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01:750:194 · Physics · School 01 — New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences
Physics for Sciences is the second course in Rutgers' 193-194 sequence. It keeps the lecture-workshop-lab format, frames physics through biological and ecological applications, emphasizes scientific reasoning and experimental design, and covers selected topics in thermodynamics, fluids, waves, electricity, magnetism, optics, and modern physics.
How hard?
Students rate teaching
SIRS · 1,442 responses · 2016–2025
Spring 2027
20 open in snapshot · 1 instructor
When it meets
C/D
Checked-in sections · current seat counts are unavailable.
AI-generated overview
Higher means more demanding · AI summary
5 units · topic sequence may vary by instructor
Even in the second semester, Rutgers describes the course as strongly tied to scientific reasoning and experimental design. A useful way to read the class is that the lab and workshop are not side pieces: they are where observations, graphs, uncertainty, and model checking get tied back to the lecture ideas.
A likely early anchor for 194 is energy as something that can be transferred, stored, and transformed. The official topic list points to thermodynamics, so expect attention to heat flow, equilibrium ideas, and how physical constraints shape biological or environmental systems rather than only abstract textbook machines.
The course synopsis explicitly includes fluids and waves, both of which fit the sequence's applied science framing. Students should expect to connect pressure, flow, and oscillation ideas to physical systems that can be observed experimentally, then use those models to explain propagation, resonance, and related phenomena.
The official description also names electricity and magnetism, which usually means moving from forces between charges into electric fields, circuits, magnetic effects, and the idea that fields provide a more useful language than isolated formulas. In this sequence, those ideas are commonly grounded in devices, measurements, and biological instrumentation examples.
The later part of the course likely turns toward light and modern physics, because the official topic list ends with optics and modern physics. That typically means using wave and particle ideas to understand image formation, light behavior, and why atomic or nuclear models changed how physicists describe matter and radiation.
Recent r/rutgers discussion usually frames the 193-194 sequence as the more applied and less math-heavy Rutgers option for students who need a physics requirement without the deeper General or Analytical Physics track. Students still describe it as a real time commitment because lecture, workshop, and lab all matter, and some commenters say 203-204 may line up better when they want a more standard general-physics sequence for later goals.
Rutgers' official synopsis emphasizes biological and ecological applications, so formulas matter most when they clarify a physical process that could plausibly be observed or measured.
Because the course integrates lab work and highlights scientific reasoning, students need to think about how evidence is produced, not only what the final equation says.
Thermodynamics, fluids, waves, electricity, and optics can feel different on the surface, but each asks students to identify variables, assumptions, and cause-and-effect structure.
The sequence is usually described as more approachable than Rutgers' other physics tracks, but students still have to move from concrete examples to general principles and back again.
Common pitfall
Instead
Practice stating what quantities matter, what is being conserved or changed, and why the chosen model fits the situation.
Common pitfall
Instead
Budget time for the nonlecture parts of the class because they are part of how the course teaches and evaluates reasoning.
Common pitfall
Instead
Stay comfortable with algebra, units, graph reading, and short written explanations because the applied framing still relies on quantitative interpretation.
20 open · C/D
| Section | Status | Instructor | Meeting | Campus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2116178 | Open | Wednesday 3:50 PM-6:50 PM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 2216179 | Open | Wednesday 7:30 PM-10:30 PM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 2316180 | Open | Thursday 8:30 AM-11:30 AM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 2416181 | Open | Thursday 12:10 PM-3:10 PM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 2516182 | Open | Thursday 3:50 PM-6:50 PM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 2616183 | Open | Thursday 7:30 PM-10:30 PM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 2716184 | Open | Friday 8:30 AM-11:30 AM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 2816185 | Open | Friday 12:10 PM-3:10 PM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 2916186 | Open | Friday 3:50 PM-6:50 PM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 3016187 | Open | Monday 8:30 AM-11:30 AM at HSB 207HSB 207 | C/D | |
| 0116168 | Open | Gentile | Monday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Wednesday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at HSB 207HCK 101HSB 207 | C/D |
| 0216169 | Open | Gentile | Monday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Wednesday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Monday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at HSB 207HCK 101HSB 207 | C/D |
| 0316170 | Open | Gentile | Monday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Wednesday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Monday 7:30 PM-8:50 PM at HSB 207HCK 101HSB 207 | C/D |
| 0416171 | Open | Gentile | Monday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Wednesday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Tuesday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at HSB 207HCK 101HSB 207 | C/D |
| 0516172 | Open | Gentile | Monday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Wednesday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Tuesday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at HSB 207HCK 101HSB 207 | C/D |
| 0616173 | Open | Gentile | Monday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Wednesday 2:15 PM-3:10 PM at HCK 101; Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at HSB 207HCK 101HSB 207 | C/D |
Historical student surveys
Teaching
4.47
Course quality
4.32
Response rate
31.1%
Coverage
80 offerings · 2016–2025
| Instructor | Offerings | Teaching | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Gentile | 19 | 4.69 | 4.48 |
| Fangze Shang | 6 | 4.35 | 4.47 |
| Gentile Michael | 6 | 4.53 | 4.32 |
| Gentile M. | 4 | 4.80 | 4.58 |
| Patrick Makowski | 3 | 4.83 | 4.30 |
| Yako Bridget | 2 | 4.95 | 4.70 |
Catalog and planning context
Credits
4
Current campuses
C/D
Current availability
20 open of 20
Catalog terms
Fall, Spring
Core codes
NS
Loaded terms
4
(01:750:193)
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