Pre-Engineering/Physical Science

Physics Program Goals

The Physics program at Bethany College is designed to achieve the following goals for its students:

• Have a well-developed understanding of the fundamental principles in

  • Classical Mechanics

    • Kinematics

    • Newton’s Laws of Motion

    • Variational Principles (e.g. Lagrangian Dynamics)

  • Electricity and Magnetism

    • Electrical Forces

    • Fields

    • Maxwell’s Equations

  • Quantum Mechanics

    • Schrodinger Equation

  • Statistical Mechanics

  • Thermodynamics

    • Laws of Thermodynamics

  • Be able to apply the fundamental principles to particular situations. This includes:

    • Developing a theoretical framework to fit a specific situation.

    • Designing a computational model for intractable considerations and to check analytical results .

    •  Physically interpreting the mathematical statements that are derived .

• Have a well-developed ability to gain insight from theoretical and experimental results (physical insight).

• Be able to use standard software to prepare well-written, scientifically sound reports (both theoretical and experimental).

• Have an understanding of the basic tools and experimental apparatti used in research .

• Have a strong command of the scientific method.

• Be able to design an experiment .

• Write and present scientific works.

• Be able to model nonlinear systems and be fluent in the language used to describe chaotic systems.

• Enjoy learning