PHYS 1145 — Physics for Life Sciences 1
4 semester hoursUndergraduateLectureNUpath NDusually offered: fall, spring, summertypical days: M/W/ThBostonTraditional
Covers mechanics, fluids, and temperature and kinetic theory. The application of physics to a variety of problems in the life and health sciences is emphasized. Mechanics topics include one-dimensional motion, forces, vectors, Newton’s laws, equilibrium, work, energy, and power. Fluids topics include density, pressure, buoyancy, fluids in motion, viscosity, and surface tension. Temperature and kinetic theory topics include temperature, thermal equilibrium, gas laws, ideal gas law, kinetic theory, vapor pressure, and diffusion. A laboratory is included.
Corequisites (same term)
Offering history
| Term | Sections | Enrolled | Capacity | Full | Open seats/section |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer B 2023 | 1 | 60 | 70 | 86% | 10.0 |
| Fall 2023 | 3 | 355 | 425 | 84% | 23.3 |
| Spring 2024 | 2 | 199 | 260 | 77% | 30.5 |
| Summer A 2024 | 1 | 116 | 120 | 97% | 4.0 |
| Summer B 2024 | 1 | 53 | 60 | 88% | 7.0 |
| Fall 2024 | 3 | 351 | 450 | 78% | 33.0 |
| Spring 2025 | 2 | 205 | 260 | 79% | 27.5 |
| Summer A 2025 | 1 | 117 | 130 | 90% | 13.0 |
| Summer B 2025 | 1 | 58 | 68 | 85% | 10.0 |
| Fall 2025 | 3 | 396 | 460 | 86% | 21.3 |
| Spring 2026 | 2 | 175 | 260 | 67% | 42.5 |
Snapshots from scheduled scrapes — not live seat availability. "Full" can exceed 100% when sections over-enroll.
Meeting times
Share of recent sections by weekday: M 67% · T 17% · W 64% · Th 75% · F 0%
Common patterns: MWR (53% of sections), R (19% of sections), T (14% of sections), MW (8% of sections), M (3% of sections), MTWR (3% of sections) — in patterns, R means Thursday
Professors
Fall
- Bryan Spring (43% of students) · reviews
- Vivek Venkatachalam (25% of students) · reviews
- Stefan Kautsch (13% of students) · reviews
- Paul Stevenson (11% of students) · reviews
Spring
- Louise Skinnari (26% of students) · reviews
- Paul Stevenson (23% of students) · reviews
- Matthew Webber (21% of students) · reviews
- Latika Menon (21% of students) · reviews
Summer A
- Ankita Sarkar (50% of students) · reviews
- Assad Fotovatian (50% of students) · reviews
Summer B
- Assad Fotovatian (100% of students) · reviews
Percentages are each professor's average share of the season's enrolled students in recent terms.
Unlocks
EECE 4649, PHSC 3411, PHYS 1147
Courses that list PHYS 1145 in their prerequisites.
Links
Official catalog (PHYS course descriptions) · Student reviews on RateMyHusky · All PHYS courses · Plan it at numap.app