Physics EK Book Not Working- Any Suggestions?

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The North Face

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Hello,
Today I started lecture 3 of the Physics section of EK and am really, really confused. I am wondering if I need a better fundamental understanding of physics than what EK Provides. I feel like the book outlines one subject, then when it comes to the in-lecture questions, something much more advanced is asked. I took Gen Phys I and II in 8 weeks last summer, so I realize that my grasp of the subject probably wasn't up to par, but do you guys have any suggestions as to what materials I should study besides the EK book? I purchased the EK1001 questions (and is on its way). I just hope that I can get a really good grasp on this portion of PS before I take the MCAT April 5th.
 
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Yes, physics is all about concepts and I would have recommended to take physics in its semester form because their is so much to cover and everything is like a pyramid, so if don't understand the base you wont understand anything else.

I'd take your physics book or invest in one and read through the chapters and familiarize myself with the concepts and formulas.

I am actually in general physics 1 right now and I tried to teach myself last semester to get a jump for the MCAT, but ended up in the same boat as you.

I am going to take the mcat april 19th.
 
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The North Face said:
Hello,
Today I started lecture 3 of the Physics section of EK and am really, really confused. I am wondering if I need a better fundamental understanding of physics than what EK Provides. I feel like the book outlines one subject, then when it comes to the in-lecture questions, something much more advanced is asked. I took Gen Phys I and II in 8 weeks last summer, so I realize that my grasp of the subject probably wasn't up to par, but do you guys have any suggestions as to what materials I should study besides the EK book? I purchased the EK1001 questions (and is on its way). I just hope that I can get a really good grasp on this portion of PS before I take the MCAT April 5th.
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It has been 4 years since I have had physics and I am trying to use the EK book to "re teach" myself and I am having problems as well. I am going over it by itself (all the questions and reviewing what I got right, how I did it compared to how the book did, and what I missed) and then doing the 10-week course to get to go over it again, so I am hoping that will be enough. I have heard that the EK book for physics is pretty good so i hope this will work.
 
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The North Face said:
Hello,
Today I started lecture 3 of the Physics section of EK and am really, really confused. I am wondering if I need a better fundamental understanding of physics than what EK Provides. I feel like the book outlines one subject, then when it comes to the in-lecture questions, something much more advanced is asked. I took Gen Phys I and II in 8 weeks last summer, so I realize that my grasp of the subject probably wasn't up to par, but do you guys have any suggestions as to what materials I should study besides the EK book? I purchased the EK1001 questions (and is on its way). I just hope that I can get a really good grasp on this portion of PS before I take the MCAT April 5th.
Click to expand...

I strongly suggest Conceptual Physics by Paul Hewitt (although it's now out of print). It explains things in a simple to visualize manner. I'm also a big propronent of our physics books for the passages and answer explanations. Review questions is where you do most learning, but many students seem leery about using passages and questions to learn. The comfort zone is to read a text and then answer questions on its content. Our book is designed to learn from the passages and questions and use the text portion strictly as reference after the fact. The text section is big on pictures and simple ways to look at physics systems. I'm not sure if that's what you need though. If it sounds like that might help you, then I suggest our physics books. If not, then don't spend the money.
 
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EK Physics was practically worthless to me. The physics on the 1/25/08 MCAT was much tougher than what you see in the AAMC practice tests and, quite frankly, EK won't prepare you for it. Get the conceptual physics book with the solution manual. Do practice problems. I didn't take life science physics so I had more issues than I expected with physics. My professor threw out our optics semester to start us on a quantum mechanics text. Looking back I really should have tried to learn that stuff better.
 
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I felt lots of parts in the work/energy chapter were VERY poorly explained/over complicated. I don't think that ANY review book is going to do a good job of teaching you a subject though, but that doesn't mean that some might not be better than others.

That being said, I do feel that doing physics problems, specifically CHALLENGING physics problems, is the best way to learn. However, you're likely to get far more detail than is necessary from a text book. I've heard good things about nova physics so perhaps get a different book and see how that is, and then move back to ek to review it after. They pick only the difficult questions for the chapter exams I believe so don't get too discouraged and make sure you understand a section before moving on to the next one.
 
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EK tend to oversimplify things, which I think is a breath of fresh. I got the EK MCAT complete package books and everything seems to be simple to understand. I don't know if that's because I have taken these subjects already or that the material has been "dumbed down". I think the Kaplan books are more concise and elaborate.
 
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The EK1001 Qs will help a ton. Don't worry, the 30 min exams are supposed to be real tough/exceed what's covered in the lecture. I found that after doing most (or even all) of the corresponding Qs in 1001 before taking the 30 min exam really really helped.
 
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Thanks for the wealth of replies everyone. Now knowing that EK tends to oversimplify things, I feel a lot better about the book in general. I would read a passage then do a problem set and think to myself "what the hell am I missing from this section?" I'll wait until I receive the EK 1001 questions in Physics before I start freaking too much, but I also realize that the MCAT is RIGHT around the corner (Apr. 5).
 
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unsung said:
The EK1001 Qs will help a ton. Don't worry, the 30 min exams are supposed to be real tough/exceed what's covered in the lecture. I found that after doing most (or even all) of the corresponding Qs in 1001 before taking the 30 min exam really really helped.
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My EK 1001 Qs will be here soon!

OP, just keep doing problems. I did my UG in Mech Engineering and the only way to get through that stuff is to keep practicing it. It's not like Bio or Anatomy where you can just read and read and make outlines.
 
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Hi. I took Physics several years ago and it's my weakest area so I need the most help with that. I've been reading the EK lectures, listening to Audio Osmosis, and then doing the associated problems from the 1001 Book. I also have the Kaplan materials in which I read the chapter and do the problems. One book I found that it is helpful is the Nova Physics book. The problems at the end appear easier than the AAMC materials, but I think the content review is good. Maybe you want to but that book? It's available at Borders so you could always go take a look at it and decide if you want to buy it. It's relatively cheap - $30 (I think) - and there's frequently coupons (25-40% off) for borders. Just an idea.

Anyone else using/used Nova Physics? Experiences? Or the Nova Bio or Chem?
 
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I would agree not to freak till you start doing 1001 problems. You're not going to really GET physics from just reading it. You need to see problems, see how questions regarding the subject get asked, and figure out how to answer them. It doesn't matter if you get questions wrong, as long as you know why you get them wrong and you don't make the same mistake the next time. You'll probably feel a lot more confident after knocking down questions in the 1001 physics, and really if even then you're having trouble just find a physics book and knock out more problems. There are an infinite number of resources available to you when it comes to learning physics. Good luck
 
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physics junkie said:
I didn't take life science physics so I had more issues than I expected with physics. My professor threw out our optics semester to start us on a quantum mechanics text. Looking back I really should have tried to learn that stuff better.
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HAHA me too. I took engineering physics so instead of going through optics, or Atomic phenomena, we spent an extended amount of time on thermodynamics.
 
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I also took Physics about 3 years ago... EK helped with some concepts, definately not all... then again I struggled with Physics in the classroom (got an A as a result of a slammin' curve-- not too useful in helping my understanding, though).

I actually liked TPR's Cracking the MCAT book to review Physics. It's not fancy with cool pics or anything of the sort, but, it had lots of sample problems to work while you're actually going through the chapter. I thought it was a pretty good overall review to use when EK wasn't clear or I felt I needed more practice.

Good :luck:! happy studying
 
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I'll go against the grain ad say I kind of liked the EK physics. I really don't care for the kaplan stuff much. They take a brute force approach. "Just learn everything and you won't have a problem!"

If you are struggling with particular concepts the world is abound with guidance. You could go to a book store and just check out theirs until they kick you out for example. 😉
 
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If you're really struggling with various concepts, one of the easiest things to do is just google whatever it is you don't understand. The MCAT only covers intro physics and there's a lot of that on the web...it's just a matter of finding the explanation and technique that works best for you. Also, you pretty much need to do problems to learn it. It's easy to think you know how to do it when it's explained step by step with a happy diagram, but really, you need to make sure you can reproduce that.
 
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I don't think EK physics is particularly well written. I have a strong physics background so I think I use it more to determine what I need to know than to learn concepts for the first time. Some of their explanations are very good/helpful but it's definitely a weak point in the series. If you're having trouble with it then try one of the other books recommended like NOVA (heard good things about it). Bottom line is though, you absolutely NEED to do problems to understand things.
 
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dcohen said:
I don't think EK physics is particularly well written. I have a strong physics background so I think I use it more to determine what I need to know than to learn concepts for the first time. Some of their explanations are very good/helpful but it's definitely a weak point in the series. If you're having trouble with it then try one of the other books recommended like NOVA (heard good things about it). Bottom line is though, you absolutely NEED to do problems to understand things.
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Just curious.. what didn't you like about EK? I found 1001Qs to be really good, but then again, I'm no physics major. I think EK physics Qs are definitely the trickiest of the bunch, comparing it to the stuff we're getting in TPR right now. Plus, it seemed like EK Qs were definitely phrased in a way to test really specific concepts or details (like, 45 degree angle for projectiles will maximize range, etc.)... which I liked. But, I'm curious to hear things from a physics person's perspective. 😀
 
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unsung said:
Just curious.. what didn't you like about EK? I found 1001Qs to be really good, but then again, I'm no physics major. I think EK physics Qs are definitely the trickiest of the bunch, comparing it to the stuff we're getting in TPR right now. Plus, it seemed like EK Qs were definitely phrased in a way to test really specific concepts or details (like, 45 degree angle for projectiles will maximize range, etc.)... which I liked. But, I'm curious to hear things from a physics person's perspective. 😀
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well let me clarify...I think their questions are awesome (most of them at least). I think that some of their explanations of concepts are also very good, but I had issue with some portions of the book, particularly on some of the explanations in the work section and the force section. I think that where the review book falls short is in providing better examples of worked out problems. One thing that begins to irritate me sometimes is the cartooniness of some of the diagrams.

For me it's great as a review book. If you have a pretty good background it's good at fleshing things out if you haven't seen them for a while. However I'm certain there are some books out there that do a better job. Personally I probably wouldn't use anything else, but I can see other people getting frustrated with the lecture series (though I love the questions).
 
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I took the 1/26/08 mCAT and thought physics was the easiest. However, physical sciences were my worst subjects in college. Used EK the whole time studying and nothing else. I read each chapter 5 times. For biology and orgo I read each chapter only once. I think I needed to read it more not because it was poorly written (I thought it was the best conceptual physics text I have ever read), but because it is so much more conceptual than biological sciences that if you confuse one little thing, you won't understand much beyond it. Try rereading the chapters several times. If you aren't a natural at physics you will have to do this no matter what book you have. I also found audioosmosis particularly helpful for physics because it forced me to visualize the topics without the aid of pictures. I liked the cartoons. If you are a slow reader than you better get cracking (no pun intended).
 
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