For those of you who have taken Calc based physics and taken the MCAT... did you find

[OrganicMLover]

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For those of you who have taken Calc based physics and taken the MCAT... did you find the physical science section of the MCAT manageable ?

I know this topic has been discussed but I dont recall specific comments by peope who have taken the calc based physics series. I am curious because most of the people at my school who just took the MCAT said by far their worst section was the physical sciences section because of the physics.

I am really interested in comments by people who have taken Calc based physics not by people who havent.

Thanks

Mike

 

[Medikit]

I had both series and when I took the PS section I thought more like how I did when I took trig based physics. It helped that my trig based physics class held MCAT style exams.

 

[masterMood]

troll, he made 4 threads on this same question and people have already answered them.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I took calc-based physics and the PS section was fine.

 

[Medikit]

troll, he made 4 threads on this same question and people have already answered them.

Well, one other thread at least, how strange.

 

[prana_md]

I took calc-based physics and then TA'd it the next year. I found that calculus really enhanced the fundamental understanding the physics -- calculus, after all, was invented to mathematically describe the way the Newtonian universe works. You'll also do a fair amount of trig, anyway.

All this may be more than you're interested in, if you just want to raise your PS score. But I found that having a solid foundation in what's *really going on* when projectiles fall from the sky or whathaveyou meant that the knowledge stuck around even under pressure and on adrenaline, ie, the MCAT.

That said, I found I did have to learn a new "MCAT" physics because the test writers seemed obsessed with some concepts while totally ignoring others. I also had to brush up on my trig, since I took it in what ... 9th grade?

 

[crazyvladif]

I took calc-based physics and then TA'd it the next year. I found that calculus really enhanced the fundamental understanding the physics -- calculus, after all, was invented to mathematically describe the way the Newtonian universe works. You'll also do a fair amount of trig, anyway.

All this may be more than you're interested in, if you just want to raise your PS score. But I found that having a solid foundation in what's *really going on* when projectiles fall from the sky or whathaveyou meant that the knowledge stuck around even under pressure and on adrenaline, ie, the MCAT.

That said, I found I did have to learn a new "MCAT" physics because the test writers seemed obsessed with some concepts while totally ignoring others. I also had to brush up on my trig, since I took it in what ... 9th grade?

I'd agree with this. Before calc-based physics, I was "math-challenged." When picking my physics sequence, I screwed up and took the calc-based physics for engineering majors. Bad idea.

But at the same time, the stiff competition drove me to learn the material, and I ended up doing fine in the class. Learning the calculus behind the equations puts them in context, and you're able to see how one equation gives way to another. Understanding the systematics behind the equations makes it A LOT easier to remember them for the MCATs.

That said, I rocked the PS on the MCATs, and now tutor physics. Did the calculus help? Probably. However, was the insane amount of time I had to dedicate to this class worth it? Admittedly, probably not.