A Guide to Advising Students about Physics Core Courses
and Preparing for the Physics Major

What are the physics requirements in the Core?

Physics core courses include:

Ph 23 (2 units, fall semester) Special Relativity and an Introduction to Quantum Mechanics

Ph 24 (3 units, spring semester) Classical Mechanics

Ph 28 (1 unit, spring semester) Physics Laboratory

Ph 51 (3 units, fall semester) Electromagnetic Theory and Optics

Ph 53 (1 unit, fall semester) Electricity and Optics Laboratory

Some of the core topics are typically part of high-school physics courses; they are covered at Harvey Mudd College in considerably greater depth than most, and use more mathematics than is possible in the great majority of high-school courses.

For most students the required sequence of courses is Ph 23 in the first semester, Ph 24 and 28 in the second semester, and Ph 51 and 53 in the third semester. Ph 23 has one lecture and one problem section each week; Ph 24 and Ph 51 each have two lectures and two problem sections each week. Ph 28 and Ph 53 each meet every week for two hours.*

*An alternative first-year laboratory sequence is also offered at the College. The Interdisciplinary Laboratory or “ID LAB” bridges together laboratory experiences from biology, chemistry, and physics, and includes also some engineering topics. The course is designed to include the results of faculty/student research into the curriculum and expand the role of research-like experiences in an introductory laboratory course. Taught by a team of faculty, the ID Lab seeks to illustrate the commonality of investigative methods and laboratory techniques in these sciences in addition to introducing discipline-specific principles. Students substitute the “ID Lab” for the fall semester General Chemistry Laboratory (Chem 25) and the spring semester General Physics Laboratory (Ph 28), both of which are required Core courses. Students are enrolled in the ID Laboratory for the full year and receive credit for Chem 25I and Ph 28I.  To be considered for enrollment in the ID Lab, three conditions must be met: (1) A student must indicate her/his preference for the ID Lab on the course information sheets mailed to the student by the Office of Academic Affairs during the summer preceding matriculation; (2) a student must write a brief statement of why he or she is interested in the course; and (3) the placement forms must be returned to the Office of Academic Affairs by the required date. A cap on the course enrollment will limit the number of students accepted into the ID Lab. Note that students in ID Lab are still required to take the Chemistry26 laboratory in the spring and the Ph 53 laboratory in the fall.

Is it possible to “place out” of physics courses in the Core?  Is it advisable to place out if a student has a strong background?
Few students will have taken a course in special relativity and an introduction to quantum mechanics before coming to Harvey Mudd College, at least in the depth covered in Ph 23. Any student who nevertheless believes that he or she has had a strong background in special relativity and in classical mechanics should take all physics placement exams (one mailed out during the summer before entrance and the others given during orientation) and discuss their background with the physics department chair during orientation in the fall. Students who are unusually well prepared in special relativity and classical mechanics can be advance placed directly into Ph 51 in their first semester. They are then eligible to take Ph 52 (Quantum Physics) in the spring semester.

A larger number of students may be well-prepared in classical mechanics but not in special relativity or quantum mechanics. They have the opportunity to try to place out of Ph 24. In order to determine whether students qualify for advance placement out of Physics 24, two HMC placement exams will be offered. The first is mailed out during the summer and the second is given out about one week after fall-semester classes begin. Results from these placement exams as well as other information, including performance on the AP Physics C exams, will be used to determine placement.

With the results of placement exams and previous test-scores, the physics department endeavors to place each first-year student in an appropriate course that is close to being right for that student. We want each student to be challenged, but not over challenged. Students with placement questions are encouraged to speak with the physics department chair during orientation.

How should an entering student prepare for the Physics 24 placement exam?
The placement exams are on classical mechanics, including (but not restricted to) the laws of motion of particles, conservation of momentum, energy, and angular momentum, gravitation, oscillation, and waves. Students interested in advance placement should review material in these areas learned in high school or college courses taken previously.

What is the “next” physics course for advance placed students?
Students who place out of both Ph 23 and 24 in their first year will normally take Ph 51 in the fall; they are then eligible to take Ph 52 (Quantum Physics) in the spring of their first year.  For students who place out of Ph 24 (but not Ph 23), a number of options are available. If the number of students placing out of Ph 24 is sufficiently large, a special section of Ph 51 may be offered in the spring semester for first-year students. Otherwise, students receiving advanced placement may take Astronomy 62 (Introduction to Astrophysics), participate in physics research, or pursue coursework outside physics in that semester. They would then take Ph 51 in the fall of the sophomore year and be eligible to take Ph 52 (Quantum Physics) in the spring of their sophomore year.

What if a student withdraws from or does not pass a physics core course?

1. The student may take the course again one year later. If the course is Ph23, the student may still go on to take Ph 24 the following semester; if the course is Ph 24, the student may still go on to take Ph51 the following semester.
   
   
2. The student may pass Ph 23, Ph 24, or Ph 51 by examination. The exam is a three-hour comprehensive final exam; the student must pass it with 75% or more of the possible points.
   
   
3. In case the course is Ph 24 or Ph 51, if the student fails the course, he or she may, with the permission of the physics department chair, take an approved course at another institution, and pass that course with a “C” or better.  The student will then have passed out of the course. If the student tries hard to pass Ph 24 or 51 up until the drop date, and then withdraws from the course, he or she may (with the permission of the physics department chair) take an approved course at another institution, and pass the course with a “C” or better. The student must then subsequently take a three-hour exam in the subject at HMC and pass that exam with roughly 50% or more of the possible points. The student will then have passed out of the course.

What next courses should a student take if he or she is interested in pursuing a physics major?
After completing Ph 51 and 53, physics majors typically take Ph 52 (Quantum Physics) and Ph 54 (Modern Physics Laboratory) in the spring of their sophomore year. Other physics courses that can be taken in that semester are Ph 80 (Energy and the Environment), which satisfies the college’s Integrative Experience requirement, and Astronomy 62 (Introduction to Astrophysics). Other spring-semester courses appropriate for sophomores that are offered typically on an every-other-year basis include Ph 166 (Geophysics), and Ph 174 (Biophysics). Occasionally sophomores, if they have sufficient background in mathematics, take Ph 111 (Theoretical Mechanics) in the fall of their sophomore year; interested students should speak first with their adviser and the Ph 111 instructor.