OK, I got past Organic, now how bad is Physics for a very non traditional?

[Empi]

Physics is the last prerequisite in my way, I'm wondering how challinging it is compared to Organic Chem.

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[gman33]

Totally different kind of class. Requires little memorization, more problem solving skills. Make sure your math skills are solid before taking class. If it's not calc based, brush up on algebra/trig.

 

[SpiritiualDuck]

I think it depends on a few things, where you're taking this course, quality of your professor, and your drive.

When I took it, quite a few years back now, it was managable, enjoyable. I like math. It was problem solving, word problems.

I think the key to success is to do lots of problems, practice solving problems. then when i took my exam, it felt like I had seen some of the problems before because they were just variations on what I had worked on. So, to me, it's about practice and truly understanding the "big picture."

Also, remember to always show your work. Put down your equations, even if you don't finish the problem, you'll get partial credit. I use to work out the problems, plug in my variables, and leave the math for last. Then move on to the next problem, because the bulk of the credit, at least at my school, came from knowing how to solve the problem.

Good luck.

 

[Empi]

Oy.

It's Trig based Physics and I haven't had Algebra/trig in years.

I just got some refreshed books for my (also non traditional,) cousin who is just starting school and struggling with basic Algebra. I guess I can look over her sholder in order to refreh my memory.

Nothing terribly complicated mathwise, right? Sort of like the word problems back in Algebra/trig class? I actually enjoyed the word problems because, if you understood the concepts, the actual math was relatively simple.

 

[Empi]

Oh, yes, does anyone have any Idiot's style book recommendations?

 

[njbmd]

Oy.

It's Trig based Physics and I haven't had Algebra/trig in years.

I just got some refreshed books for my (also non traditional,) cousin who is just starting school and struggling with basic Algebra. I guess I can look over her sholder in order to refreh my memory.

Nothing terribly complicated mathwise, right? Sort of like the word problems back in Algebra/trig class? I actually enjoyed the word problems because, if you understood the concepts, the actual math was relatively simple.

The one thing that any physics course will ask of you is to use your math skills as a tool. Make sure that you can do this. If you know ahead of time,that your math may be "rusty", then look at getting your skills up to speed.

You might want to look at this website Learn Physics Today as presents the math skills that you need plus a great introduction to Physics and the use of those math skills. This is at least a starting point and should give you an introduction into your course which is quite likely more rigorous that this site.

The other thing to do is meet with your professor/TA early in the semester before you have any problems and make sure that you are on the right track. Even if you are getting As on your tests, having regular "knowledge checks" with your professor/TA is not a bad idea.

Go to the MCAT website and down load the PDF that contains the topics for the Physical Science section of this very important exam. Check off the topics as you master them during your coursework. This keeps you moving forward in your class.

Here's another website: Physics Study Skills that you might find useful in that it gives you a good idea of how to arrange your time and energy for this class. The same author has another website that contains study skills which is pretty good too. Study Skills Website.

All of the above stuff is free and can be utilized right now before you start your class. Good luck.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Oy.

It's Trig based Physics and I haven't had Algebra/trig in years.

I just got some refreshed books for my (also non traditional,) cousin who is just starting school and struggling with basic Algebra. I guess I can look over her sholder in order to refreh my memory.

Nothing terribly complicated mathwise, right? Sort of like the word problems back in Algebra/trig class? I actually enjoyed the word problems because, if you understood the concepts, the actual math was relatively simple.

Hello, I'm pretty deeply non-traditional (out of grad school 9 years now, finished undergrad in early 1990s in liberal arts) and just finished (algebra based) physics 2 with a high A (same for physics 1 several semesters back)

Suggestions and thoughts--

These classes were very difficult for me in the sense of being more time intensive and non-intuitive than my other 3 (science) classes last semester, physics 2 moreso than physics 1. It wasn't that the material was "hard" as much as it took time to sink in for me, in that sense similar to ochem. I "got" it by reviewing the material for frequent, short time periods, and working quite a few problems (every odd problem at the end of each chapter + in chapter problems, I did maybe 50 problems per chapter versus the 8 or so that were "assigned".)

It helped me a great deal to write out every formula from the book on a separate sheet of paper, with a short note explaining what the formula was for. I then had a single sheet of paper that covered the 3-4 chapters we hit on a single test, I'd bring the paper with me until I could recite "v=ed", delta v, and had all of the other formulas inside and out; this way I could focus on the problem rather than trying to recall the specifics of the formula at test time.

The formulas & math were typically simple, understanding which words corresponded to which symbols took practice. (I am strong at quantitative things, so that helped). good luck! don't forget to do lots and lots of problems, a handful every day helped me tremendously.

 

[Empi]

Thaks for the links and tips.

I don't have a problem with working hard, especially if it pays off in the end.

 

[cwfergus]

Hey dude, how long did it take you to grasp Orgo?

 

[neurologist]

Oh, physics is soooooooooooooo much more fun than orgo!

The key to orgo is brute force memorization. The key to physics is logical thinking and doing lots of problems beyond the regular assignments to sharpen your thinking.

Do all the problems in the textbook. And go out and buy a physics problem book and do all of those too. Yes, it's a little time consuming, but unlike orgo, which is random craziness, more "advanced" physics builds on very "basic" physics, so it gets easier the more you learn.

 

[deleted6669]

fwiw physics was MUCH easier for me than chem and I am not a great math student.

 

[ShyRem]

Loved physics. The thing about physics is that it isn't really much new stuff. It's just math to explain the stuff you already know happens.

For example. When you have a pitcher on a baseball mound, he throws the ball and it makes a lovely arc. Right? Give that same question and call it a "physics question" and over 50% of all college students will say he throws it in a straight line so that the ball hits the ground before it even gets to home plate. Why? Because they think the physics equations tell them that's what happens. And yet they all know how a pitcher throws a baseball.

Think like an idiot. Don't change reality until you get to that tricky part with time-space continuum.

 

[nu2004]

Physics is the last prerequisite in my way, I'm wondering how challinging it is compared to Organic Chem.

depends on your strengths. if you are fairly strong with math i think you will find physics easy.

i struggled in organic, but absolutely loved physics. i think that most of what you see in physics (perhaps with the exception of electricity and magnetism, some aspect of waves) is fairly easy to conceptualize.

 

[Empi]

Hey dude, how long did it take you to grasp Orgo?

Who, me?

It took no time to actually grasp the concepts in Orgo, there are simply many twisted ways to 'F it up during exam times. The concepts were fairly simple, I could generally answer the professor's lecture questions.

I'm looking at that first link and it's pretty good. Aside from remembering I had trouble with sig-figs and remembering the formulas for Trig, the Physics looks like fun.

 

[Chuck's Right Foot]

Physics has a high correlation with your ability to "play" with math concepts and abstract ideas. I LOVE physics. I HATED Orgo... Well I actually didn't study for Orgo...

But it also depends on the teacher and how you think.

Good luck.

 

[Kate6058]

Complete opposite for me. I hate physics with every ounce of energy I have. I just finished second semester and it was like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. That may sound corny, but I feel like I spent a year trying to swim upstream, getting absolutely nowhere; it was like bashing my head into a brick wall every day. Ha. Thankfully, I find MCAT physics to be a lot more manageable than my actual class was.

Seriously, I hate physics.

 

[take the shot]

Hello, I'm pretty deeply non-traditional (out of grad school 9 years now, finished undergrad in early 1990s in liberal arts) and just finished (algebra based) physics 2 with a high A (same for physics 1 several semesters back)

Suggestions and thoughts--

These classes were very difficult for me in the sense of being more time intensive and non-intuitive than my other 3 (science) classes last semester, physics 2 moreso than physics 1. It wasn't that the material was "hard" as much as it took time to sink in for me, in that sense similar to ochem. I "got" it by reviewing the material for frequent, short time periods, and working quite a few problems (every odd problem at the end of each chapter + in chapter problems, I did maybe 50 problems per chapter versus the 8 or so that were "assigned".)

It helped me a great deal to write out every formula from the book on a separate sheet of paper, with a short note explaining what the formula was for. I then had a single sheet of paper that covered the 3-4 chapters we hit on a single test, I'd bring the paper with me until I could recite "v=ed", delta v, and had all of the other formulas inside and out; this way I could focus on the problem rather than trying to recall the specifics of the formula at test time.

The formulas & math were typically simple, understanding which words corresponded to which symbols took practice. (I am strong at quantitative things, so that helped). good luck! don't forget to do lots and lots of problems, a handful every day helped me tremendously.

You summed up my technique exactly! I am also a non-traditional pre-med who finished other pre-reqs 20 years ago, all I had left was a year of physics with lab. I was pretty intimidated when I first walked into class. Because I had been told "you have to show the admissions committee that you can do science" I was determined to do well. Unlike bio or other 'just read the chapters the night before the test' kind of classes, there is NO way you can do this in physics. I can't tell you how many time I repeated problems until I understood how to do them. I also sometimes felt my brain was really slow in understanding stuff, but my work paid off. I got an A+ in both classes and labs. Hope this helps me to do well on the MCAT....that's the most scary monster of all!!

Now I just am sweating over remembering my past organic chemistry. Good luck to you in your endeavors.

 

[Empi]

Thanks, everyone.

I'm going to brush up on the Algebra and Trig this summer and read some dummes style book.

I'll also memorize the basic formulas.

I'm also going to get in touch with the professor teaching my class and ask him what he would recommend for preparation (because I'm a non-tradiional student and some of my math background is quite ancient.)

So far, I really *like* it; as someone has noted, it is stuff we *know* because we live with it (ex. the pitcher,) but never knew *why* it works the way it does. I'm enough of a nerd to actually enjoy learning, especially this sort of lightbulb going on type of learning.

 

[nu2004]

I'll also memorize the basic formulas.

This is key. I didn't do this during my physics class because most of the formulas were given to us at exam time -- then when it came to take the MCAT, I realized that even though I understood the concepts and how to apply the formulas, I was sunk without the formulas themselves.

Good luck!

 

[puchi]

Ahh I just finished my 1st semester of algebra based Physics myself. Knowing my track record with math I thought I would TANK! But Physics is actually kind of fun b/c its mostly problem solving, and once you understand the basics you can pretty much work through the rest of the stuff. Its important to understand Kinematics and Dynamics b/c everything else after that is just a manipulation of the basics.

Just brush up on your math skills, and you will be fine. =)

 

[saylorsdad]

If you are taking physics in the fall I would take trig this summer worked for me and I aced physics and knew tons about what was going on in the equations just by looking at them after finishing college trig. Also many of the problems in the trig book will be physics questions so you'll get a great head start that way. If you don't want to take the class at least just get a college trig book and work through it this summer it'll teach you about amplitude, sine, cosine, tangent, and all the basics needed to succeed.

 

[Archer]

I didn't think physics was so bad but I stole an idea from my high school son's math teacher - I bought a notebook of graph paper with big squares and that helped me keep the math straight. I was amazed at how much easier it was with that weird paper.

fwiw I graduated from UG in 1981 so it had been a long time. I worked problems in my sons math textbook the summer before and although the concepts were the same the textbook style and language was different, I thought that most of the folks in the class weren't that much older than my son and they learned their math with these sorts of books so I thought it would help and it did.

 

[vtucci]

Personally, I thought both classes sucked and had very little relevance to what we are taught in med school.

If I had to rank them in terms of evilness Orgo 2<Physics I<Physics II<Orgo 1.

 

[lfdrc]

I was in the same boat: terrified of Physics, but recognized it for one of those flaming hoops we have to jump through. I hadn't had math for 11 years, so was ready for suffering through. As it turned out, it's been among my favorite classes. I wish I'd had it before Chemistry (and Chemistry before Biology), because it explains why things happen. We were allowed to have a formula sheet, so I can't speak for memorizing the equations, but the only trig we needed was SOH CAH TOA, and finding the hypotenuse (sp?). Just keep up with working problems!
In other words, I didn't find it nearly as bad as its reputation. I'm hoping the same will be true for Organic!

 

[momgracea]

Physics is the last prerequisite in my way, I'm wondering how challinging it is compared to Organic Chem.

I was scared to death of Physics so I waited until the last minute to take it. It was a BREEZE (at least for me) compared to O-Chem. I got pretty easy A's both semesters (Trig based but I still had to brush up...) but lacking three dimensional "vision" I really struggled in Organic.

Hope it goes okay for you.