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The comments below are intended to help you decide which introductory USM physics course to take. They do not constitute official policy - you must check the university catalog for that. However, this information may help when you are planning your schedule.

There are three entry level physics courses offered at USM. They are PHY 101K - Introduction to Physics, PHY 111K - Elements of Physics, and PHY 121K - General Physics. All three courses satisfy the USM science requirement when taken with the lab.

PHY 101K is a one semester course covering a full range of topics selected from classical and contemporary physics. It is the least mathematically demanding of the three courses using only basic algebra. The associated lab is a separate course, PHY 102K.

    Probably the right course for:                      Probably the wrong course for:

     Industrial Technology                                 Biology, Geology, Physics,

     Sports Medicine (but not PT)                      Chemistry, Engineering,

                                                                          Computer Science, Pre-Med


PHY 111K is the first course of a two semester sequence intended for science majors. The course makes extensive use of algebra and trigonometry, but does not use calculus. The lab course is PHY 114K. The second semester courses are PHY 112 and PHY 116.

    Probably the right course for:                        Probably the wrong course for:

    Biology, Pre-Med,                                         Chemistry, Engineering,

    PT, other health care fields                            Computer Science,

     Geology                                                         Physics
 

PHY 121K is also the first course in a two semester sequence for science majors. This course is calculus based; the first calculus course must be taken concurrently with PHY 121 if it has not already been completed. The associated lab is a separate course, PHY 114K. The second semester courses are PHY 123 and 116.

    Probably the right course for:                          Possibly the right course for:

     Physics, Chemistry,                                        Biology, Geology,

     Engineering, Computer Science                     Pre-Med 
 

Non USM Students.

If you are a student at another school and want to transfer credit for physics to your home school, you should check with that institution to see if our course will transfer. If your requirement is for an algebra-based (also called College) physics course, then PHY 111 and 112 should fulfill your requirement. If your school wants a calculus-based (also called University) physics course, then PHY 121 and 123 are probably the appropriate courses.  If you need a lab (which is probable) then be sure to sign up for PHY 114 and PHY 116.

Department of Physics http://www.usm.maine.edu/phy/