Physics for Biologists

5 units · Undergraduate lower division (0-99)

Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Designed for life science students. Study connects the fundamental principles of physics to the complex systems of biology. Rather than focusing on formula memorization, students develop a quantitative intuition by mastering dimensional analysis and scaling arguments. Study of scaling and form—examining how physical laws constrain biological shape and function across orders of magnitude; energy and metabolism—treating organisms as open thermodynamic systems constrained by bioenergetics; information and entropy—linking thermodynamics to sensory perception and the physical costs of biological computation; and physical limits of life—investigating the boundaries of life from the hydrodynamics of life at low Reynolds numbers to the fundamental limits imposed by relativity and quantum mechanics. Students gain ability to apply simple yet powerful tools to build conceptual models and identify the dominant physical factors in complex biological systems. Letter grading.