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01:750:193 · Physics · School 01 — New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences
Physics for the Sciences is Rutgers' algebra-based introductory physics sequence for life-science-oriented students. The first course blends lecture, workshop, and integrated lab work to teach scientific reasoning and experimental design through mechanics, circular motion, equilibrium, momentum, energy, thermodynamics, gases, fluids, projectile motion, and gravitation with biological or ecological framing.
How hard?
Students rate teaching
SIRS · 1,445 responses · 2014–2024
Spring 2027
16 open in snapshot · 1 instructor
When it meets
Busch
Checked-in sections · current seat counts are unavailable.
MW 4:05 PM · Busch · 8 sections · 8 open
AI-generated overview
Higher means more demanding · AI summary
5 units · topic sequence may vary by instructor
The Rutgers syllabus starts by treating physics as a reasoning practice, not only a formula sheet. Early lectures connect scientific reasoning with motion diagrams, position and velocity graphs, and the kinematics of constant velocity and constant acceleration.
After motion comes the force model: free-body diagrams, Newton's laws, vectors, friction, gravity, and circular motion. This is where the course asks students to connect observed motion to specific interactions instead of plugging values into disconnected formulas.
The middle of the semester broadens mechanics into static equilibrium, torque, rotational motion, momentum, impulse, collisions, work, energy, and power. The course calendar suggests this is the most concept-dense mechanics block because several conserved-quantity ideas are introduced close together.
The late-semester transition out of mechanics covers temperature change, phase change, pressure, the ideal gas law, and gas processes. Rutgers frames this material as part of learning how assumptions and models shape scientific explanations, which fits the course's emphasis on reasoning as much as computation.
The end of the first semester studies static fluids, buoyancy, Pascal's principle, Bernoulli flow ideas, projectile motion, and gravitation. These topics often feel diverse, but the course uses them to reinforce model-building across different physical systems before the second half of the sequence moves on.
Public Rutgers discussion usually portrays 193 as the gentler physics option compared with General Physics, especially for life-science students, but not as a throwaway class. Students describe it as slower-paced, more collaborative, and better supported, with the caveat that degree requirements should be checked carefully before swapping sequences.
The official syllabus repeatedly emphasizes collaboration, experiment design, and scientific reasoning, so success depends on explaining ideas clearly as well as getting numbers out.
Motion diagrams, free-body diagrams, graphs, and verbal models are not side aids; they are the language that makes later equations interpretable.
Momentum, energy, and related equilibrium ideas give students reusable ways to analyze systems that would be harder to solve by force-chasing alone.
Physics 193 bakes experimentation into the main course identity, so the class is as much about how we know as about what the answer is.
Common pitfall
Instead
Start with a diagram, graph, or stated model assumptions so you know which quantities actually belong in the problem.
Common pitfall
Instead
The collaborative lecture, workshop, and lab structure means missed meetings remove practice that the syllabus clearly treats as graded and concept-building.
Common pitfall
Instead
Track what assumptions make a relation useful, such as constant acceleration, ideal-gas behavior, or negligible friction.
Common pitfall
Instead
Confirm with Degree Navigator or your department that 193-194 satisfies the requirement you actually need before choosing it only for pace or reputation.
16 open · Busch
| Section | Status | Instructor | Meeting | Campus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0116152 | Open | Michele Lau | Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Monday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at ARC 307PHY 001ARC 307 | Busch |
| 0216153 | Open | Michele Lau | Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Monday 7:30 PM-8:50 PM at ARC 307PHY 001ARC 307 | Busch |
| 0316154 | Open | Michele Lau | Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Tuesday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at ARC 307PHY 001ARC 307 | Busch |
| 0416155 | Open | Michele Lau | Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Tuesday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at ARC 307PHY 001ARC 307 | Busch |
| 0516156 | Open | Michele Lau | Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at ARC 307PHY 001ARC 307 | Busch |
| 0616157 | Open | Michele Lau | Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Tuesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 307PHY 001ARC 307 | Busch |
| 0716158 | Open | Michele Lau | Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Tuesday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at ARC 307PHY 001ARC 307 | Busch |
| 0816159 | Open | Michele Lau | Monday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Wednesday 4:05 PM-5:00 PM at PHY 001; Tuesday 7:30 PM-8:50 PM at ARC 307PHY 001ARC 307 | Busch |
| 2116160 | Open | Wednesday 8:30 AM-11:30 AM at ARC 307ARC 307 | Busch | |
| 2216161 | Open | Wednesday 12:10 PM-3:10 PM at ARC 307ARC 307 | Busch | |
| 2316162 | Open | Wednesday 5:40 PM-8:40 PM at ARC 307ARC 307 | Busch | |
| 2416163 | Open | Thursday 8:30 AM-11:30 AM at ARC 307ARC 307 | Busch | |
| 2516164 | Open | Thursday 12:10 PM-3:10 PM at ARC 307ARC 307 | Busch | |
| 2616165 | Open | Thursday 3:50 PM-6:50 PM at ARC 307ARC 307 | Busch | |
| 2716166 | Open | Monday 8:30 AM-11:30 AM at ARC 307ARC 307 | Busch | |
| 2816167 | Open | Friday 12:10 PM-3:10 PM at ARC 307ARC 307 | Busch |
Historical student surveys
Teaching
4.43
Course quality
4.16
Response rate
32.1%
Coverage
83 offerings · 2014–2024
| Instructor | Offerings | Teaching | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Gentile | 19 | 4.63 | 4.26 |
| Gentile M. | 7 | 4.40 | 4.04 |
| Fangze Shang | 6 | 4.47 | 4.12 |
| Patrick Makowski | 4 | 4.72 | 4.33 |
| Yako B. | 3 | 4.90 | 4.83 |
| Gentile Michael | 3 | 4.73 | 4.40 |
Catalog and planning context
Credits
4
Current campuses
Busch
Current availability
16 open of 16
Catalog terms
Fall, Spring
Core codes
None listed
Loaded terms
4
Any Course EQUAL or GREATER Than: (01:640:112)
No direct degree-list membership appears in the checked-in requirement index.