Physics1BGP HS 2026 | Quantum Coherence Lab - Zumbühl Group

Physics 1 Bio Geo Pharma HS2026

Overview

First semester course in physics for students of biology, geosciences and pharmaceutical sciences. The main topicsd covered are mechanics and thermodynamics. Knowledge of high school level mathematics is required, including understanding of basic geometry, trigonometry, vectors and calculus (derivatives and integrals). See university course description

Format and Requirements

The course consists of two 2-hour lectures per week and one 2-hour exercise session per week. The exercises will be assigned and reviewed in the exercise sections throughout the semester. The final exam is based on and resembles these exercises, which are therefore highly recommended to be solved on your own. The lectures and exercise sessions are generally conducted in English. Whenever possible, all course materials, including exercises and the final exam will be available in both English and German, and students may answer in either language or mixture. The lecturers are Dominik Zumbühl, Andreas Baumgartner and Michel Calame.

For the exercises, the students are distributed and assigned in alphabetic order among their study program (Bio, Geo, Pharma) to exercise classes which are taught by teaching assistants (TAs). Bachelor of Arts students and other studies are attributed to Biology for the exercise classes.
The language of the lecture and the exercise classes is English. Exercise sheets are also available in German
Exercise solutions do not need to be handed in by the students and are not corrected or graded by the TAs.
The exercise classes start the week after the first lecture, namely on Tuesday/Wednesday, 22./23.09.2026
The exercise sheets and solutions are published online in the ADAM folder of the lecture

Schedule

Lectures: Thursdays and Fridays, 10:15 - 12:00, Grosser Hörsaal (1.03)
Exercises are Tuesdays 8-10am and Wednesdays 2-4pm and 5-7pm
rooms and times: Schedule (see Physik 1 BGP Übungen)

Exam

Date: to be announced, ca. early February 2027
Two hour written exam, similar to problem sets, comprised of all topics from the lecture and exercise classes. The exam questions will be handed out in English and German, the answers can also be in English or German (or mixed).
Exam regulations faculty of science (see here)

A pocket calculator
One A4 sheet with handwritten text on both sides
A formulary (either one of the recommended ones from the lecture or your own, no notes inside allowed; post-its to mark pages are allowed)
A dictionary
Devices with wireless internet are forbidden

Literature

The course is based on Physik für Mediziner, Biologen, Pharmazeuten, 8. Auflage (pdf) by Trautwein, Kreibig and Hüttermann (De Gruyter, 2014) in German. The recommended English textbook is Physics for Scientists and Engineers, Vol 1, 6th Edition by Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca (Freeman and Co., 2008) or - for a full version including material beyond this course - Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 6th Edition by Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca (Freeman and Co., 2008). Specific readings in both books are recommended in preparation for each lecture below. In addition, a German skriptum which covers the topics of the course can be purchased in class or downloaded (pdf). A German version of the Tipler text book, Physik für Wissenschaftler und Ingenieure, 7. Auflage by Paul A. Tipler, Gene Mosca and Jenny Wagner (Springer, 2008) (pdf), is available in online form as is a work book, Arbeitsbuch zu Tipler/Mosca Physik by David Mills and Alexander Knochel (Springer, 2008) (pdf), with practice problems and solutions.

Thursday

Friday

17.09.2026 - Introduction and Math review

Introduction, course organization, outline and expectations; literature; mathematical review: vectors, geometry, trigonometry, derivates, integrals

Trautwein (German): chapters A.3, A.5
Tipler (English): chapters 1-6, 1-7, M-7, M-8, M-11, M-12