UTA 2012 - 2013 Undergraduate Catalog: Course Catalog

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PHYS 1188 SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN GENERAL PHYSICS (1-0) Primarily laboratory work and/or problem-solving in general technical physics. The objective is to prepare the student whose background in physics is of a non-technical nature to do advanced study in technical physics. Prerequisite: six hours of physics and concurrent enrollment in MATH 1325.
PHYS 1288 SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN GENERAL PHYSICS (0-0) Primarily laboratory work and/or problem-solving in general technical physics. The objective is to prepare the student whose background in physics is of a non-technical nature to do advanced study in technical physics. Prerequisite: six hours of physics and concurrent enrollment in MATH 1325.
PHYS 1313 MECH & HEAT (0-0)
PHYS 1400 INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL ACOUSTICS (3-3) An introduction, for the music major, to the nature of periodic motion and its relation to music, characteristics of sound waves, sources of sound used in music, musical scales and temperament, mechanics of hearing, recording and reproduction of sound. May not be used to satisfy any of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in physics.
PHYS 1401 PHYSICS FOR NON-SPECIALISTS I (3-2) PHYS 1401 and 1402 constitute a one-year introductory course for liberal arts and business majors. How physics plays a role in everyday life; explanations of how things work. Helps develop analytical thinking. The first semester explains motion and forces and heat.
PHYS 1402 PHYSICS FOR NON-SPECIALISTS II (3-2) Follows PHYS 1401 and explains sound, light, electricity, and magnetism. Prerequisite: PHYS 1401 or permission of instructor.
PHYS 1441 GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS I (3-3) The first half of a one-year, non-calculus introductory physics course taken by pre-medical, pre-dental, biology and architectural majors and others. The study of mechanics, elasticity, fluids, heat and waves is supplemented by laboratory experiments. Familiarity with high school algebra and trigonometry is required.
PHYS 1442 GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS II (3-3) The second half of a one-year, non-calculus introductory physics course. Subject matter includes electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and modern physics. Prerequisite: PHYS 1441 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
PHYS 1443 GENERAL TECHNICAL PHYSICS I (3-3) The first half of a one-year technical course. Required for many science and engineering majors, exceeds premedical requirement. The study of physical phenomena in the fields of mechanics, heat, and waves. Concurrent enrollment in MATH 1426 (per prerequisite) is not recommended if no prior background in calculus. Prerequisite: MATH 1426 or consent of instructor.
PHYS 1444 GENERAL TECHNICAL PHYSICS II (3-3) The second half of a one-year technical course. The study of physical phenomena including electricity, magnetism, circuit theory, light, and optics. Prerequisite: PHYS 1443 and MATH 2325 or 2425 or concurrent enrollment.
PHYS 1445 INTRODUCTORY ASTRONOMY I (3-2) PHYS 1445 and 1446 constitute a one-year sequence for any student who is interested in learning his/her place within the astronomical universe. These two courses satisfy eight hours of the 11-hour science requirement in the core curriculum and are designed for students in the Colleges of Liberal Arts or Business Administration. The first semester consists of an essentially descriptive treatment of the apparent motions and properties of members of the solar system including the sun, the planets and their moons, comets and rockets, and satellites as well as the mechanics and evolution of the solar system. The laboratory work includes the use of astronomical telescopes for observation.
PHYS 1446 INTRODUCTORY ASTRONOMY II (3-2) Follows PHYS 1445 and focuses on the science of stars and galaxies. Properties of light are applied to the understanding and classification of stars and to determining their distances. Topics include nuclear reactions, binary stars, variable stars, exploding stars, black holes, and star clusters. The course concludes with the structure of the Milky Way and the role galaxies play in modern cosmological theories. The laboratory work includes telescopic observations.
PHYS 2311 MATHEMATICAL METHODS OF PHYSICS (3-0) Harmonic oscillators, waves, vector description of particles and fields, coordinate transformations, eigenvalue problems, and systems of linear equations. Prerequisite: MATH 2325 or 2425 and PHYS 1288 or 1444.
PHYS 2315 INTRODUCTORY ASTROPHYSICS (3-0) This course introduces Science and Engineering majors to astrophysics. Subject matter includes the solar system, stellar properties and evolution, the Milky Way galaxy, normal and active galaxies, and cosmology. Prerequisite: PHYS 1444 or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 2321 COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS (3-0) Development of computational techniques, including simulation, through applications to physical problems. A survey of topics including the multi-body problem, celestial mechanics, scattering, chaos, percolation, fractals, random processes, Fourier techniques in wave phenomena, Monte Carlo methods, and image reconstruction techniques. Prerequisite: PHYS 1444.
PHYS 2441 MAGN&ELEC (0-0)
PHYS 2442 SO LT&MOD PHYS (0-0)
PHYS 3183 MODERN PHYSICS LABORATORY (0-3) Supplements the topics covered in PHYS 3313. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313 or concurrent enrollment.
PHYS 3313 INTRODUCTION TO MODERN PHYSICS (3-0) A brief introduction to the theories of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics followed by a survey of atomic physics, conductors, semiconductors and modern electronic devices, nuclear and sub-nuclear physics. Prerequisite: PHYS 1288 or 1444, and MATH 2325 or 2425.
PHYS 3315 ASTROPHYSICS AND COSMOLOGY (3-0) Diverse concepts in theoretical physics are applied to a wide range of astrophysical problems. Topics include stellar properties, spectra, and evolution, radiation transport, nuclear reactions, degenerate matter, orbital mechanics, galactic dynamics, introductory general relativity and cosmology. Prerequisite: PHYS 2315, 3313 and MATH 3318 or 3319, or permission by the instructor.
PHYS 3316 ASTROBIOLOGY (3-0) This is an interdisciplinary course between astrophysics, biology, and geology. Topics include properties of life, origin and evolution of life on Earth, mass extinctions, extremophiles, search for life in the Solar System, space missions, stellar habitable zones, SETI, Fermi paradox, Drake equation. Prerequisites: PHYS 1441, 1442, 2315 and BIOL 3315, or permission by the instructor. Offered as BIOL 3316, GEOL 3316, and PHYS 3316; credit will be granted only once.
PHYS 3321 INTERMEDIATE ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM (3-0) Vector algebra and vector calculus applied to electrostatics, magnetostatics, the study of dielectric materials, and boundary value problems. Prerequisite: PHYS 2311 and MATH 3318 or 3319.
PHYS 3366 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PRE-COLLEGE PHYSICAL SCIENCE INSTRUCTION (1-6) A laboratory oriented curriculum for teaching physical science and/or physics is developed and experienced. The developed curriculum is particularly appropriate for pre-college instruction. May be repeated for credit as the subject matter changes, but not more than six hours credit may be accumulated. Prerequisite: junior standing, six hours of science, three hours of education, and consent of the instructor.
PHYS 3445 OPTICS (3-3) Fundamental principles of physical and geometric optics, absorption and scattering, Planck's quantum theory of radiation, diffraction, interference, light sources, and spectra. Prerequisite: PHYS 1288 or 1444, and MATH 2325 or 2425.
PHYS 3446 NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS (3-3) The study of atomic nuclei and the fundamental constituents of matter. Topics include nuclear structure, radioactivity, nuclear reactions, fission, fusion, particles and their interactions, the standard model of particle physics, experimental methods, accelerators, and examples from current research topics. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313.
PHYS 3455 ELECTRONICS (3-3) A study of electronic components and quantum devices and their application to circuits and instrumentation of interest to physics students. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313 and MATH 2325 or 2425 or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 4117 INDIVIDUAL LEARNING BY SEMINAR (0-0) Individual instruction on using the seminar as a model of learning current topics in physics. An individual report is required. Prerequisite: 18 hours of physics and senior standing.
PHYS 4171 ADVANCED OPTICS LABORATORY (0-3) Special laboratory projects in advanced optics. Prerequisite: PHYS 3445 or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 4181 SPECIAL PROBLEMS (0-0) Selected projects in research or teaching laboratories, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed four hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.
PHYS 4185 ADVANCED ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM LABORATORY (0-3) Supplements the topics covered in PHYS 3321 and 4324. Prerequisite: PHYS 4324 or concurrent enrollment.
PHYS 4191 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PHYSICS (1-0) Selected topics arranged on an individual basis, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed three hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.
PHYS 4271 ADVANCED OPTICS LAB (0-6) Special laboratory projects in advanced optics. Prerequisite: PHYS 3445 or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 4281 SPECIAL PROBLEMS (0-0) Selected projects in research or teaching laboratories, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed four hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.
PHYS 4291 SPECIAL TOPICS (2-0) Selected topics arranged on an individual basis, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed three hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.
PHYS 4315 THERMODYNAMICS AND STATISTICAL MECHANICS (3-0) Topics in classical thermodynamics include the laws of thermodynamics, Gibbs' and Helmoltz's free energies, the Maxwell relations, heat capacities, entropy change calculations, phase and chemical changes. Statistical mechanics centers on the partition function and its applications, such as the entropy of an ideal gas, the Maxwell velocity distribution, the heat capacity of a solid, photon statistics, and blackbody radiation. Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313 and MATH 2326 or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 4319 ADVANCED MECHANICS (3-0) Coupled oscillators, central forces, Lagrange's equations, Hamilton's canonical equations, the moment of inertia tensor, and the application of Euler's angles to rotational motion. Prerequisite: PHYS 2311, 3321, and MATH 3318 or 3319, or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 4324 ADVANCED ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM (3-0) Electromagnetic phenomena based on Maxwell's equations and particle-field interactions. Prerequisite: PHYS 3321 or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 4325 SOLID STATE PHYSICS (3-0) Classification of crystalline solids and elastic and thermal properties, electric and magnetic properties, and electronic properties of solids. An introduction to current research problems. Prerequisite: PHYS 4315 or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 4326 INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM MECHANICS (3-0) Schroedinger's equation and implications, the free particle, the one-electron atom, the potential barrier, and perturbation theory. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313, MATH 3318 or 3319, or permission of the instructor.
PHYS 4391 SPECIAL TOPICS (3-0) Selected topics arranged on an individual basis, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed three hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.
PHYS 4393 HONORS THESIS IN PHYSICS (3-0) Required of all students in the University Honors College. During the senior year the honors physics major will perform a research project under the direction of a Physics Department faculty member.

PHYS 1188 SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN GENERAL PHYSICS (1-0) Primarily laboratory work and/or problem-solving in general technical physics. The objective is to prepare the student whose background in physics is of a non-technical nature to do advanced study in technical physics. Prerequisite: six hours of physics and concurrent enrollment in MATH 1325.

PHYS 1288 SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN GENERAL PHYSICS (0-0) Primarily laboratory work and/or problem-solving in general technical physics. The objective is to prepare the student whose background in physics is of a non-technical nature to do advanced study in technical physics. Prerequisite: six hours of physics and concurrent enrollment in MATH 1325.

PHYS 1313 MECH & HEAT (0-0)

PHYS 1400 INTRODUCTION TO MUSICAL ACOUSTICS (3-3) An introduction, for the music major, to the nature of periodic motion and its relation to music, characteristics of sound waves, sources of sound used in music, musical scales and temperament, mechanics of hearing, recording and reproduction of sound. May not be used to satisfy any of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in physics.

PHYS 1401 PHYSICS FOR NON-SPECIALISTS I (3-2) PHYS 1401 and 1402 constitute a one-year introductory course for liberal arts and business majors. How physics plays a role in everyday life; explanations of how things work. Helps develop analytical thinking. The first semester explains motion and forces and heat.

PHYS 1402 PHYSICS FOR NON-SPECIALISTS II (3-2) Follows PHYS 1401 and explains sound, light, electricity, and magnetism. Prerequisite: PHYS 1401 or permission of instructor.

PHYS 1441 GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS I (3-3) The first half of a one-year, non-calculus introductory physics course taken by pre-medical, pre-dental, biology and architectural majors and others. The study of mechanics, elasticity, fluids, heat and waves is supplemented by laboratory experiments. Familiarity with high school algebra and trigonometry is required.

PHYS 1442 GENERAL COLLEGE PHYSICS II (3-3) The second half of a one-year, non-calculus introductory physics course. Subject matter includes electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and modern physics. Prerequisite: PHYS 1441 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.

PHYS 1443 GENERAL TECHNICAL PHYSICS I (3-3) The first half of a one-year technical course. Required for many science and engineering majors, exceeds premedical requirement. The study of physical phenomena in the fields of mechanics, heat, and waves. Concurrent enrollment in MATH 1426 (per prerequisite) is not recommended if no prior background in calculus. Prerequisite: MATH 1426 or consent of instructor.

PHYS 1444 GENERAL TECHNICAL PHYSICS II (3-3) The second half of a one-year technical course. The study of physical phenomena including electricity, magnetism, circuit theory, light, and optics. Prerequisite: PHYS 1443 and MATH 2325 or 2425 or concurrent enrollment.

PHYS 1445 INTRODUCTORY ASTRONOMY I (3-2) PHYS 1445 and 1446 constitute a one-year sequence for any student who is interested in learning his/her place within the astronomical universe. These two courses satisfy eight hours of the 11-hour science requirement in the core curriculum and are designed for students in the Colleges of Liberal Arts or Business Administration. The first semester consists of an essentially descriptive treatment of the apparent motions and properties of members of the solar system including the sun, the planets and their moons, comets and rockets, and satellites as well as the mechanics and evolution of the solar system. The laboratory work includes the use of astronomical telescopes for observation.

PHYS 1446 INTRODUCTORY ASTRONOMY II (3-2) Follows PHYS 1445 and focuses on the science of stars and galaxies. Properties of light are applied to the understanding and classification of stars and to determining their distances. Topics include nuclear reactions, binary stars, variable stars, exploding stars, black holes, and star clusters. The course concludes with the structure of the Milky Way and the role galaxies play in modern cosmological theories. The laboratory work includes telescopic observations.

PHYS 2311 MATHEMATICAL METHODS OF PHYSICS (3-0) Harmonic oscillators, waves, vector description of particles and fields, coordinate transformations, eigenvalue problems, and systems of linear equations. Prerequisite: MATH 2325 or 2425 and PHYS 1288 or 1444.

PHYS 2315 INTRODUCTORY ASTROPHYSICS (3-0) This course introduces Science and Engineering majors to astrophysics. Subject matter includes the solar system, stellar properties and evolution, the Milky Way galaxy, normal and active galaxies, and cosmology. Prerequisite: PHYS 1444 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 2321 COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS (3-0) Development of computational techniques, including simulation, through applications to physical problems. A survey of topics including the multi-body problem, celestial mechanics, scattering, chaos, percolation, fractals, random processes, Fourier techniques in wave phenomena, Monte Carlo methods, and image reconstruction techniques. Prerequisite: PHYS 1444.

PHYS 2441 MAGN&ELEC (0-0)

PHYS 2442 SO LT&MOD PHYS (0-0)

PHYS 3183 MODERN PHYSICS LABORATORY (0-3) Supplements the topics covered in PHYS 3313. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313 or concurrent enrollment.

PHYS 3313 INTRODUCTION TO MODERN PHYSICS (3-0) A brief introduction to the theories of quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics followed by a survey of atomic physics, conductors, semiconductors and modern electronic devices, nuclear and sub-nuclear physics. Prerequisite: PHYS 1288 or 1444, and MATH 2325 or 2425.

PHYS 3315 ASTROPHYSICS AND COSMOLOGY (3-0) Diverse concepts in theoretical physics are applied to a wide range of astrophysical problems. Topics include stellar properties, spectra, and evolution, radiation transport, nuclear reactions, degenerate matter, orbital mechanics, galactic dynamics, introductory general relativity and cosmology. Prerequisite: PHYS 2315, 3313 and MATH 3318 or 3319, or permission by the instructor.

PHYS 3316 ASTROBIOLOGY (3-0) This is an interdisciplinary course between astrophysics, biology, and geology. Topics include properties of life, origin and evolution of life on Earth, mass extinctions, extremophiles, search for life in the Solar System, space missions, stellar habitable zones, SETI, Fermi paradox, Drake equation. Prerequisites: PHYS 1441, 1442, 2315 and BIOL 3315, or permission by the instructor. Offered as BIOL 3316, GEOL 3316, and PHYS 3316; credit will be granted only once.

PHYS 3321 INTERMEDIATE ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM (3-0) Vector algebra and vector calculus applied to electrostatics, magnetostatics, the study of dielectric materials, and boundary value problems. Prerequisite: PHYS 2311 and MATH 3318 or 3319.

PHYS 3366 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PRE-COLLEGE PHYSICAL SCIENCE INSTRUCTION (1-6) A laboratory oriented curriculum for teaching physical science and/or physics is developed and experienced. The developed curriculum is particularly appropriate for pre-college instruction. May be repeated for credit as the subject matter changes, but not more than six hours credit may be accumulated. Prerequisite: junior standing, six hours of science, three hours of education, and consent of the instructor.

PHYS 3445 OPTICS (3-3) Fundamental principles of physical and geometric optics, absorption and scattering, Planck's quantum theory of radiation, diffraction, interference, light sources, and spectra. Prerequisite: PHYS 1288 or 1444, and MATH 2325 or 2425.

PHYS 3446 NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE PHYSICS (3-3) The study of atomic nuclei and the fundamental constituents of matter. Topics include nuclear structure, radioactivity, nuclear reactions, fission, fusion, particles and their interactions, the standard model of particle physics, experimental methods, accelerators, and examples from current research topics. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313.

PHYS 3455 ELECTRONICS (3-3) A study of electronic components and quantum devices and their application to circuits and instrumentation of interest to physics students. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313 and MATH 2325 or 2425 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 4117 INDIVIDUAL LEARNING BY SEMINAR (0-0) Individual instruction on using the seminar as a model of learning current topics in physics. An individual report is required. Prerequisite: 18 hours of physics and senior standing.

PHYS 4171 ADVANCED OPTICS LABORATORY (0-3) Special laboratory projects in advanced optics. Prerequisite: PHYS 3445 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 4181 SPECIAL PROBLEMS (0-0) Selected projects in research or teaching laboratories, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed four hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.

PHYS 4185 ADVANCED ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM LABORATORY (0-3) Supplements the topics covered in PHYS 3321 and 4324. Prerequisite: PHYS 4324 or concurrent enrollment.

PHYS 4191 SPECIAL TOPICS IN PHYSICS (1-0) Selected topics arranged on an individual basis, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed three hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.

PHYS 4271 ADVANCED OPTICS LAB (0-6) Special laboratory projects in advanced optics. Prerequisite: PHYS 3445 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 4281 SPECIAL PROBLEMS (0-0) Selected projects in research or teaching laboratories, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed four hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.

PHYS 4291 SPECIAL TOPICS (2-0) Selected topics arranged on an individual basis, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed three hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.

PHYS 4315 THERMODYNAMICS AND STATISTICAL MECHANICS (3-0) Topics in classical thermodynamics include the laws of thermodynamics, Gibbs' and Helmoltz's free energies, the Maxwell relations, heat capacities, entropy change calculations, phase and chemical changes. Statistical mechanics centers on the partition function and its applications, such as the entropy of an ideal gas, the Maxwell velocity distribution, the heat capacity of a solid, photon statistics, and blackbody radiation. Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313 and MATH 2326 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 4319 ADVANCED MECHANICS (3-0) Coupled oscillators, central forces, Lagrange's equations, Hamilton's canonical equations, the moment of inertia tensor, and the application of Euler's angles to rotational motion. Prerequisite: PHYS 2311, 3321, and MATH 3318 or 3319, or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 4324 ADVANCED ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM (3-0) Electromagnetic phenomena based on Maxwell's equations and particle-field interactions. Prerequisite: PHYS 3321 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 4325 SOLID STATE PHYSICS (3-0) Classification of crystalline solids and elastic and thermal properties, electric and magnetic properties, and electronic properties of solids. An introduction to current research problems. Prerequisite: PHYS 4315 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 4326 INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM MECHANICS (3-0) Schroedinger's equation and implications, the free particle, the one-electron atom, the potential barrier, and perturbation theory. Prerequisite: PHYS 3313, MATH 3318 or 3319, or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 4391 SPECIAL TOPICS (3-0) Selected topics arranged on an individual basis, which may be repeated in any order for a total credit not to exceed three hours, unless authorized by the undergraduate advisor. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor and the undergraduate advisor.

PHYS 4393 HONORS THESIS IN PHYSICS (3-0) Required of all students in the University Honors College. During the senior year the honors physics major will perform a research project under the direction of a Physics Department faculty member.

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