Paul's BU Physics Teaching Page

Preparing for PY105?

Review the mathematics, early physics concepts, and problem-solving strategies used at the beginning of the course.

PY105/6 Physics is a two-semester course sequence covering fundamentals of physics. PY105, the first semester, this course, covers classical mechanics and thermodynamics. PY106, the second semester, covers electricity, magnetism and modern physics. Both courses are intended primarily for science majors and pre-medical/pre-health students. Most students take PY105/6 in the same academic year, on sequence, in the studio format, that is PY105 during the fall semester and PY106 during the spring semester. PY105 is also offered as a lecture-based course during the Spring semester and also during both summer sessions 1 and 2.

PY105 studio is the on-sequence course, implemented in a studio group learning format. There are 6 studio sections, with over 500 students, integrating lecture, discussion, and lab. All studio sections cover the same material using the same curriculum. Students work collaboratively in lecture, discussion, and laboratory activities that emphasize conceptual understanding, problem solving, and hands-on exploration. There are two main goals in this course: one is to become familiar with a range of physics concepts, and the other is to learn, through training, to apply these concepts to solving problems.

Each section is supported by a professor, two teaching fellows and two undergraduate learning assistants. We hold office hours for the entire course, across all sections, offering times throughout every day of the week (an approximately combined 40 hours of availability) as well as other resources such as weekly content/problem solving sessions, content reviews, exam reviews, and 1:1 meeting availability.

Preparing for PY105

If you're enrolled in PY105 for Fall 2026, the resources below are designed to help you prepare for the semester and begin PY105 with confidence.

Announcements and Frequently Asked Questions

07.28.2026 - Fall 2026 Update 7 - Enrollment - If you are on a wait list, whether currently enrolled in a section or not, given that we are now at capacity in all sections and we don't anticipate students dropping, it is unlikely the myBU system will pull you off the wait list. Please keep that in mind as you plan your fall semester schedule. PY105 will also be offered in Spring 2027 in lecture/discussion/lab format (i.e., off-sequence).

07.16.2026 - Fall 2026 Update 6 - Enrollment - As of today, all sections have been increased to 90 seats (which is our absolute maximum number of seats). This will allow some students to come off the wait lists. Unfortunately that number will be small. We only have a handful of remaining seats available.

07.01.2026 - Fall 2026 Update 5 - Physics Prep - We will be making available a self-paced "Physics Prep" resource that we strongly recommend. The goal of the resource is to help you review essential math skills, become familiar with the types of physics ideas and problem-solving approaches we will encounter early in the semester, and start the course feeling more confident and prepared. More information will be announced later in the summer.

06.30.2026 - Fall 2026 Update 4 - Please do not try to make any manual section switches. Currently, all sections are full and sections are closed. We may be able to accommodate a few more students (rising Juniors) from the wait lists in certain sections, but seats are extremely limited.

06.13.2026 - Fall 2026 Update 3 - Please do not try to make any manual section switches into S5 or S6. While they show open seats, we have a hold right now in order to assess the overall wait lists.

04.23.2026 - Fall 2026 Update 2 - All sections are currently full. We expect there to be some movement with the wait lists. In early to mid May, after the current semester ends, I will look at enrollments and wait lists to see how many we will be able to accommodate to maximize student enrollment. I will likely be unable to respond to any emails sent to studiopy@bu.edu until early to mid-May

03.20.2026 - Fall 2026 Update 1 - PY105 registration begins Friday, March 20 for graduate students, Friday, March 27 for Seniors, Friday, April 3 for Juniors, and Friday, April 10 for Sophomores. Note that the PY105/106 physics sequence is typically taken during Junior/Senior year.

Here are some common questions regarding registration:

Exam block conflicts: Our exams will be on Tuesday nights. The newest myBU updates will not allow you to register for PY105 if you have a conflict with another course. This includes the exam block.

myBU Auto Waitlist feature: MyBU has an auto-enroll waitlist. General advice is that you should only add yourself to a waitlist for a section if you are not enrolled in any other PY105 section. The waitlist will automatically add you to the section you selected if a spot opens up in that section on a first-come-first-served basis.

Swapping PY105 Sections: It will be almost impossible to swap PY105 sections. All students should enroll or get on a wait list ONLY for section(s) you are able to attend; instead of enrolling in any section and hope to swap out at a later date.

Section Instructors: We do not know which instructors are teaching which section(s). So, every section is TBD. That is not because we are trying to prevent you from making decisions based on preferences; but it is because we actually do not know at this point.

Religious Holidays: For some of you, religious observances may prevent you from working later in the day/post-sundown (a common example is Ramadan). If this applies to you, please try to register for S1 through S4 so you do not miss many classes! We will work out the exam times that overlap with any religious holidays.

How can I manage the pace of the course and do you have suggestions for how to be successful and minimize stress? This is a very good question! This course is fast-paced because we are covering so many concepts and we are expecting a lot from you. Of course, how much really depends on prior experience learning physics. The best advice is to carve out time for daily practice and study (work on problems) until you're fairly confident in what you are learning. There's really no way around this. The way to not get overwhelmed by the pace is to work towards a routine for yourself and try to follow it. We will certainly help you achieve this, partly because we will be doing our best to build a "we're all in this" community atmosphere, so you won't feel alone. We will provide real-world applications (particularly in health and medicine) so that you can see physics in action. Finally, we will build into the schedule a full slate of office hours and review sessions. Our goal in teaching, and hopefully your goal in learning, is that the course and all the structures we are building in support you so that nobody is left behind.

If you have any questions, please e-mail to: studiopy@bu.edu

Boston University PY105 - Physics I

Preparing for PY105

Announcements and Frequently Asked Questions