PHYS 1101: University Physics II (winter)

2 Physics 1101
Prerequisites
PHYS 1100 University Physics I
PHYS 1101 depends on this course weakly, as the topics in 1101 (oscillations, waves,
thermodynamics, and E&M) can all, in principle, be taught independently of a course
in mechanics. However, the terms and nomenclature, problem solving skills, and level of
sophistication students gain from PHYS 1100 are what make it possible for the instructor
to cover all the material of this course in one term.
MATH 1210 Introductory Calculus I
Students completing MATH 1210 can do any kind of differentiation this course requires.
Students should also be taking MATH 1211 at the same time as this course, and by week
4 when the unit on thermodynamics is begun, students have had a good introduction to
integration. However, the E&M unit starting in week 7 requires the use of closed and
open path and surface integrals which are not covered in MATH 1211, and the instructor
should be prepared to explain these kinds of integrals in class (see Note 2 in the section
Notes to the Instructor).
Students who failed MATH 1210 in the first semester or who took MATH 1090 instead of
MATH 1210 because they failed the placement exam, are now just taking MATH 1210 and
integration will be completely foreign to them. Those students who seek help because of this
have a good chance to get through this course; those who don’t invariably drop it.
Dependent courses
ASTR 2100 Foundations of Astrophysics
ASTR 2100 requires the general physics background and problem-solving skills that
PHYS 1100 and PHYS 1101 provide.
PHYS 2300 Vibrations, Waves, and Optics
PHYS 2300 builds directly on the unit on oscillations and waves covered in the first three
weeks of PHYS 1101. In addition, PHYS 2300 benefits from the general background in
physics and the problem-solving skills provided by both PHYS 1100 and PHYS 1101.
PHYS 2400 Electricity and Magnetism
PHYS 2500 provides the student with a full-course overview of the E&M unit covered
in this course in its last six weeks. While the ideas introduced in PHYS 2500 are largely
the same as those seen here, the level of sophistication of the problems is significantly
higher. To be suitably prepared for PHYS 2500, this course should expose students to all
Maxwell’s equations in integral form, including a discussion of the displacement current