Courses

To view current courses, please visit the Physics course catalog.

What to Expect

What type of readings are involved in first-and-second-year courses? (e.g. articles, textbook) How much reading should a student expect to do per week?  

Fall semester, year 1: PHYS 101 or 101H - Students use the OpenStax University Physics Vol. 1 (free). The course covers 17 chapters, which is about 900 pages of text. PHYS 101L – Weekly laboratory projects with a pre-read. The text for the course is available for free via blackboard. Intended to be taken at the same time as PHYS 101 or PHYS 101H. The expectations are similar for PHYS 107 and 107L, which uses OpenStax College Physics (12 chapters), but these courses are not intended for physics majors.   

Spring semester, year 1: PHYS 102 or 102H - Students use the OpenStax University Physics Vol. 2 and parts of Vol. 3 (both free). The course consists of 20 chapters, which is about 900 pages of text. PHYS 102L – Weekly laboratory projects with a pre-read. The text for the course is available for free via blackboard. Intended to be taken at the same time as PHYS 102 or PHYS 102H. The expectations are similar for PHYS 108 and 108L, which uses OpenStax College Physics (18 chapters), but these courses are not intended for physics majors. 

Fall semester, year 2: PHYS 201: Students use Modern Physics by Serway, Moses, Moyer.  Readings are about 1 chapter every 2 weeks (30-40 pages per week). Additionally, students read another few-page article each week for a discussion session related to the COLL200 “reaching out” component.  Most of those articles come from Leach, Jamie and Sher, Marc T., "Physics 201: Modern Physics" (2015). Arts & Sciences Open Educational Resources. 2. (https://scholarworks.wm.edu/asoer/2) Though, in some weeks students read a scientific paper or watch a podcast. PHYS 251: Atomic Physics Lab - The course has about 4 pages of reading per week based with weekly materials posted online. The readings consist of a description of error and data analysis techniques and descriptions of how to do the weekly experiments, along with the associated physics. There is also some reading and writing of Python code. 

What sorts of assignments should a student expect in first-and-second-year courses? (e.g. quizzes, group projects, presentations) 

Fall semester, year 1: PHYS 101 or 101H - Weekly homework assignments submitted online and three midterm exams during the semester. PHYS 101L – 10 weekly in-class laboratory projects with post-lab write ups submitted online. No final exam. The expectations are similar in PHYS 107 and 107L.  

Spring semester, year 1: PHYS 102 or 102H - Weekly homework assignments submitted online and three midterm exams during the semester. PHYS 102L – 10 weekly in-class laboratory projects with post-lab write ups submitted online. No final exam. The expectations are similar in PHYS 108 and 108L. 

Fall semester, year 2: PHYS 201:  Weekly homework assignments of physics problems. Students also write up their reflections (<1page) over the readings that prepare them for the discussion. There are two midterm exams. PHYS 251: Atomic Physics Lab - Every two weeks (on average), students each turn in three assignments: 1) a short pre-lab 1–2-page problem set, 2) their 3-4 page lab report for their experiment, as well as 3) their associated lab book notes (3-6 pages, typically). 

Beyond the required course texts, are there other course materials a student should be prepared to purchase for first-and-second-year courses? 

A scientific calculator is expected for all physics courses. PHYS 101/101H/102/102H - Students would need to spend $35 to access a website service with homework assignments.  The fee is charged by the company to provide an automatic grading service.  PHYS 101L/102L – These courses have a $20 lab fee. PHYS 201: None. PHYS 251: This course has a $40 lab fee. Students are required to purchase a bound lab book for the course ($20). 

Is there anything else that is important for first-and-second-year students to know and/or expect from their courses? 

It is important in any of these courses to complete reading and homework done on time. Students won’t learn the materials sufficiently without doing the assignments and writeups. There are two versions of the introductory sequences: PHYS 101/102 is meant for physics or chemistry majors; PHYS 101H primarily targets physics majors who have had previously taken an honors, IB, or AP physics course. PHYS 101H has 3 lectures per week and a “problem session” to go over homework and example problems, which meets on Thursdays. PHYS 101 also has problems sessions. Students can pick one from a number of meetings either on Wednesdays or Thursdays. The PHYS 101 problem sessions are required and are registered for separately (PHYS 101P). The same is true for the second semesters for these sequences. A physics major would take: Semester 1 - PHYS 101(H) and PHYS 101L Semester 2 - PHYS 102(H) and PHYS 102L Semester 3: * PHYS 201(modern physics) * A Lab course of either: PHYS 251 (standard physics track) or APSC 251 (EPAD track) * PHYS 256 (practical computing) to meet departmental computing requirements (some students take this in a subsequent semester) PHYS 201: Students are expected to be well versed in PHYS 101/102 and MATH 111/112. Some first years come in with the prerequisites for this course met, but they often are not as prepared as the second-year students who took physics at W&M and can fall behind pretty quickly. PHYS 251: Atomic Physics Lab, the students should expect to put in 3-9 hours of work each week. Note that PHYS 101/102/107/18 are offered each summer (remote synchronous lectures). The corresponding laboratories are offered in hybrid lab format (online work and 2 Saturdays in person on campus).