Course Descriptions

The Grenfell Campus of Memorial University offers a B.Sc. degree program in General Science with a Physics Stream available as one of the three possible areas of concentration. Grenfell also offers first- and some second-year core Physics courses of Memorial University which are required by many degree programs. See the Memorial Calendar for more complete details on majors, minors, honours, joint study, electives, etc.

Please see detailed list of courses required for the Physics stream of the Grenfell General Science degree. A tentative course rotation schedule for General Science, Physics Stream courses is available.

Courses usually taught by Physics faculty: (Click on the underlined course names to see the most recent web page.)

Physics 1020 Introductory Physics I: This course will be offered in Fall Term annually.; A non-calculus based introduction to mechanics.; Prerequisite: Mathematics 1000 or 1090, which may be taken concurrently.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Laboratory / Tutorial: Three hours per week.; Instructors: Dr. D. Forbes, Dr. P. Rouleau
Physics 1021 Introductory Physics II: This course will be offered in Winter Term annually.; A non-calculus based introduction to fluids, wave motion, light, optics, electricity and magnetism.; Prerequisite: Physics 1020 or 1050. Mathematics 1000 or 1091, which may be taken concurrently.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Laboratory / Tutorial: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. D. Forbes
Physics 1050 General Physics I: Mechanics: This course will be offered in Fall Term annually.; A calculus-based introduction to mechanics. The course will emphasize problem-solving.; Prerequisite: Mathematics 1000, which may be taken concurrently.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Laboratory: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. A. Aleksejevs
Physics 1051 General Physics II: Oscillations, Waves, Electromagnetism: This course will be offered in Winter Term annually.; Calculus-based study of simple harmonic motion and waves; electricity, magnetism; geometrical and physical optics.; Prerequisite: Physics 1050 and Mathematics 1001. Math 1001 may be taken concurrently.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Laboratory: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. A. Aleksejevs; NOTE: Credit can be obtained for only one of Physics 1021, 1051, and 1061.
Physics 2056 General Physics VI: Modern Physics: This course will be offered in Fall Term 2011.; Special relativity, quanta of light, atomic structure and spectral lines, quantum structure of atoms and molecules, nuclei and elementary particles.; Prerequisite: Mathematics 1001, Physics 1050 (or 1020 and 1021), and Physics 1051 (or 1054).; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Laboratory: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. D. Forbes
Physics 2065 Experimental & Computational Physics: This course will be offered in Fall Term 2012.; Laboratory techniques, including experimental method and design. Data analysis, including application of statistics to experimental physics. Numerical analysis using Maple, and an introduction to modelling in physics. Topics are introduced through experiments, complementary lectures, and library research of some of the great experiments of physics.; Prerequisite: Physics 1051 (or 2054), Mathematics 1001, and Mathematics 2050 which may be taken concurrently.; Lectures and laboratories: Six hours per week.; Instructor: TBA
Earth Science 2150 The Solar System: This course will be offered in 2012/13.; Basic astronomy of the Solar System, tracing the search to understand motion of the Sun, Moon and planets in the sky; modern observations of planets, moons, comets, asteroids and meteorites and what they tell us about the origin and evolution of the solar system.; Prerequisite: There are no Math or Physics prerequisites.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. D. Forbes
Physics 2151 Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics: This course will be offered in Winter Term 2012.; Atomic structure and spectra. The sun: radiation, energetics, magnetic field. Stars: distance, velocity, size, atmospheres, interiors. Variable stars, multiple stars, clusters and associations. Stellar evolution, interstellar matter, structure of the Milky Way galaxy. Exterior galaxies, quasi-stellar objects, pulsars. Cosmology.; Prerequisite: Two semester courses in Mathematics at the first year level.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. D. Forbes
Physics 2553 Introduction to Analog and Digital Electronics: This course will not be offered in 2011/12.; The basics of analog and digital electronics: direct current circuits, capacitors and inductors, alternating currents, test equipment and measurement, transducers, diodes and transistors, an introduction to operational amplifiers, digital basics, digital circuitry, and digital and analog I/O.; Lectures: This course will be taught in combined lab/lecture format with two 3-hour sessions per week.; Prerequisites: Physics 1021 or 1051 and Mathematics 1000 or equivalent.; Instructor: Dr. A. Aleksejevs
Physics 3060 Electricity and Magnetism: This course will be offered in Winter Term 2012.; Coulomb's law; electrostatic field and potential; Gauss' law; conductors; magnetostatics; Ampere's law; Biot - Savart law; dielectric and magnetic materials, electrostatic and magnetostatic energy; Lorentz force; time varying fields; Faraday's law; Maxwell's equations.; Prerequisite: Physics 1051 and Mathematics 3260. Math 3260 may be taken concurrently.; Credit restrictions: Physics 3500.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Laboratory: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. A. Aleksejevs
Physics 3160 Stellar and Galactic Astronomy: This course will not be offered in 2011/12.; The physics and mathematics of stars and galaxies. Orbits and the two-body problem, radiation and matter, theory of stellar atmospheres, structure and evolution of stars. Galaxies: morphology and kinematics. Milky Way kinematics and structure, large-scale formation, the distribution of interstellar matter in galaxies. Starburst and active galaxies. An introduction to cosmology.; Prerequisite: Physics 2056 and 2151 and Mathematics 2000. Physics 3220 is recommended.; Credit restrictions: Physics 3150, 3151.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. D. Forbes
Physics 3220 Classical Mechanics I: This course will not be offered in 2011/12.; Kinematics and dynamics of a particle. Moving reference systems. Celestial mechanics. Systems of particles.; Prerequisite: Applied Mathematics 3260 and Physics 1051 (or 1054). AM 3260 may be taken concurrently.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Instructor:
Physics 3820 Mathematical Physics II: This course will not be offered in 2011/12.; Examines the functions of a a complex variable; residue calculus. Introduction to Cartesian tensor analysis. Matrix eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Diagonalization of tensors. Matrix formulation of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanical spin. Vector differential operators in curvilinear coordinate systems. Partial differential equations of Mathematical Physics and boundary value problems; derivation of the classical equations, separation of variables; Helmholtz equation in spherical polar coordinates.; Prerequisite: Applied Mathematics/Pure Mathematics 3260, and Physics 3810 (or Applied Mathematics/Pure Mathematics 3202).; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. A. Aleksejevs
Engineering 1010 Engineering Statics: This course will be offered in 2011/12.; This is the first course in Engineering mechanics. Forces and moments are described with vector algebra, leading to a description of the equilibrium conditions for particles and solid bodies. The importance of free body diagrams is highlighted. This knowledge is then applied to the analysis of trusses, frames and machines. Additional topics include an examination of friction and the concepts of centre of force, centroids and second moments of area.; Prerequisite: Level III Physics or Physics 1020 and Mathematics 1000 (which may be taken concurrently); Lectures: Three hours plus one hour tutorial per week.; Instructor: Dr. P. Rouleau
Engineering 1040 Mechanisms and Electric Circuits: This course will be offered in 2011/12.; This course is offered in two serial modules, including laboratory and workshop practice, and a team project to expose students to the concept of system integration involving electrical and mechanical systems. The electrical module provides an introduction to dc circuits, with an analysis of dc circuits used in control, measurement and instrumentation systems. The mechanism module provides an introduction to machine components such as belts, pulleys, gears, and simple linkages. The laboratory and workshop component introduces students to hands-on practice in basic laboratory instruments, tools and safety procedures. A team project involves the construction, assembly and testing of a simple mechanism.; Prerequisite: Level III Physics or Physics 1051 (which may be taken concurrently) and Mathematics 1000 (which may be taken concurrently); Lectures: Three hours plus three hour laboratory period per week; Instructor: Dr. P. Rouleau
EnvS 3470 Transport Phenomena: This course will not be offered in 2011/12.; Fundamentals of fluid flow. Conservation laws for mass, momentum, and energy. Dimensional analysis. Turbulence. Confined fluid flows. Fundamentals of heat transfer. Conduction, convention, and radiation. Diffusion, dispersion, and osmosis. Applications to transport of pollutants at the microscopic and macroscopic scale.; Prerequisites: Mathematics 1001. Physics 1020 and 1021 or 1050 and 1051.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. P. Rouleau
EnvS 4479 Groundwater Flow: This course will not be offered in 2011/12.; Groundwater in the hydrologic cycle. Principles of fluid flow through permeable media. Hydraulic properties of soil and rock formations. Groundwater at the local and regional scale. The unit basin model. Groundwater as a transport agent of chemicals and microbes. Groundwater resources, reservoir characterisation, and quality assessment. Groundwater contamination.; Prerequisite: Environmental Science 3470 or the permission of the instructor and Program Chair.; Lectures: Three hours per week.; Instructor: Dr. P. Rouleau

Last update: 04 October, 2011

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