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Fields are the central language of the course
204 becomes much easier once electric and magnetic behavior are seen as properties of space and configuration, not just as isolated numerical forces.
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01:750:204 · Physics · School 01 — New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences
General Physics 204 is the second course in Rutgers' algebra-based General Physics sequence. Official Rutgers materials describe it as the continuation after 203, usually paired with 01:750:206 lab, with core coverage in electricity, electric potential, circuits, magnetism, electromagnetic waves, optics, relativity, and modern physics topics such as atomic and nuclear structure.
How hard?
Students rate teaching
SIRS · 3,590 responses · 2016–2025
Spring 2027
41 open in snapshot · 1 instructor
When it meets
Busch, Online
Checked-in sections · current seat counts are unavailable.
First name not listed in schedule
TF 10:35 AM · Busch, Online · 41 sections · 41 open
AI-generated overview
Higher means more demanding · AI summary
6 units · topic sequence may vary by instructor
The public Rutgers syllabus opens with charge interactions and quickly reframes them in terms of fields and potential. This is the conceptual jump that defines the course: instead of tracking only visible contact forces, students learn to reason with invisible field quantities that still produce measurable effects.
Early 204 then translates field ideas into circuit behavior. Rather than treating circuits as a bag of rules, the class asks students to connect current, resistance, and potential difference to energy transfer and to the physical meaning of series and parallel structure.
Once electric behavior is established, the course broadens into magnetic forces, fields, induction, and the linkage between electricity and magnetism. This is the bridge from static systems to changing fields and, eventually, to electromagnetic waves.
The optics unit begins with rays, image formation, and refraction. Students often find this section more visual than the field units, but it still depends on disciplined sign conventions and on understanding what an image equation is claiming physically.
After geometric optics, the course turns back to wave behavior by studying interference and related light phenomena. This is where 204 asks students to hold two pictures at once: light as something that can be traced geometrically and also something whose wave character matters experimentally.
The last stretch of the Rutgers schedule moves into special relativity and modern physics. Instead of treating these as isolated trivia topics, the course uses them to show where classical ideas break down and why newer models were needed for particles, atoms, radioactivity, and nuclear energy.
Public r/rutgers discussion tends to treat 204 as part of the same organized but steady-work General Physics rhythm students see in 203. The sequence is often recommended when students want the standard algebra-based lecture-plus-lab route, but commenters still warn that weekly practice matters because the second semester moves quickly from fields to circuits to optics and modern physics.
204 becomes much easier once electric and magnetic behavior are seen as properties of space and configuration, not just as isolated numerical forces.
Voltage, potential energy, and circuit behavior fit together when students treat potential as a way to track what work could happen per unit charge.
Geometric optics and wave optics are not contradictions; they are different descriptive tools that become appropriate in different experimental settings.
Relativity, atoms, and nuclei matter here because they show exactly where older mechanical pictures stop being sufficient.
Common pitfall
Instead
Sketch charge configurations, field direction, and energy change so the sign and magnitude of the answer have meaning.
Common pitfall
Instead
Tie each circuit step back to conservation of charge, energy, and the physical role of each element.
Common pitfall
Instead
Ask whether the problem is about rays and image location or about interference, path difference, and wave behavior.
41 open · Busch, Online
| Section | Status | Instructor | Meeting | Campus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0116218 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Monday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at ARC 332PHY 001ARC 332 | Busch |
| 0216219 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Monday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at ARC 332PHY 001ARC 332 | Busch |
| 0316220 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Monday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at ARC 332PHY 001ARC 332 | Busch |
| 0416221 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Monday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at ARC 332PHY 001ARC 332 | Busch |
| 0516222 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Monday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ARC 332PHY 001ARC 332 | Busch |
| 0616223 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Monday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at ARC 332PHY 001ARC 332 | Busch |
| 0716224 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Monday 7:30 PM-8:50 PM at ARC 332PHY 001ARC 332 | Busch |
| 0816225 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Tuesday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at SEC 206PHY 001SEC 206 | Busch |
| 0916226 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Tuesday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at SEC 204PHY 001SEC 204 | Busch |
| 1016227 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Tuesday 2:00 PM-3:20 PM at SEC 206PHY 001SEC 206 | Busch |
| 1116228 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Tuesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at FOR 191BPHY 001FOR 191B | Busch |
| 1216229 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | Tuesday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Friday 10:35 AM-11:30 AM at PHY 001; Tuesday 5:40 PM-7:00 PM at FOR 191BPHY 001FOR 191B | Busch |
| 2116230 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | LEC; Monday 8:30 AM-9:50 AM at SEC 218SEC 218 | Online |
| 2216231 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | LEC; Monday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at SEC 218SEC 218 | Online |
| 2316232 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | LEC; Monday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at LSH B116LSH B116 | Online |
| 2416233 | Open | Abdelbaki Brahmia | LEC; Monday 12:10 PM-1:30 PM at SEC 218SEC 218 | Online |
Historical student surveys
Teaching
4.21
Course quality
3.96
Response rate
32.9%
Coverage
125 offerings · 2016–2025
| Instructor | Offerings | Teaching | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abdelbaki Brahmia | 60 | 4.12 | 3.89 |
| Santana L. | 8 | 4.60 | 4.49 |
| Brian Lee | 5 | 4.48 | 3.66 |
| Abdelbaki Brahmia | 4 | 4.70 | 4.45 |
| Brahmia A. | 4 | 4.63 | 4.43 |
| Sarah Zanzoul | 4 | 4.95 | 4.40 |
Catalog and planning context
Credits
3
Current campuses
Busch, Online
Current availability
41 open of 41
Catalog terms
Fall, Spring, Summer
Core codes
NS
Loaded terms
4
(01:750:201)<em> OR </em>(01:750:203)
No direct degree-list membership appears in the checked-in requirement index.