of College Physics I. Electricity, optics and modern physics. Lecture-recitation and laboratory.
Prerequisite: PS 261.
This is not a general education course - 5 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Karen Camarda
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS281 General Physics I
Required for students who wish to major in physics and astronomy and for pre-engineering students. Mechanics, heat, and sound are studied. Lecture-recitation and laboratory.
Prerequisite: MA 151 or concurrent enrollment.
This is a general education course - 5 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Steve Black
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS282 General Physics II
A continuation of General Physics I. Electricity and magnetism, optics, and modern physics. Lecture-recitation and laboratory.
Prerequisite: PS 281.
This is not a general education course - 5 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Steve Black
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS291 Elementary Computational Physics
An introduction to computer modeling of physics problems using spreadsheet programs, computer algebra systems, and other mathematical software.
Prerequisite: MA 151 (Calculus and Analytical Geometry I) or concurrent enrollment
This is not a general education course - 2 credit hours
Instructors for this course: Dr. Karen Camarda
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS320 Electromagnetic Theory I
The basic theory of electromagnetic fields and waves using the calculus and vector methods.
Prerequisite: PS 262 or 282; MA 153.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Karen Camarda
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS330 Optics
Physical and geometrical optics. Lecture-recitation.
Prerequisite: PS 262 or 282.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Steve Black and Dr. Brian Thomas
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS334 Thermodynamics
A consideration of heat phenomena, the first and second laws of thermodynamics, their principal consequences and applications to simple systems, and the kinetic theory of gases.
Prerequisite: PS 262 or 282; MA 153.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Brian Thomas
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS335 Theoretical Mechanics I
A mathematical study of classical mechanics. Rigid body statics and dynamics of particles and systems of particles, kinematics and dynamics of particles and systems of particles, and conservative and non-conservative force fields.
Prerequisite: PS 262 or 282; MA 153.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Brian Thomas
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS340 Electronics
Digital electronic circuits and devices with special emphasis on computer interfacing to instrumentation. Two one-hour lectures and one three-hour laboratory a week.
Prerequisite: PS 262 or 282; MA 153.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Steve Black
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS350 Modern Physics I
Phenomena specific to the extra-nuclear structure of the atom; phenomena peculiar to the atomic nucleus; introduction to quantum and wave mechanics, and relativity.
Prerequisite: PS 262 or 282; MA 153.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Karen Camarda
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS360 Experimental Physics
Experimental design and techniques. Extensive use of technical literature will be necessary. Independent work is encouraged.
Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor.
This is not a general education course - 1 or 2 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Steve Black, Dr. Karen Camarda and Dr. Brian Thomas Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS365 Introduction to Theoretical Physics
Application of ordinary and partial differential equations, Fourier series, Laplace transforms, Gamma functions, and complex variables to problems in the fields of physics and engineering.
Prerequisite: PS 262 or 282 or concurrent enrollment.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Brian Thomas
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS366 Introduction to Computational Physics
Techniques and models in computational physics.
Prerequisites: PS 262 or 282; MA 153.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Karen Camarda
Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.
PS368 Computational Physics Research
Computational physics research in any of the areas of physics. A written and an oral presentation of the work is required.
Prerequisite: departmental permission.
This is not a general education course - 3 credit hours
Instructor(s) for this course: Dr. Steve Black, Dr. Karen Camarda and Dr. Brian Thomas Check the particular faculty web page for a copy of the class syllabus.