UNC PHYS 118: Introductory Calculus-Based Mechanics and Relativity
PHYS 118 is UNC's calculus-based first physics course — mechanics through rotation plus an introduction to special relativity — taught in the lecture/studio format and required for physics, astronomy, and most physical science and quantitative tracks. MATH 231 is prerequisite, with MATH 232 alongside.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with UNC Chapel Hill. This is an unofficial study guide.
Build my PHYS 118 study planWhat makes it hard
Exams test modeling on unfamiliar problems, the calculus is used for real, and the relativity unit asks students to reason carefully from postulates that contradict intuition — a different skill than force diagrams. The studio format grades preparation and participation, and the rotation-plus-relativity back half stacks concepts when the semester is at its busiest.
What you'll cover
- • Kinematics in one and two dimensions
- • Newton's laws and free-body diagrams
- • Work, energy, and momentum
- • Rotational motion and angular momentum
- • Oscillations
- • Special relativity basics
The PHYS 118 study guide
How to study for UNC PHYS 118, step by step.
- 1
Train the setup ritual on every problem
Diagram, principle, justification — before algebra. PHYS 118 exams grade that sequence on novel scenarios, so make it deliberate practice rather than something that happens implicitly.
- 2
Keep calculus frictionless
Derivatives must be fluent and integrals comfortable, because the physics is the hard part and math friction on top is how students drown early. Service your MATH 231/232 skills weekly.
- 3
Arrive at studio prepared
The studio sessions are graded and they're where modeling skill gets built — but only for students who attempted the material first. Preparation converts studio from overhead into the course's best resource.
- 4
Hunt unfamiliar problems weekly
Exams break homework patterns by design. Practice cold on problems from past exams and other textbooks so the real test isn't your first encounter with novelty.
- 5
Give relativity its own kind of study
The relativity unit rewards careful reasoning from postulates, not equation-grabbing — time dilation and simultaneity questions punish intuition shortcuts. Work through the standard paradoxes until the logic, not the formula, is what you trust.
- 6
Run the season on a Fennie Daily Plan
Upload your PHYS 118 syllabus and Fennie spaces problem practice through each week, banks review before the rotation-and-relativity back half, and generates practice problems from your actual course materials. Free to start.
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How Fennie helps with PHYS 118
Fennie's Daily Plans space PHYS 118's practice so each concept is solid before the next stacks on it, with review banked ahead of the rotation-and-relativity back half. Chat works setups out loud — which principle, why — and walks the relativity paradoxes step by logical step, the reasoning style that unit grades and intuition fails.
FAQ
Is PHYS 118 at UNC hard?
It's the physical-science track's first filter: modeling-based exams on unfamiliar problems, calculus used for real, and a relativity unit that punishes intuition shortcuts. Deliberate setup practice and weekly novel problems handle it; homework pattern-matching is what the exams are built to catch.
How is relativity in PHYS 118?
It's a genuine introduction — time dilation, length contraction, simultaneity — graded on careful reasoning from the postulates rather than formula recall. Most students find it conceptually demanding but fair: the standard paradoxes, worked honestly, are the best preparation.
What math do I need for PHYS 118?
MATH 231 completed (the prerequisite) with MATH 232 typically alongside as the corequisite. Derivatives appear constantly and integrals regularly, so going in with fluent differentiation is one of the highest-leverage preparations available.
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