UNISA Physics Course Module 2025-2026
PHYSICS AS A MAJOR:
Major combinations:
NQF Level: 5: PHY1503, PHY1505, PHY1506
NQF Level: 6: Four modules from the following list: PHY1604, PHY2601, PHY2602, PHY2606, PHY2604
NQF Level: 7: Five modules from the following list: PHY3702, PHY3703, PHY3706, PHY3707, PHY3708, PHY3709
| Electromagnetism and Heat (Physics) (Extended) – XHY1506 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: The gas laws, thermal properties of matter, thermodynamics, electrical forces, fields and potentials, electric currents, magnetic fields and forces, Induced fields and forces |
| Physics Honours Research Project – HRPHY81 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
|
Co-requisite: HMPHY80 |
| Purpose: Syllabus in consultation with the Chairperson of the Department. |
| Engineering Physics II (Theory) – ENP291Q |
| Diploma |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 17 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: FIC181C |
Co-requisite: ENP2PRA |
| Purpose: Magnetic forces and fields; electromagnetic induction; motors and generators; electromagnetic waves; interference and the wave nature of light; particles and waves; the nature of the atom; electronic devices; alternating current circuits; nuclear physics and radioactivity; the transfer of heat; fluids. |
| Advanced Mathematical Methods – PHY4801 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
| Purpose: Vector analysis. Matrices. Tensor analysis. Series. Complex variables and analytic functions. Group representations. Differential equations. Integral equations. Integral transforms. |
| Engineering Physics II (Practical) – ENP2PRA |
| Diploma |
Year module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 7 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: FIC181C |
Co-requisite: ENP291Q |
| Purpose: This is the practical work of Module ENP291Q and need to be taken simultaneously with ENP291Q or after it has been passed. Compulsory laboratory sessions between 1-3 days need to be attended at a University in South Africa. The information will be announced at a later point in time in a tutorial letter. |
| Electromagnetism – PHY4802 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
|
Co-requisite: PHY4801 |
| Purpose: Review of electro- and magnetostatics in a vacuum and in matter, charge and current distributions, energy in electric and magnetic fields, electromotive force, Faraday’s law. Maxwell and wave equations, Laplace and Poisson equations, electromagnetic energy and momentum. Waves in material media, radiation from a localised oscillating source, Lienard-Wiechert potentials, relativistic covariance of electrodynamics, radiation reaction. |
| Modern Physics – PHY1604 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
|
Co-requisite: PHY1505 |
| Purpose: Description and properties of waves, properties of sound waves, wave properties of light, mirrors and lenses, special relativity, particle properties of light, wave properties of matter, quantum mechanics and atomic structure, nuclear physics, interaction of radiation with matter |
| Quantum Mechanics I – PHY4803 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
|
Co-requisite: PHY4801 |
| Purpose: Wave packets and free particle motion. The wave equation. The wave function and the Schrodinger equation. The linear harmonic oscillator. Piecewise constant potentials in one dimension. The WKB pproximation. The principles of wave mechanics. Central forces and angular momentum. Piecewise constant potentials in three dimensions and the hydrogen atom. Scattering. |
| Classical Mechanics – PHY2601 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: PHY1505 (or XHY1505), MAT1503 (or XAT1503) & MAT1512 (or XAT1512) |
|
| Purpose: Linear motion, energy and angular momentum, central conservative forces, rotating frames, potential theory, the two-body problem, many-body systems, rigid bodies, Lagrangian mechanics, Hamiltonian mechanics |
| Quantum Mechanics II – PHY4804 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
|
Co-requisite: PHY4803 |
| Purpose: Spin. Dynamics of two-level systems. Linear vector spaces in quantum mechanics. Quantum dynamics. Rotations and other symmetry operations. Bound state perturbation theory. Time-dependent perturbation theory. |
| Physics I (Theory) – FIC181C |
| Diploma |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
|
Co-requisite: FIC1PRA |
| Purpose: One dimension linear motion, two-dimensional linear motion; Uniform circular motion; Rotational kinematics; Newton?s laws in motion; Work and energy; Impulse and momentum; Elasticity; Hydrostatics; Buoyancy; Dynamic fluids; Heat; Electric forces and the electric fields; Direct current circuits; Laws of reflections and mirrors, Lenses, Refraction of light, The ideal gas law, The laws of thermodynamics, Waves, Introduction to nuclear physics. |
| Electricity and Magnetism (Physics) – PHY2602 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: PHY1506 (or XHY1506), MAT1503 (or XAT1503) & MAT1512 (or XAT1512) |
|
| Purpose: The electric field, divergence and curl of E, electric potential, work and energy in conductors, electric fields in matter, magnetostatics, the Lorentz force law, the Biot-Savart law, divergence and curl of B, magnetic vector potential, magnetic fields in matter, electromotive force, electromagnetic induction, Maxwell’s equations |
| Statistical Physics – PHY4805 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
|
Co-requisite: PHY4801 |
| Purpose: Quantum statistics of ideal gasses. Systems of interacting particles. Magnetism and low temperatures. Elementary kinetic theory of transport processes. Transport theory using the relaxation time approximation. Fluctuations. |
| Physics I (Practical) – FIC1PRA |
| Diploma |
Year module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 4 |
| Module presented in English |
|
|
Co-requisite: FIC181C |
| Purpose: This is the practical work of module FIC181C. It has to be taken simultaneously with FIC181C or after FIC181C has been passed. Students must attend a compulsory laboratory session of between 1-3 days at a University in South Africa. Information will be announced in the tutorial letter at a later point in time. |
| Physics Practical Work II – PHY2604 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: PHY1506 (or XHY1506), MAT1503 (or XAT1503) & MAT1512 (or XAT1512) |
Co-requisite: PHY2601, PHY2602 & PHY2606 |
| Purpose: Laboratory experimental work and calculations on: a driven harmonic oscillator, alternating current circuits, the Hall effect and magnetic fields of a solenoid and Helmholtz coils, introduction to statistics, x-rays, black-body radiation, radioactive isotopes, gamma ray absorption, viscous fluid flow. |
| Advanced Solid State Physics – PHY4806 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
|
Co-requisite: PHY4801 |
| Purpose: Thermodynamics of phonons and electrons. Electrical and thermal conduction. Band Structure of selected metals. Classification of solids. Surface effects. Cohesive energy. |
| Elementary Mechanics – PHY1501 |
| Diploma,Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
|
Co-requisite: AMC1PRA (only applicable to NDECI), MCA1PRA (only applicable to NDEEN-MEC, NDEID, NDEMC) |
| Purpose: One dimension linear motion, two-dimensional linear motion; Uniform circular motion; Rotational kinematics; Newton?s laws in motion; Work and energy; Impulse and momentum; Elasticity; Hydrostatics; Buoyancy; Dynamic fluids; Sectional properties; stress and strain; analysis of statically determinate beams; analysis of statically determinate pin-pointed frames; computer applications where applicable. |
| Waves (Physics) – PHY2606 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: PHY1503 (or XHY1503), PHY1505 (or XHY1505), PHY1506 (or XHY1506), MAT1503 (or XAT1503)& MAT1512 (or XAT1512) |
|
| Purpose: Simple harmonic motion, damped simple harmonic motion, the forced oscillator, coupled oscillations, transverse wave motion, Fourier methods, interference and diffraction |
| Nuclear Physics – PHY4807 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
|
Co-requisite: PHY4801 |
| Purpose: Nuclear forces: the laws of invariance. Boson field theories and phenomenological potentials. Few-nucleon systems. The theory of nuclear structure: nuclear systematics. Scattering. Nucleon-nucleon scattering. Nuclear properties. Nuclear models. Nuclear decay. |
| Elementary Electromagnetisme and Heat – PHY1502 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: The gas laws, thermal properties of matter, thermodynamics, electrical forces, fields and potentials, electric currents, magnetic fields and forces, induced fields and forces. |
| Modern Physics (Extended) – XHY1604 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 6 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
|
Co-requisite: PHY1505 (or XHY1505) |
| Purpose: Description and properties of waves, properties of sound waves, wave properties of light, mirrors and lenses, special relativity, particle properties of light, wave properties of matter, quantum mechanics and atomic structure, nuclear physics, interaction of radiation with matter |
| Physics Practical Work I – PHY1503 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
|
Co-requisite: PHY1505 (or XHY1505) & PHY1506 (or XHY1506) |
| Purpose: Photoelectric effect, determination of charge to mass ratio, Ohm?s law, simple pendulum, current balance, diffraction grating, electron diffraction, potentiometer and meter bridge, air track, circular motion, handling of experimental data. |
| Quantum Physics – PHY3702 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: APM2611, MAT2611, PHY1604 (or XHY1604), PHY2601 & PHY2602 |
|
| Purpose: Origins of quantum physics, Mathematical tools of quantum mechanics, Postulates of quantum mechanics, One-dimensional problems, Angular momentum, Identical particles, Three-dimensional problems. |
| Mechanics (Physics) – PHY1505 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: Vectors, static equilibrium, uniformly accelerated motion Newton’s laws, work and energy, momentum, motion in a circle, rotational motion, mechanical properties of matter, vibrations. |
| Statistical and Thermal Physics – PHY3703 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: PHY2606 |
Co-requisite: PHY3702 |
| Purpose: Introduction to statistical methods, Statistical description of systems of particles, Irreversibility and the attainment of equilibrium, Interaction between macroscopic systems, Macroscopic parameters and their measurement, Simple applications of macroscopic thermodynamics, Basic methods and results of statistical mechanics, Simple applications of statistical mechanics, Equilibrium between phases or chemical species. |
| Electromagnetism and Heat (Physics) – PHY1506 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: The gas laws, thermal properties of matter, thermodynamics, electrical forces, fields and potentials, electric currents, magnetic fields and forces, Induced fields and forces |
| Physics Practical Work III – PHY3706 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: PHY2604 |
|
| Purpose: Pendulum and error analysis, Gamma-ray spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering, X-ray spectroscopy, Microwave experiment, Millikan oil drop experiment, Frank-Hertz experiment, Letcher wires, Atomic spectra. |
| Science: Mining I – SMI181Q |
| Diploma |
Semester module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: Physics: statics, dynamics, machinery science. Chemistry: theories of matter and mining applications. Electricity: circuit networks and control circuits, motor theory and applications. Optics theory and applications in instrumentation. |
| Solid State Physics – PHY3707 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: PHY2606 |
Co-requisite: PHY3702 |
| Purpose: Crystalline state, Atomic cohesion and crystal binding, Reciprocal lattice, Determination of crystal structure, Lattice vibrations, Thermal properties of solids, Free electron theory of metals, Electron energy bands, Mobile electrons and Fermi surfaces. |
| Elementary Mechanics (Extended) – XHY1501 |
| Under Graduate Degree,Diploma |
Year module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
|
Co-requisite: AMC1PRA (only applicable to NDECI), MCA1PRA (only applicable to NDEEN-MEC, NDEID, NDEMC) |
| Purpose: One dimension linear motion, two-dimensional linear motion; Uniform circular motion; Rotational kinematics; Newtons laws in motion; Work and energy; Impulse and momentum; Elasticity; Hydrostatics; Buoyancy; Dynamic fluids; sectional properties; stress and strain; analysis of statically determinate beams; analysis of statically determinate pin-pointed frames; computer applications where applicable. |
| Atomic and Nuclear Physics – PHY3708 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Semester module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Pre-requisite: PHY2606 |
Co-requisite: PHY3702 |
| Purpose: Elements of quantum mechanics, Nuclear properties, The force between nucleons, Nuclear models, Radioactive decay, Alpha decay, Beta decay, Gamma decay, Nuclear reactions, Nuclear fission, Nuclear fusion, Nuclear spin and moments, Nuclear astrophysics. |
| Elementary Electromagnetism and Heat (Extended) – XHY1502 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: The gas laws, thermal properties of matter, thermodynamics, electrical forces, fields and potentials, electric currents, magnetic fields and forces, induced fields and forces. |
| Computational Modeling – PHY3709 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 7 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
|
Co-requisite: APM2611 |
| Purpose: Introduction, Numerical Programming Python. Common Algorithms in Computational Modeling High performance computing. |
| Mechanics (Physics) (Extended) – XHY1505 |
| Under Graduate Degree |
Year module |
NQF level: 5 |
Credits: 12 |
| Module presented in English |
|
| Purpose: Vectors, static equilibrium, uniformly accelerated motion Newton’s laws, work and energy, momentum, motion in a circle, rotational motion, mechanical properties of matter, vibrations. |
| Physics Honours Research Methods – HMPHY80 |
| Honours |
Year module |
NQF level: 8 |
Credits: 24 |
| Module presented in English |
Module presented online |
|
Co-requisite: PHY4801 |
| Purpose: To familiarise students with the applications of stochastic theory in practical situations. |
