Learning Objectives
A. Students will develop the ability to think analytically and reason correctly about physical systems. This includes developing a mindset that involves seeing the big picture, recognizing and articulating key physical phenomena in a complex situation, and visualizing and analyzing a situation before writing down and manipulating equations. (Think like a physicist.)
B. Students will develop the ability to solve multi-step, quantitative problems about physical systems using appropriate physical concepts as a guide and mathematics as a tool. (Be good problem solvers.)
C. Students will develop the ability to perform careful measurements and or computational simulations and to analyze the experimental or computational results using standard techniques. This includes the ability to make, manipulate, and interpret graphs, to use simple statistical measures to characterize data, and to assess (experimental) uncertainty.(Experimental/computational techniques.)
D. As they progress through the courses in the physics or astrophysics major, students will develop a body of knowledge about the structure, behavior and natural history of the physical universe. (Basic physics/astrophysics knowledge)
E. Students will develop the confidence and persistence to tackle new and challenging problems and questions in creative ways using the knowledge and tools in physics/astrophysics that they have acquired. (Independence)