8 courses with the subject PHYS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
PHYS 1100Physical Science3
Credit(s) Offered: every semester A brief but quantitative examination of basic physics. The topics may include basic mechanics, energy, fluids, heat, electricity, waves, light and a rudimentary look at modern physics.
Subject
PHYS
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credit(s)
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026
Catalog
Fitchburg State University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Passing score on Advanced Algebra and Functions Accuplacer placement exam OR successful completion of MATH 0500 [Algebraic Prep.] OR successful completion of a credit bearing mathematics course Meets
PHYS 2000Astronomy3
Credit(s) Offered: every semester After a brief introduction to the history of astronomy in Western civilization we discuss at an elementary level how light is produced and how telescopes work with light. In turn we then examine the solar system (comparative planetology) and the birth, evolution and death of stars and in the end consider the birth and death of the universe. Cross-listed with GEOG 2000
Subject
PHYS
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credit(s)
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026
Catalog
Fitchburg State University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Successful completion of the Quantitative Reasoning Requirement. Meets
PHYS 2300General Physics I4
Credit(s) Offered: every semester This first-semester general college physics course consists of studies in the principles and application of classical mechanics, waves, sound and heat. Typical topics include description of motions, Newton’s laws of motion, Kepler’s law of planetary motion, universal gravitation, work and energy, conservation laws, temperature, heat, and laws of thermodynamics. Cross-listed with PHYS 2600
Subject
PHYS
Credits (min)
4
Credits (max)
4
Credit unit
Credit(s)
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026
Catalog
Fitchburg State University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Credit(s) Offered: every semester This second-semester general college physics course consists of studies and applications of wave motions, sound, electricity, magnetism, light and optics. Typical topics include Coulomb’s law, electric force and field, potential and capacitance, electric circuits, magnetic force and field, magnetic forces on moving charges, electric induction, laws of reflection and refraction, mirrors and lenses, optical instruments, interference and diffraction of light. Cross-listed with PHYS 2700
Subject
PHYS
Credits (min)
4
Credits (max)
4
Credit unit
Credit(s)
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026
Catalog
Fitchburg State University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Credit(s) Offered: every other Spring The principles and applications of classical mechanics and heat are studied using the language of calculus. Credit cannot be earned for both PHYS 2300 and PHYS 2600.
Subject
PHYS
Credits (min)
4
Credits (max)
4
Credit unit
Credit(s)
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026
Catalog
Fitchburg State University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Credit(s) Offered: every other Fall The principles and applications of classical electricity, magnetism, and optics are studied using the language of calculus. Credit cannot be earned for both PHYS 2400 and PHYS 2700.
Subject
PHYS
Credits (min)
4
Credits (max)
4
Credit unit
Credit(s)
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026
Catalog
Fitchburg State University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Credit(s) Offered: may be less than every two years This third-semester course of general college physics discusses the inadequacy of classical physics and introduces the theories and models of modern physics. Topics which may be covered in class work include special relativity and the development of quantum theory as depicted in blackbody radiation, photoelectric effect, and X-rays, the wave function and the uncertainty principle, atomic spectra, Bohr’s model of hydrogen, electronic configuration of atoms, the exclusion principle and the periodic table, properties of nuclei, binding energy, radioactivity and the decay processes, radiation hazards, and nuclear reactions.
Subject
PHYS
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credit(s)
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026
Catalog
Fitchburg State University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Credit(s) The Independent Study is open to students who have permission of the supervising instructor and the department. The course of study, meetings, and credit are arranged upon approval.
Subject
PHYS
Credits (min)
3
Credits (max)
3
Credit unit
Credit(s)
Type
course
Edition
2025-2026
Catalog
Fitchburg State University 2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
