Physics Bridging Course

The bridging courses are run by VHS Ingolstadt; please make sure you find out about them well in advance of the start of your studies. (Search for ‘Brückenkurs’; courses always start in May, approximately three months before the start of the course)

Organiser and registration:
VHS Ingolstadt
Venue:
THI, Esplanade 10, 85049 Ingolstadt

New: also available online

Course fee for face-to-face courses:
from 35 participants €95.00
; from 45 participants €75.00
; from 65 participants €55.00

For all engineering degree programmes, physics – alongside mathematics – is a fundamental science, and a solid grasp of it is crucial to academic success. Without a solid grounding in the subject, it is not possible to fully grasp the complex concepts covered in the course. The ‘School Physics’ bridging course revises the most important fundamentals in preparation for technical degree programmes. Participation is generally recommended for students on the following degree programmes: 

• Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology – all degree programmes: Autonomous Vehicle Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Electrical Engineering and Electromobility, Robotics
• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering – all degree programmes: Biomechanics, Energy Systems and Renewable Energies, Automotive Engineering, Engineering Sciences, Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
• Faculty of Industrial Engineering – all degree programmes: Data Science in Technology and Business, Technical Design, Industrial Engineering
• Faculty of Sustainable Infrastructure: Sustainable Civil Engineering

Participation in the bridging course in Mathematics or Physics is strongly recommended if: 

• it has been some time since you left school
• you hold a master craftsman’s certificate or a vocational qualification
• you left FOS/BOS after Year 12
• your grades have so far been in the middle or lower range. 

However, (very) good A-level graduates who wish to refresh their knowledge before starting their degree are also welcome. Furthermore, it is possible to join the courses later, up to the 3rd semester. In principle, the courses are open to all students, regardless of their degree programme.

Course topics

• Mechanics: kinematics, dynamics, momentum and force, energy (conservation), rotation; oscillations and waves – harmonic oscillation, damping, superposition, the Doppler effect, waves
• Electrical theory: Electric fields, capacitors and resistors, electric circuits, motion of charge carriers in electric fields, magnetic fields, the Hall effect, coils, electromagnetic induction, alternating current, electrical oscillations and oscillating circuits, Hertz’s dipole, semiconductor circuits
• Optics: diffraction, interference and ray optics, refraction
• Thermodynamics: Fundamentals, kinetic theory of gases and energy conversions

Course duration
: The course lasts one week and takes place from Monday to Friday. The theory is initially covered in a block of five teaching hours, followed by a four-hour practical session.

The following book is recommended as supplementary material:
*Physik im Studium: Ein Brückenkurs* by Jan Peter Gehrke (De Gruyter Studium)
. The book is also available as an eBook and can be borrowed from the THI library.