HIGHER YEAR COURSE PLANNING FOR 2000

Introduction

To gain a B.Sc. degree, a student must obtain a credit of at least 300 points, with 75-125 at 100 level and at least 50 (preferably 90 or more) at 300 level. The corresponding information for Combined Course students is given in the relevant section.

Enrolment for 1999 is being done by students themselves via the Internet. Further details are contained in a letter sent to students by the Faculty of Science.

Please note the Faculty of Science rules governing overloads. Students who have successfully completed 62.5 points at 100-level can enrol in up to 56.25 points per semester. Students who have not failed any subjects in the previous semester are permitted to enrol in 62.5 points per Semester. Although strong students are encourage to enrol in a wide range of subjects, they should not do so many subjects that their overall performance is affected.

Core physics lecture units are given at both the advanced and standard level at both 200 and 300 level. Both streams can lead to a major in Physics and to Physics Honours. The pace of advanced courses is faster, the material is covered in more depth and assumes a stronger mathematical background. The grade a student receives in a course should not depend on whether it is taken at the standard or advanced level. To ensure that students undertake the appropriate level subject, the School of Physics has developed the following guidelines for entrance to advanced level physics subjects at 200 and 300 level. If a student wishes to enrol in a 220 or 320 series subject and is close to meeting, but doesn’t quite satisfy, these criteria he or she should consult the year organiser.

• 25 points or more of other 300-level Physics subjects.

1. Subjects marked * are pre-requisites or co-requisites; others are pre-requisites.
2. Students who have completed Maths A (620-111/121/141) and Applied Maths (620-113/123/143) may also enrol in Quantum Mechanics and Thermal Physics with Maths B (620-142) as a co-requisite.
3. In addition to meeting formal prerequisite requirements, students should note the following:
• · A knowledge of the material covered in Instrumentation for Scientists and/or the optics covered in the 237 lecture course will be advantageous when undertaking the Laboratory unit 640-299.
• It will be assumed that students are taking Maths 232 concurrently with 225/245 Electromagnetism.
• Students intending to take Honours Physics (4^th Year) must take the Laboratory subject 640-299 or equivalent.
4. Students who have taken half of a 2000 12.5 point subject in previous years and need to complete the other half to satisfy prerequisites will need to take special 6.25 unit subjects which will be offered only in 2000. These students should consult the Course Planning co-ordinator.
5. Note that students who completed 100-level maths units prior to 1999, should ensure that they have completed the equivalent mathematics units.

Suggested 200-level course plans

The core units are:

• 640-223/243 Quantum Mechanics and Thermal Physics (Semester 1)
• 640-225/245 Electromagnetism and Special Relativity (Semester 2)

• 299 Laboratory Work.

Careful attention must also be paid to the sequence of Mathematics subjects required in second year; this will depend on what Mathematics subjects a student completes in first year, as indicated in the table. Mathematics 231 and 232 are prerequisite for many 300 level Physics subjects and Mathematics 231 is a pre- or co-requisite for the 200 level Physics subjects: 223 and 225/245. Students wishing to pursue a major in 300 level Physics must, by the end of second year, have passed the following Mathematics subjects: 111 or 121 or 142[98-] or 141[99+], 112 or 122 or 142[99+] or 211 or 200, 113 or 123 or 143 or 130[98-] or 132[98-], 231 and 232. Students undertaking engineering mathematics subjects should consult the section on Combined Courses at the end of this document.

Students in B.Sc./B.E., B.E./B.Sc. and B.A./B.Sc. must acquire credits of at least 237.5 Science points (i.e. points for subjects listed in the Science section of the Undergraduate Studies Handbook), including at least 75 points at 100 level subjects and at least 50 points at 300 level.

Students in B.Sc./LL.B. must acquire credits of at least 200 Science points including at least 50 points of 100 level subjects and at least 50 points at 300 level.

The attention of students is drawn to the requirements for a Physics major and for admission to Physics Honours

In combined courses, so many different choices of subjects are possible that it can become very difficult to avoid timetable clashes. For B.Sc./B.E.(Electrical stream), there are few if any timetable problems, thanks to cooperation between Science and Engineering departments in Year 2 and Year 3 subjects; Years 4 and 5 present no problems because they are either pure Science or pure Engineering. The timetabling situation for other combined courses, however, still raises problems, and is under review, the aim being to avoid serious clashes at least between named subjects in the following suggested courses.

Combined Science/Engineering students should note that the School of Physics prefers that they take the B.Sc. Mathematics units, in particular 620-231 and 232. Students, however, may take the appropriate Engineering Maths units and still satisfy the pre-requisites for 200- and 300-level Physics. For students enrolling in Year 2 of their course the subjects

• 421-204 Engineering Analysis A [98+]
• 421-205 Engineering Analysis B [98+]

satisfy the mathematical pre- and co-requisites for all 640-200 and 300-level subjects. Students who have completed Engineering Mathematics units in prior to 1998 should note that the sequence

• 421-203 or 421-204 Mathematics for Engineers 2.1A or 2.1B
• 421-205 Mathematics for Engineers 2.2
• 421-303 Mathematics for Engineers 3.1

satisfies the mathematical pre-requisites 200- and 300-level Physics. Students who take Engineering Maths should note that these subjects do not contribute toward Science points and they may need to take additional Science subjects in order to acquire enough Science points to graduate.