0 or 3 credits
Spring 2026 Laboratory Lecture Lower Division
This course provides a quantitative understanding of the fundamental principles that govern the behavior of planetary systems, including their atmospheres, surfaces, interiors, and orbital dynamics. This course is intended to be a quantitative follow-on to EAPS 10500, and aims to provide students with hands-on experience with physics-based problem solving, scientific programming, and developing research projects. Lecture periods will include lectures as well as group work on problems, and lab periods will focus on programming projects in Python. By the end of the course, students will have a strong foundation in the principles and techniques of planetary science and be well-prepared to engage in upper-year courses and conduct planetary science research. It is recommended that students have completed EAPS 10500 The Planets, PHYS 17200 Modern Mechanics or equivalent, and have some previous programming experience (preferably in Python).
Learning Outcomes1Apply principles of classical physics to investigations of planetary orbital dynamics, surfaces, interiors, and atmospheres.
2Write and debug basic data analysis, graphical display, and numeric computation code in Python.
3Come up with a science question, conduct a literature review, test hypotheses using real data or models, and present an informed assessment.
Prerequisites
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