Algebra or calculus based physics?

[911 Turbo]

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Lol I don't think people realize how intrinsically linked calculus (and math) and physics are. I know an obscene amount of physicists/physics students that started out as mathematicians, as the areas of study can often overlap quite a bit. Theoretical physics is 100% math. I remember the physicist Brian Greene once saying something along the lines of "in mathematics the problems are presented by people - in physics the problems are presented by nature".

Premeds should be forced to take calculus and calculus based physics IMO... for many reasons.

 

[deleted303591]

I'm just saying, at my university, the calculus-based physics courses (university physics) have 50-90% drop rates.


I would ask around to see what the drop rates are, average grade for the particular course and professor, etc. Advisors at some schools can fill you in on this kind of stuff.

 

[Jewels86]

Lol I don't think people realize how intrinsically linked calculus (and math) and physics are. I know an obscene amount of physicists/physics students that started out as mathematicians, as the areas of study can often overlap quite a bit. Theoretical physics is 100% math. I remember the physicist Brian Greene once saying something along the lines of "in mathematics the problems are presented by people - in physics the problems are presented by nature".

Premeds should be forced to take calculus and calculus based physics IMO... for many reasons.

I'm starting to agree with those that have taken calc-based physics and understand it. I'm finding that my instructor (algebra-based), albeit is there only to get a discount on their PhD tuition, cannot tell us about physics without the calculus. Because the calculus is replaced with algebra, the instructor makes SO many errors in their calculations yet expects us to get it right on the exam. (IMHO: I think the instructor has "checked out" and isn't coming back.)

It's not worth the headache anymore to do a class that was meant for calculus. And I've started to study physics for MCAT. Why not take a tougher course and be better prepared for MCAT 🙂

 

[notbobtrustme]

It's not worth the headache anymore to do a class that was meant for calculus. And I've started to study physics for MCAT. Why not take a tougher course and be better prepared for MCAT 🙂

Calc-physics won't prepare you for the MCAT. The physics on the MCAT isn't about setting up an equation nor deriving ****. It's about deciphering a passage and applying the two or three necessary equations for that concept. Calculus will help in exactly 0 questions on the MCAT. You never need to derive anything and the mathematics on the MCAT is simplistic.

 

[EnginrTheFuture]

My policy on this topic has become:

"Agree to disagree (with everyone )"

Here's my final breakdown:

1) If you like math and you enjoy understanding the physics more in-depth... take calc-based.
2) If you will dislike NOT going into things more in-depth, and will become frustrated by this, take calc-based.
3) If you go to a school that will not explain concepts and will simply zip through how to plug and chug algebraic formulas very quickly, do yourself a favor and DO NOT take this.
4) If you are at a school that drops kids like flies in calc-based, find out if the algebra based fits #3 and choose it only if it passes that criteria.
5) If you are at a school that you will likely get a C in calc-based and will spend way too much time trying to attain a decent grade that it will effect everything else, AND the algebra based fails #3... find a better school to take physics at during the summer.

 

[487806]

Calc-physics won't prepare you for the MCAT. The physics on the MCAT isn't about setting up an equation nor deriving ****. It's about deciphering a passage and applying the two or three necessary equations for that concept. Calculus will help in exactly 0 questions on the MCAT. You never need to derive anything and the mathematics on the MCAT is simplistic.

The point of calculus-based physics is to understand the concepts much better, not focusing on math. If you guys are focusing on math rather than concepts, it's reasonable to say why algebra-based physics is better for you guys. You miss the forest for the trees.

 

[487806]

My policy on this topic has become:

"Agree to disagree (with everyone )"

Here's my final breakdown:

1) If you like math and you enjoy understanding the physics more in-depth... take calc-based.
2) If you will dislike NOT going into things more in-depth, and will become frustrated by this, take calc-based.
3) If you go to a school that will not explain concepts and will simply zip through how to plug and chug algebraic formulas very quickly, do yourself a favor and DO NOT take this.
4) If you are at a school that drops kids like flies in calc-based, find out if the algebra based fits #3 and choose it only if it passes that criteria.
5) If you are at a school that you will likely get a C in calc-based and will spend way too much time trying to attain a decent grade that it will effect everything else, AND the algebra based fails #3... find a better school to take physics at during the summer.

This sums it up nicely. /debate

 

[circulus vitios]

Calc-physics won't prepare you for the MCAT. The physics on the MCAT isn't about setting up an equation nor deriving ****. It's about deciphering a passage and applying the two or three necessary equations for that concept. Calculus will help in exactly 0 questions on the MCAT. You never need to derive anything and the mathematics on the MCAT is simplistic.

I took the calc based physics sequence. To be honest, we only really used calculus to derive some equations in class. Exam questions could be answered almost entirely with algebra. The only time I remember using calculus on an exam is when we did Ampere's Law stuff, and even then it was incredibly simple because none of us really knew wtf a surface integral was.