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Physics Minor

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A forzen image of a droplet in water representing the Physics minor at Curry CollegeThere's physics in a rainbow, physics in a heartbeat, physics in a microchip.

Physics is everywhere in our world, including:

  • Your car negotiating an icy turn
  • The imaging techniques that have revolutionized modern medicine
  • Exotic objects like quasars and black holes in the outermost reaches of space

Near or far, everyday or exotic, everything in our universe has to obey the laws of physics. The aim of physics is to find the rules by which everything in the universe plays. The challenge of applied physics is to be creative within the rules. You may want your bridge to be beautiful and get traffic across quickly, but you also don't want it to collapse.

The Physics minor at Curry College stresses students learn broadly applicable concepts and analytical skills. Whether your career goal is medicine, law, forensic science, finance, or education, a minor in physics can provide you with an additional powerful perspective on the world.

Course Requirements and Information

Upon successful completion of the Physics Minor students will be:

  • Competent in solving quantitative problems, and employ critical thinking and analytical reasoning to make sure that their answers are reasonable.
  • Able to clearly discuss the major concepts and the fundamental principles of physics,  in mechanics, electricity and magnetism, , optics, and selected areas of modern physics, and a range of situations to which these concepts can be applied
  • Able to demonstrate an appreciation and understanding of relationships between ordinary experience and physical models, and relationships among the various ways we represent this knowledge -- in words, with mathematics, in graphs, in diagrams, etc.
  • Proficient in collecting, analyzing, evaluating, and drawing inferences or conclusions from experimental data.
  • Able to clearly communicate scientific information in oral, written, and graphic formats.
  • Skilled in the proper procedures, practices and regulations for safe handling and the use of chemicals
  1. Problem Solving: Students will solve problems using a variety of problem solving strategies. Students will employ problem-solving strategies such as organizing information, drawing diagrams, seeking patterns, working backwards, identifying sub-problems, and solving easier related problems.
  1. Modeling: Students will develop and utilize mathematical models of real-world situations. Students will, in some cases, develop their own models; in others, they will utilize previously developed models. They will use these models to make predictions and decisions.
  1. Reasoning: Students develop mathematical reasoning skills as they learn to support conclusions with sound mathematical arguments. Students will apply various mathematical reasoning techniques to develop and test conjectures, propose examples and counterexamples, and employ probabilistic and statistical reasoning.
  1. Using Technology: Students will use appropriate technology to enhance the problem solving, modeling, and reasoning processes. Students will use technology to enhance their study of mathematics, without it becoming the primary focus of instruction. By relieving the need to emphasize symbolic manipulation and computational skills, technology will enable students to actively investigate mathematical principles and concepts.
  1. Communicating: Students will effectively communicate mathematical ideas and procedures. Students will communicate their understanding of mathematics using appropriate mathematical vocabulary and notation. They will form the habit of interpreting their solutions to problems and describing the process by which these problems were solved.
  1. Connecting With Other Disciplines: Students will examine connections between mathematics and a variety of other disciplines. Students will consider mathematics as a language for the natural sciences and will explore its applications in disciplines such as the social sciences, health sciences, management science, and economics. Mathematics will be presented in the context of applications that help students develop an appreciation of the wide and varied use of mathematics across disciplines.
  1. Research: Students will gain the ability to do research. Students will conduct research having to do with the analysis and solution of real world problems. In-class presentations and term papers pertaining with this research will be assigned in all higher level mathematics courses.

*Adapted from Crossroads in Mathematics: Standards for Introductory Mathematics, American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC), 1995.

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