Computational Physics

Prerequisites

• - STUDENTS WHO HAVE PASSED HONORS PHYSICS (>=85%) AND INTRO CS (>=85%) AND NOT IN AP PHYSICS C

Course Description

• In Honors Physics, students are restricted to studying systems that have simple and deterministic solutions that can always be found by the application of an equation. In the real world, however, physical systems often depend on far more variables than we can compute by hand, and physical outcomes can be very sensitive to initial conditions. For example, the topic of chaotic dynamics is highly appealing to students because of its links to fractals and complexity, but it is inaccessible without computer simulations.This course aims to bridge the gap between the simpler systems taught in Honors Physics and the greater complexity of the real world by having students learn to build computer simulations of physical systems. The class will cover a range of topics, including: Writing and debugging code in VPython Runge-Kutta methods for solving ODEs Applications to kinematics and dynamics Applications to chaotic systems and fractals