Advanced topics in moral, social, or political philosophy.
The Socrates Project (PHL489Y) is a full-year course with 3 components. First, you will serve as a TA for a section of PHL103H/PHL113H during the Fall and Winter terms. During the Fall semester, you will attend two 1-hour PHL103H/PHL113H lectures each week, and teach one tutorial of 20-25 students, meeting with them for 1 hour each week. You will grade their papers, hold office hours, and meet with the relevant professor as needed. You will be paid for approximately 100 hours of work each semester, for a total of 200 hours, at the current hourly wage for CUPE Unit 1. The second component of the course is a seminar that meets once per week for 3 hours each time, during the fall term. Most of the seminar will be devoted to more in-depth study of the topics taken up in the PHL103H/PHL113H; but you will also discuss the methods and challenges of teaching philosophy-grading papers, prompting and guiding discussion, and so forth. Third, during the winter term you will write a seminar paper, on a topic of your choosing, under the supervision of a UTM Philosophy faculty member working in the relevant area. You will also present your work orally at an undergraduate research conference held jointly with the Socrates students from the St. George campus. Admittance to the Socrates Project is by application only. Instructions and the application form are available on the web at: http://philosophy.utoronto.ca/employment/cupe-3902-unit-1
A seminar for advanced students in Specialist and Major Programs in Philosophy. Topic to vary from year to year.
Contact Undergraduate Advisor. Individual study courses are aimed at highly motivated students. They are not intended to duplicate course offerings already available. A student seeking to do an independent course must secure a faculty supervisor. Regular meetings between student and supervisor are required, and the workload should be the same as a fourth-year philosophy seminar.
Contact Undergraduate Advisor. Individual study courses are aimed at highly motivated students. They are not intended to duplicate course offerings already available. A student seeking to do an independent course must secure a faculty supervisor. Regular meetings between student and supervisor are required, and the workload should be the same as a fourth-year philosophy seminar.
Contact Undergraduate Advisor. Individual study courses are aimed at highly motivated students. They are not intended to duplicate course offerings already available. A student seeking to do an independent course must secure a faculty supervisor. Regular meetings between student and supervisor are required, and the workload should be the same as a fourth-year philosophy seminar.
Contact Undergraduate Advisor. Individual study courses are aimed at highly motivated students. They are not intended to duplicate course offerings already available. A student seeking to do an independent course must secure a faculty supervisor. Regular meetings between student and supervisor are required, and the workload should be the same as a fourth-year philosophy seminar.
Stephen Hawking once said: "We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." The magic of Physics, with its ambitious goals of pushing the boundaries of knowledge, from finding the "God particle" to predicting the fate of the Universe, will be the focus of this course. The course is intended for those who are not trained in Physics and Mathematics but who nevertheless want to gain insight into this interesting and important field in a non-intimidating way. We will discover important concepts and theories through applications to everyday phenomena, including new energy sources, laser surgery, flat-screen TVs, wireless communications, GPS, etc. More advanced, but nevertheless fascinating and popular topics, will also be covered: time travel, relativity, ultracold atoms, quantum entanglement, black holes and the Higgs boson. No previous background in Physics is expected; high school algebra is recommended.
A first-year Physics course for students who do not intend to pursue a Physics or an Astronomy program. This course is focused on providing students with conceptual understanding and problem solving skills through the study of physical phenomenon that include: Forces and Newton’s Laws of Motion; Rotational Dynamics; Simple Harmonic Motion and Waves. Examples relevant for life and environmental sciences are emphasized.
A second Physics course for students who do not intend to pursue a Physics or an Astronomy program. This course is focused on providing students with conceptual understanding and problem solving skills through the study of physical phenomenon that include: Electric Forces and Fields; Electric Circuits; Magnetic Forces and Field; Optics. Examples relevant for life and environmental sciences are emphasized.
Physics is the scientific study of the laws governing all forms of matter and energy, from sub-atomic particles to stars and galaxies. The goal of physics is to develop physical laws based upon the results of experimental inquiry, and usually expressed in the language of mathematics, to predict phenomena within our natural world. This first course in classical physics is intended for students pursuing any of the Physics or Astronomy programs, although it is highly recommended for anyone in the Sciences. Topics include Newton’s Laws of motion, conservation of energy and momentum, inertia, circular motion, simple harmonic motion, waves and vibrations, thermal motion, and more.
The second physics course for students intending to pursue any of the Physics or Astronomy programs and highly recommended for some of the other programs in the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences. The concept of a field and its mathematical description in terms of vector calculus will be introduced as a way to provide a description of gravity and electromagnetism. The wave-particle duality will be introduced as way to address issues with the classical view of the behavior of sub-atomic phenomena.
This course covers the static properties of electric and magnetic fields using the tools of vector calculus. Topics include electric fields, Gauss' law, electric potential, electric dipole, magnetic fields, Biot-Savart Law, Ampère’s Law, Faraday’s Law, culminating on Maxwell’s equations and electromagnetic waves. Solving Laplace’s equation with simple boundary conditions will accompany the discussion of electric potentials.
An introduction to the basic concepts and modern analysis of thermal-fluid sciences. Topics include: Mechanisms of Heat Transfer; Heat Conduction; Forced and Natural Heat Convection; Radiation Heat Transfer; Fluid Statics; Fluid Kinematics; Fluid Dynamics; Bernoulli and Energy Equations; Internal Flow; Transport Processes and Diffusion; and Biomedical Applications of Thermal Physics and Fluid Mechanics.
The analysis of vibrating systems and wave motion, introducing mathematical techniques such as complex numbers, eigenvalue problems, and Fourier series. Topics include: simple and coupled oscillators; dispersion relations and boundary conditions; travelling waves; propagation of electromagnetic waves in materials; reflection and transmission of waves at interfaces.
The course focuses on applying principles from introductory Physics to biomedical phenomena. The goal is to illustrate the application of physical principles in life sciences and how this enhances one's understanding of biology. Topics may vary but they will include: the elasticity of muscles, the flow of blood, the electrical signal propagation in nerve cells, the optical properties of the eye, and the sound generation in vocal cords. In addition, the physical basis of medical techniques such as ultrasound imaging, endoscopy, electrocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, laser surgery, and radiation therapy will be treated quantitatively.
This course provides a rewarding opportunity for students in their second year to work in the research project of a professor in return for 299Y course credit. Students enrolled have an opportunity to become involved in original research, learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
A modular practical course that develops the experimental and computational skills necessary to get deeper insight in physical phenomena. Selected physics experiments and modeling that illustrate important principles of physics are applied: Experimental measurements and skills, data and uncertainty analysis, mathematical models, computational simulations and solutions.
The theory and application of mathematical methods for the physical sciences. Topics may include: vector calculus, linear algebra applied to coordinate transformations, probability distributions, systems of linear ordinary and partial differential equations and boundary value problems, Fourier analysis and orthogonal functions, the Heat and Wave equations in various coordinate systems, and the use of Legendre polynomials and Spherical Bessel functions. Computational methods and standard software tools will be used to solve complex physics problems.
A physicist's perspective on the building blocks of the living world. Topics may vary but will include: levels of structural complexity in biomolecules, molecular thermodynamics, molecular forces, the stability of biological structures, and the interaction of radiation with molecules. A rigorous treatment of commonly used biophysical techniques, such as calorimetry, optical spectroscopy, light/X-ray/neutron scattering, and single-molecule methods, will be accompanied by research applications.
A biophysical description of the structural properties and biological processes of the cell. The course will focus on: membrane biophysics, osmosis and transport through membranes, cell division, differentiation and growth, cell motility and muscular movement, cellular communication, cellular signal transduction and control, nerve impulses, action potential, synaptic signal transmission, free energy transduction in biological systems and bioenergetics of the cell, photosynthesis and respiration, photobiophysics, photoreception, and bioluminescence.
A mathematical treatment of Newtonian mechanics. Topics include: variational principles, Lagrangian mechanics, Noether’s theorem, symmetry and conservation laws, applications (orbits, oscillators, scattering), introduction to Hamiltonian mechanics.
The course will focus on wave optics and introduce students to modern optics and the quantum nature of light. Topics may vary but will include: electromagnetic waves and the propagation of light, basic coherence concepts and the interference of light, Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction, Fresnel equations, polarization of light, birefringence, blackbody radiation and principles of laser operation.
This course presents the physics of Earth’s climate. Emphasis will be placed on the basic principles and processes involved in physical and dynamic climatology and the physical interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, and land surface. Topics may include components of the climate system and global energy balance, atmospheric radiative transfer, surface energy balance, the hydrological cycle, general circulation of the atmosphere, ocean circulation and climate, climate modeling, and climate change. In the lab practicals, students will gain hands-on experience in analyzing climate data and simple climate modeling.
This course provides third-year undergraduate students (after completion of at least 8 to 10 credits) who have developed some knowledge of Physics and its research methods, an opportunity to work in the research project of a professor in return for course credit. Students enrolled have the opportunity to become involved in original research, enhance their research skills and share in the excitement of acquiring new knowledge and in the discovery process of science. Participating faculty members post their project descriptions for the following summer and fall/winter sessions in early February and students are invited to apply in early March. See Experiential and International Opportunities for more details.
In this advanced course in computational modeling and physical simulation, students will apply numerical techniques to study a range of physical phenomena. Topics may include: chaotic and nonlinear systems, mean-field and Monte Carlo methods, variational and spectral methods, stochastic processes, molecular dynamics simulations, protein folding, self-organized criticality, neural networks, clustering and percolation, and so on.
An introduction to key physical principles applied to medical diagnostics, imaging and radiation therapy. Topics include: electrophysiology, electrocardiogram and encephalogram; biomagnetism, magnetocardiogram and magnetoencephalogram; atomic and nuclear physics, ionizing radiation, radioactivity, nuclear medicine; theory of image formation and analysis, X- and gamma-ray imaging, positron emission tomography; lasers, optical light-matter interactions, optical imaging and therapy; physics of ultrasound, Doppler scanning and imaging with ultrasound; principles of nuclear magnetic resonance, contrast in magnetic resonance imaging.
An overview of electromagnetism leading to the study of radiation. A review of electrostatics, magnetostatics, and Maxwell's equations is followed by a discussion of propagating, non-propagating and guided waves; interactions with dielectric boundaries; multipole radiation fields, and simple models of optical dispersion.
A program of individual study chosen by the student with the advice of, and carried out under the direction of, a Physics professor. This course requires the student to submit a completed application to the CPS Undergraduate Assistant. Registration in the course is required. The application form can be downloaded from http://uoft.me/cpsforms.
Examines major facets of Canadian government and politics within a broad comparative context asking what is different or unique about Canada and what resembles political systems elsewhere in the world, primarily western industrialized countries. Comparative analysis is used to foster a deeper understanding of Canada and its politics.