Physical Science Courses

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 102 Concepts of Physics (4)

Prerequisite: MAT100 (or placement)

This course provides a qualitative introduction to the science of physics. The course will cover principles from classical, relativity, and quantum theories, including motion, forces, energy, thermodynamics, waves, electromagnetism, atomic physics, and special and general relativity. The course is intended as a broad-based introduction to physics for students who are not majoring in science.  

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 104 Physical Geology (4)

This course provides an introduction to the basic principles of geology. The course covers geological measuring techniques, minerals and rocks, internal processes such as plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes, and surface processes such as streams, coasts, mass movements, and glaciers. The course is intended as a broad-based introduction to geology for students who are not majoring in science.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 107 General Chemistry (5)

This course provides a basic introduction to chemistry, with special emphasis on solution chemistry, acid-base chemistry, organic and biochemistry. The course is recommended for students pursuing non-science and allied health degrees. Students pursuing degrees which require more than one semester in Chemistry should take PS 111.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 108 Astronomy (4)

Prerequisite: MAT100 or assessment

Provides a qualitative introduction to the nature of the solar system and beyond. The topics include: the celestial sphere, astronomical observation techniques, the planets and moons, asteroids and comets, the Sun, the lives and evolutions of starts, pulsars, black holes, galaxies and dark matter. This course is intended as a broad-based introduction to astronomy for students who are not majoring in science. Three hours of lecture and one and a half hours of lab per week. 

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 111 College Chemistry I (5)

Prerequisite: MAT103 or instructor permission

This course provides a college-level introduction to chemistry and is intended for students going into technological, scientific, or medical fields.  The course will focus on chemical compounds, their properties and reactions, and the scientific laws that determine their behavior.  Course topics will include basic chemical concepts, calculations with chemical formulas and equations, chemical reactions, thermochemistry, modern theories of the atom and electronic structure, chemical periodicity, and chemical bonds.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 112 College Chemistry II (5)

Prerequisite: PS 111

This course continues the study begun in PS 111 and is intended for students going into technological, scientific, engineering, or medical fields. The course is required in certain pre-professional programs, such as pre-medicine, pre-veterinary medicine, pre-dentistry, etc. Course topics will include crystals and solids, reaction kinetics, chemical equilibrium, solution chemistry including acid-base and complex-ion equilibria, thermodynamics, and electrochemistry. The course will also include a brief discussion of organic chemistry, biochemistry, and nuclear chemistry.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 203 General Physics I (5)

Prerequisite: MAT104 (or MAT 106 placement)

This course provides a study of units, physical quantities and vectors, motion, forces and equilibrium, oscillations and waves, gravitation, work, energy, and thermodynamics. This is the introductory course for those who require algebra-based physics.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 204 General Physics II (5)

Prerequisite: PS 203

This course includes the study of electricity, magnetism, electromagnetic induction, electromagnetic waves, optics, and atomic and nuclear physics. This is a second semester course for students who require algebra-based physics.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 210 Organic Chemistry I (5)

Prerequisite: PS 111 and PS 112

This course is the first in a two-sequence semester. The course will focus on hybridization, bond and molecular orbitals, stereochemistry, acids and bases, chemical radicals, kinetics, thermodynamics, conformational analysis, and molecular structure. These topics will be applied to alkanes, haloalkanes, alkenes, and alcohols. The course will also include spectroscopic techniques such as NMR, IR, and mass spec, applied to structure determination of organic molecules.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 212 Organic Chemistry II (5)

Prerequisite: PS 210

This course is the second in a two-sequence semester. The course will continue to focus on topics presented in PS 210 and how they apply to chemical synthesis and structure determination. The topics will be applied to aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acids and their derivatives, amines, aromaticity, benzene and its derivatives, organometallic compounds, conjugated and unconjugated unsaturated systems, and pericyclic reactions. Selected applications to biochemistry, medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry, and industrial chemistry will also be discussed.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 215 College Physics I (5)

Prerequisite/Corequisite: MAT110

This course covers the analysis of units, physical quantities and vectors, motion, forces and equilibrium, oscillations and waves, gravitation, work, energy, and thermodynamics. This is an introductory course for students who require calculus-based physics.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule

PS 216 College Physics II (5)

Prerequisite: PS 215

This course includes the study of electricity, magnetism, electromagnetic induction, electromagnetic waves, optics, and atomic and nuclear physics. This is a second semester course for students who require calculus-based physics.

Syllabus • Locations and Class Schedule