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PHYS-23026 credit hours

Modern and Thermal Physics

Physics · 3 hrs Lecture | 3 hrs Lab

Offered: Fall/Winter Only, Every Year

PHYS-2302 prerequisites

8 courses appear in this chain, up to 5 levels deep. 2 are needed whichever route you take: PHYS-1101 → PHYS-2302L

Show the chain

all of

all of

PHYS-1101Foundations of Physics

all of

all of

Physics 40S

any one of

Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S

Applied Mathematics 40S

any one of

all of

MATH-1103Introduction to Calculus I

any one of

Pre-Calculus Mathematics 40S

MATH-0042Mathematics Access IImin C

any one of

A minimum grade of 65% in Pre-Calculus 30S

MATH-0041Mathematics Access Imin C+

permission of the Department Chair

MATH-0040not in the 2026-27 calendar
MATH-1104Introduction to Calculus II
MATH-1103Introduction to Calculus Imin C

Its prerequisites are shown above.

MATH-1101not in the 2026-27 calendar

any one of

MATH-1101not in the 2026-27 calendar

Its prerequisites are shown above.

all of

MATH-1103Introduction to Calculus I

Its prerequisites are shown above.

MATH-1104Introduction to Calculus II

Its prerequisites are shown above.

PHYS-2302Lnot in the 2026-27 calendar

Add your completed courses to see which of these you've already done and what you could take next. They stay on this device.

Taking PHYS-2302 is a prerequisite for 5 courses directly, and opens 8 once their own follow-ons are counted.

Where PHYS-2302 counts

Required by 8 programs:

  • PHYS 3-YEAR BSc IN PHYSICS
  • PHYS 3-YEAR BSc (APPLIED PHYSICS STREAM)
  • PHYS 4-YEAR BSc IN PHYSICS
  • PHYS HONOURS BSc IN PHYSICS
  • PHYS HONOURS BSc (CHEMICAL PHYSICS STREAM)
  • PHYS HONOURS BSc (COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS STREAM)
  • PHYS HONOURS BSc (MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS STREAM)
  • PHYS HONOURS BSc (MEDICAL PHYSICS STREAM)

Counts toward 1 more as one option among several, not as a course you must take:

  • PHYS MINOR IN PHYSICS

Read from the departments' own calendar pages, where 50 of 208 programs are only partly machine-readable, so treat these as a minimum rather than the full list. Confirm with an academic advisor.

Description

This course contains a series of topics which provide students with a broad understanding of the physics that appears in our daily lives and beyond. Topics covered are thermal physics (temperature, entropy, and the laws of thermodynamics, the ideal gas, work and Carnot cycles, kinetic theory, probability, statistical distribution functions), special relativity (including Lorentz transformations, velocity addition, the Doppler effect, relativistic energy and momentum), and quantum physics (early indications of quantum physics, the Bohr model of hydrogen, uncertainty principles, the Schrodinger equation and simple solutions, atomic, nuclear, and subatomic physics).

Requisite courses

PHYS-1101 and either the former MATH-1101 or both MATH-1103 and MATH-1104 [prerequisite(s)]; PHYS-2302L (lab) (must be taken previously or at the same time as this course); PHYS-2105 and PHYS-2106 (must be taken concurrently).

LectureLab

From the 2026-27 undergraduate calendar. Always verify details on WebAdvisor or with an academic advisor before registering.