PHYS171

Introductory Physics: Mechanics and Relativity

Prerequisite: (MATH140; and a high school physics course); or permission of CMNS-Physics department. And must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in MATH141. Credit only granted for: PHYS141, PHYS161, or PHYS171. First semester of a three semester sequence for physics majors and those desiring a rigorous preparation in the physical sciences: kinematics, Newton's laws, energy and work, linear and angular momenta, temperature and pressure, ideal gas law, and special relativity.

Sister Courses: PHYS171H

Spring 2026

Eun-Suk Seo

7 reviews
Average rating: 2.71

Fall 2025

James Drake

5 reviews
Average rating: 5.00

Spring 2025

Eun-Suk Seo

7 reviews
Average rating: 2.71

Past Semesters

James Drake

5 reviews
Average rating: 5.00

Christopher Palmer

8 reviews
Average rating: 2.38

Eun-Suk Seo

7 reviews
Average rating: 2.71

Christopher Palmer

8 reviews
Average rating: 2.38

Eun-Suk Seo

7 reviews
Average rating: 2.71

Christopher Palmer

8 reviews
Average rating: 2.38

Kara Hoffman

3 reviews
Average rating: 2.00

Christopher Palmer

8 reviews
Average rating: 2.38

Rajarshi Roy

2 reviews
Average rating: 4.50

Bei Lok Hu

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

Christopher Lobb

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

Ki-Yong Kim

1 review
Average rating: 1.00

Peter Shawhan

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

Arthur La Porta

0 reviews
Average rating: N/A

Include P/F semesters During the Spring 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, students could choose to take some of their courses pass-fail mid-semester which skews grade data aggregated across multiple semesters.

Average GPA of 2.57 between 1,094 students*

A-: 7.68%

A: 17.82%

A+: 6.49%

B-: 6.95%

B: 15.9%

B+: 8.5%

C-: 3.29%

C: 8.32%

C+: 3.38%

D-: 0.27%

D: 2.47%

D+: 1.83%

F: 6.03%

W: 10.51%

other: 0.55%

* "W"s are considered to be 0.0 quality points. "Other" grades are not factored into GPA calculation. Grade data not guaranteed to be correct.