# Physical Sciences (Associate of Science Degree)

San Diego Mesa College · 2026-2027 Catalog · Department: Chemistry

Source: https://sdccd.curriqunet.com/catalog/iq/17540/18643/18644/17541/17699

### Summary

Physical Sciences is a multidisciplinary program promoting an appreciation for various disciplines such as physics, chemistry, astronomy and earth sciences by exposing students to various methodologies.

**Award Note:**
The Associate Degree requires a minimum of 60 degree applicable semester units.

**Learning Outcome(s): Students who complete the Physical Sciences Program will be able to:**

1.  Clearly communicate scientific principles, experimental results, and their implications.
2.  Apply conceptual and mathematical tools to correctly predict the future state of physical systems.
3.  Use proportional reasoning and graphical analysis to establish and analyze relationships between measured quantities.

### Requirements

| Course | Title | Units |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **COURSES REQUIRED FOR THE MAJOR:** | | 4 |
| GEOL 100 | Physical Geology | 3 |
| GEOL 101 | Physical Geology Laboratory | 1 |
| **At least 4 units from the following:** | | 4 |
| ASTR 101 | Descriptive Astronomy | 3 |
| ASTR 102 | Exploring The Solar System And Life Beyond The Earth | 3 |
| ASTR 109 | Practice in Observing | 1 |
| ASTR 111 | Astronomy Laboratory | 1 |
| GEOL 104 | Earth Science | 3 |
| GEOL 120 | Earth Science Laboratory | 1 |
| GEOL 130 | Field Geology of San Diego County | 4 |
| PHYN 114 | Weather and Climate | 3 |
| **At least 8 units from the following:** | | 8 |
| CHEM 100 | Fundamentals of Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 100L | Fundamentals of Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 130 | Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 130L | Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 152 | Introduction to General Chemistry | 3 |
| CHEM 152L | Introduction to General Chemistry Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 200 | General Chemistry I - Lecture | 3 |
| CHEM 200L | General Chemistry I - Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM 201 | General Chemistry II - Lecture | 3 |
| CHEM 201L | General Chemistry II - Laboratory | 2 |
| **At least 3 units from the following:** | | 3 |
| GEOG 101 | Physical Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 101L | Physical Geography Laboratory | 1 |
| **At least 8 units from the following:** | | 8 |
| PHYS 100 | Introductory Physics | 4 |
| PHYS 125 | General Physics | 5 |
| PHYS 126 | General Physics II | 5 |
| PHYS 195 | Mechanics | 5 |
| PHYS 196 | Electricity and Magnetism | 5 |
| PHYS 197 | Waves, Optics and Modern Physics | 5 |
| **At least 8 units from the following:** | | 8 |
| MATH 104 | Trigonometry | 3 |
| MATH 118 | Quantitative Reasoning | 3 |
| STAT C1000 | Introduction to Statistics | 3 |
| or PSYC 258 | Behavioral Science Statistics | 3 |
| MATH 141 | Precalculus | 5 |
| MATH 150 | Calculus with Analytic Geometry I | 5 |
| MATH 151 | Calculus with Analytic Geometry II | 4 |
| MATH 252 | Calculus with Analytic Geometry III | 4 |