Physics Advice Pleeeease!

[mynamewastaken]

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Hi all,
I'm a post-bacc and struggling with physics....i think this class is gonna be a disaster...has anyone else had a similar situation? Anyone bomb a class as a post bacc? anyone do well in physics and know a secret!? any help would be much appreciated. thank you.

 

[Moki]

Struggle with it and work past the panic.

Keep doing problems. There is a light at the end.

 

[makingmd]

Hello. I found that working as many problems and memorizing the important formulas was all you need. If you have a Serway and Faughn book I have all of the solutions to their problems. I got a 19 on my first Physics exam. Insert freak out here. It was my first post-bac class 5 years ago and I thought I would fail before I even begun ( I knew I had chem and OChem to look forward to) Wound up with an A in both Physics I & II!!

If you want Physics solutions manual email me direct at [email protected].

Best.

 

[Baldeagle79]

I had a professor once tell me, if you study the laws of man, you're on a trajectory for mediocrity, but if you study the laws of God, you are on a trajectory for true success. Of course, I went on and got a Political Science degree, and now I'm thinking about Medicine. The point is, Physics is all about understanding the world around us. Don't get frustrated and don't buy the argument that there is a certain amount of gray matter one must have before he or she can understand this stuff. Focus, go back and read chapters, don't be shy to ask questions of your professor and classmates, and stay at it.

Good luck.

 

[relentless11]

Hi all,
I'm a post-bacc and struggling with physics....i think this class is gonna be a disaster...has anyone else had a similar situation? Anyone bomb a class as a post bacc? anyone do well in physics and know a secret!? any help would be much appreciated. thank you.

From people that i've talked to here at my school, and from my perspective as a former post-bacc, bombing a class was not an option. Worse case scenario, I had a friend drop it because it wasn't worth getting a low grade.

In regards to studying for physics. Everyone has their own way of doing it, but the most common method is to just do practice problems. I found understanding how the equations work rather than memorizing equations was a better way of dealing with things. But thats just me.

Getting a good grade is a must, especially during post-bacc, but I highly recommend going beyond just memorizing things. Understanding concepts, and how they work is helpful down the road. Quickly learn why you are struggling....the road is long, and quite treacherous for the unprepared. But yea, try the doing lots of problems thing. For the most part, I found physics to rely on a lot of "common sense", the problem was describing it in terms of math😳 .

 

[daeojkim]

Introductory physics is like mathematics. You have to solve problems to learn.
I would say 30:70 rule. That is spend 30% of your time reading the theory, then spend 70% of the time solving problems. You may be able to regurgitate formulas and theory, but if don't know how to apply then it is worthless. Initially you should tackle problems that have worked out solutions. then go for as many other problems as you can that have answers to them. That way you know where you misunderstood and learn to apply the theory in various situations.

For general chem and organic I would say 50:50.
For biology 70:30.

Hope this helps.

 

[oneandonlylo]

Try reading the problems aloud and seeing if this helps you to visualize what is happening in the scenario in the problem. Its easy to get caught up in the terminology, the symbols, the notation etc, but the reality is that the phenomena you study in physics are things that should make sense at a gut level because they are things we can observe every days in our surroundings. That said, once you can visualize what is happening, attack the problem systematically. Take stock of the variables you know, decide what it is you are trying to solve for and think about the equations that you know. It should just be plugging in at that point. Good luck!

 

[Maxprime]

I think physics is often poorly taught, my opinions:

1) First things first, get your algebra down pat. There's no point in figuring out a solution to not be able to solve for the answer.

2) Secondly, get your trig in good shape - learn all the rules and be able to use them without even thinking about it.

3) Now, onto physics. Draw a picture and figure out what you need to solve for. If you have to solve for D, then look at the final equation to find D. Whatever you don't know in that equation, see how you can solve for it.

That process is important - find what you need, find out how to get it, then work back up. Write your final equation for whatever at the top of the page. If you don't know X, write the equation for X below that. Keep writing what you need to solve down the page and when you get it, start plugging in back up the page.

 

[medanthgirl]

hey there! my situation, took it as a sophmore got a D. retook it as non-calc based and got an A, like 7 years after the first time. needless to say i was really nervous though, i had a big mental block. the previous poster's tips are really good. here is what i figured out that i did not do the first time:

1) do every single problem that is an example problem or that you have answers to. get extra textbooks/check them out from your college library if you have too. this way you get to work the same type of problem from every angle imaginable, and eventually the relationships begin to click. 1001 problems in physics by examkrackers might be a good bet, they divy it up by topic and provide explanations in the back. a great way to get a ton of practice.

2) don't get frustrated if a seemingly simple problem takes 30 minutes. sometimes this was the case for me, but then it was all good b/c it was like cemented in my head.

3) go see the prof if you can't figure out a certain relationship or problem. if you're not that crazy about the prof, see if your physics dept. has a free physics tutor. a lot of places do.

i think the biggest thing is the time you have to put into it. but make sure that time is constructive, i.e turn off the tv, youtube, yada yada. this stuff is tough and the less you get distracted the more you can follow convaluted problems.
good luck!!! you WILL do great!