PY105/6 Physics is a two-semester course sequence covering fundamental
physics. PY105, the first semester, covers classical
mechanics and thermodynamics. PY106, the second semester, this course, 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. PY106 is also offered as a lecture-based course
during each Fall semester and also during both summer sessions 1 and 2.
PY106 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 lead faculty member, 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.
For any inquiries about PY106, please e-mail to: studiopy@bu.edu
For Spring 2027: See date-stamped announcements below. We will maintain this page
until our course websites go live (approximately 1.5 weeks before our
first class meeting).
If you're enrolled in PY106 for Spring 2027, the resources below are designed to help you prepare for the semester and begin with with confidence.
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 PY106 if you have a conflict with another course. This includes the exam block. If you have an exam block conflict with another course, please email us at studiopy@bu.edu.
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 PY106 Sections: It will be very unlikely we will be able to swap PY106 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 faculty 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.
Paul Trunfio's Teaching Page