Undergraduate Physics

Overview

The undergraduate physics curriculum in every undergraduate physics program covers the following subjects (along with some electives in advanced topics), and usually in the following order :

Introductory Mechanics Electrostatics Waves and Vibrations Modern Physics Classical Mechanics Electrodynamics Quantum Mechanics Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics Advanced Electives in Physics

I'm going to cover the details of each of these fields below, including the best textbooks to use and any additional reading you may find helpful in your journey. I'm also going to give some details about the mathematics you'll need to learn alongside each topic.

1. Introduction to Mechanics



What It's All About

An introduction to mechanics course is the first course physics course that most people will take, and it's the best place to begin independent study of physics as well. This is where you'll start learning how to see the world in mathematical terms, and the things that will be covered are: the basics of motion in a straight line, motion in two dimensions, motion in three dimensions, Newton's Laws, work, kinetic energy, potential energy, the conservation of energy, momentum, collisions, rotation and rotational motion, gravitation, and periodic motion.

The Best Textbooks to Use

University Physics with Modern Physics by Young and Freedman (essential). Work through all of the "Mechanics" chapters (in my edition, these are chapters 1-14). This is the best introductory book I've found, and you can use it when you learn electrostatics and modern physics, too. It contains plenty of great example problems to work through, and the solutions are easy to find online. It does a great job of introducing the relevant mathematics, but you'll need to be learning calculus alongside it. You don't need to spend $250 on the new edition - Amazon has lots of copies of the 12th edition and the 13th edition that contain the same material.

The Math You'll Need to Learn Alongside It

You'll need to learn calculus while working through University Physics. My favorite introductory calculus book is Thomas' Calculus, with Stewart's Calculus coming in as a close second. Work through each chapter, and make sure you can solve problems at the end of each chapter before continuing to the next.

2. Electrostatics



What It's All About

This is where you'll learn about the physics of electricity and magnetism (electromagnetism) in static situations (situations where no motion is involved). Topics covered are: electric charges and electric fields, magnetism and magnetic fields, Gauss's Law, capacitance, resistance and conductance, inductance, current, and how circuits work.

The Best Textbooks to Use

The Math You'll Need To Learn Alongside It

Keep working through the calculus textbooks (Thomas and Stewart) while you work through the basics of electrostatics, but you should finish them by the time you finish the electromagnetism chapters in University Physics. You absolutely must understand the basics of calculus before you move on to the other topics in physics.

3. Waves and Vibrations



What It's All About

The mechanics of vibrations and waves are complex and important enough to demand their own course of study. Mastering this material is essential for learning about quantum mechanics, so don't skip this topic! This is where you will learn about simple harmonic oscillators, damped harmonic oscillators, forced oscillations, coupled oscillators, waves, interference, diffraction, and dispersion.

The Best Textbooks to Use

Vibrations and Waves by French (essential) and Vibrations and Waves by King (essential). These two books complement each other very well, and contain different problems and solutions.

The Math You'll Need To Learn Alongside It

By this point, you should have finished the introductory calculus books and are ready to move on to more advanced mathematics. You should start working through Zill's Advanced Engineering Mathematics, which is an amazing introduction to more advanced topics in mathematics (linear algebra, complex analysis, real analysis, partial differential equations, and ordinary differential equations). The new edition is pretty great, but the older edition is just as good (and a lot cheaper!). The topics in this book are essential for understanding all of the rest of the topics in Undergraduate Physics - once you master them, you'll know all the math you need to know to understand undergraduate physics.

4. Modern Physics



What It's All About

The fourth physics class that most undergraduates take is usually called "Modern Physics", and it's an introduction to topics in physics that will be taught in greater detail later in the undergraduate physics curriculum. If you plan to study the advanced topics on their own, it's possible to skip this area, but covering these topics now in your independent studies will allow you to grasp the advanced topics that you hear so much about and that probably got you into physics in the first place! This is where you'll learn the basics of thermodynamics, relativity, quantum mechanics, atomic physics, nuclear physics, particle physics, and cosmology.

The Best Textbooks to Use

University Physics with Modern Physics by Young and Freedman (essential). Work through the "Thermodynamics" section (chapters 17-20 in my edition of the book, and the "Modern Physics" section (chapters 37-44).

The Math You'll Need To Learn Alongside It

Continue working through Zill's Advanced Engineering Mathematics. Once you have mastered all of the topics in this book, you will know all the mathematics you need to know to understand undergraduate physics.

5. Classical Mechanics



What It's All About

This is where you learn the real heart of classical mechanics, which you were introduced to in the very first topic (Introduction to Mechanics). You'll learn the topics in much greater depth, and learn how to use different mathematical formalisms of classical mechanics (the Lagrangian formalism and the Hamiltonian formalism) to solve problems in mechanics.

The Best Textbooks to Use

The Math You'll Need To Learn Alongside It

If you haven't finished working through Zill by now, you should master the topics in it by the time you finish studying classical mechanics.

6. Electrodynamics



What It's All About

Earlier, you learned about electrostatics: the study of static (non-moving) electricity and magnetism. By now, you know the mathematics to understand electrodynamics, which encompasses everything about classical electricity and magnetism. You'll cover electrostatics again, then learn about Laplace's equation, multipole expansions, polarization, dielectrics, the Lorentz Force Law, the Biot-Savart Law, magnetic vector potential, electromotive force, electromagnetic induction, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves and radiation, and special relativity.

The Best Textbooks to Use

Griffith's Introduction to Electrodynamics (essential). This is the book on undergraduate electrodynamics, and one of the very best physics textbooks ever written. Take great care to work through every single problem in the book.

Div, Grad, Curl and All That by Schey (supplement). This is a short textbook on vector calculus that is very helpful when trying to work with vectors in electrodynamics.

A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations by Fleisch (supplement). Maxwell's equations are essential in understanding electrodynamics, and this book is the best supplement on the topic.

7. Quantum Mechanics



What It's All About

By this point, you're ready to really dive into the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and its applications - one of the most beautiful, interesting, and thought-provoking topics in all of physics. You'll learn to see the world at a completely new level - the quantum level. You'll learn about the wave function, the Schrodinger equation, perturbation theory, the variational principle, the WKB Approximation, the adiabatic approximation, and scattering.

The Best Textbooks to Use

Griffith's Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (essential). This is, without a doubt, the book on undergraduate quantum mechanics, written by the same Griffiths who wrote the Introduction to Electrodynamics. It's written in the same concise and beautiful style, and every single problem is worth solving.

8. Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics



What It's All About

Thermodynamics is the field of physics concerned with kinetics (dynamics) related to heat and energy, while statistical mechanics is all about the microscopic principles that underlie the Laws of Thermodynamics. This is where you'll learn about the laws of thermodynamics, entropy, the canonical ensemble, Maxwell distributions, Planck's distribution, Fermi-Dirac statistics, Bose-Einstein statistics, and phase transitions.

By the time you've finished this topic, you'll have mastered all of the fundamentals of undergraduate physics!

The Best Textbooks to Use

Introductory Statistical Mechanics by Bowley and Sanchez (essential). This is a really amazing, concise, and clear introduction to thermodynamics and statistical mechanics - the best I've found so far!

9. Advanced Electives in Physics



What It's All About

No physics education is complete without learning about fun additional topics in physics, including (but not limited to): astronomy (the study of the galaxies, stars, and planets), astrophysics (the application of the principles of physics to astronomy), cosmology (the origins of the universe), electronics, particle physics (the study of the fundamental particles of the Standard Model), and string theory (a theory that supposes that two-dimensional objects called "strings" are the fundamental building blocks of the universe).

You can pick and choose what you'd like to learn about based on your interests. This is the most exciting part: you understand all of the fundamentals of undergraduate physics, and you can pick up advanced books in other topics of physics and will be able to understand them! You'll also be able to read (and understand) some papers on the arXiv, which is the place that almost all physics research papers are published.

The Best Textbooks to Use