Physics resources?

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nodeofranvier

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Hi all,

I'm a post-bacc student about to begin physics, which I've never taken.

What resources did you find especially useful as a pre-med? I want to purchase a supplemental physical text, but I welcome digital suggestions, as well.

Thank you!
 
nodeofranvier said:
Hi all,

I'm a post-bacc student about to begin physics, which I've never taken.

What resources did you find especially useful as a pre-med? I want to purchase a supplemental physical text, but I welcome digital suggestions, as well.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
Whatever you do, avoid calculus based physics.
 
Look into getting a digital textbook, I personally used whatever the school used. That'll be your go to reference. Other than that, khan academy helped out alot. Practice is really the only way to see the magic of physics
 
nodeofranvier said:
Hi all,

I'm a post-bacc student about to begin physics, which I've never taken.

What resources did you find especially useful as a pre-med? I want to purchase a supplemental physical text, but I welcome digital suggestions, as well.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
Physics was a tough subject for me. In order to fully grasp the concepts, I often did the practice problems given in class + HW + use khan academy whenever necessary.
 
Honestly, you need such a basic understanding of physics (there is a lot of it, but it is VERY surface level for the MCAT) the crash course physics works very well. Same for Gen Chem.
 
Thank you. Does anyone have specific book recommendations?
 
Last edited:
I don’t have any book suggestions, but if what you’re looking for is instructional content (videos) plus practice problems, consider something like ClutchPrep. It can be aligned to your school’s text or you can use their general textbook if your school’s text isn’t listed.
 
nodeofranvier said:
Hi all,

I'm a post-bacc student about to begin physics, which I've never taken.

What resources did you find especially useful as a pre-med? I want to purchase a supplemental physical text, but I welcome digital suggestions, as well.

Thank you!
Click to expand...


For the physics classes I teach (both hybrid and online), I use the Open Stax College Physics book. It is free and available online at the OpenStax College website. There are also problems in the book that are MCAT-like and useful for reviewing.

Additionally, I use recorded lectures on YouTube for my students. It allows them to replay the lectures for the more difficult to grasp concepts.

I specifically recommend and encourage students to work with others (such as siblings, tutors, teachers, etc.). Education research has shown that when students work/study with others who are more experienced and knowledgeable, they tend to learn the material better and retain it longer as well as get a higher grade in the course.
 
Physics is not my strong suit at all, and I used chadsvideos.com to learn it. I found his lectures to be very helpful and he broke down the concepts into a way I could understand it.
 
appropriatepeanut said:
Physics is not my strong suit at all, and I used chadsvideos.com to learn it. I found his lectures to be very helpful and he broke down the concepts into a way I could understand it.
Click to expand...


I checked on this site as a potential resource for my online physics students. Some of the links to the "free" videos do not work.
 
For the nuts and bolts, Berkeley Review would work (although it can get technical). Test prep review books are generally fine.
 
To be honest, YouTube was INCREDIBLY useful for me. There are SO many free, helpful videos on all the concepts you'll encounter in Physics. I don't think it's necessary to purchase resources!
 
Dagrimsta1 said:
Look into getting a digital textbook, I personally used whatever the school used. That'll be your go to reference. Other than that, khan academy helped out alot. Practice is really the only way to see the magic of physics
Click to expand...
+1 - I would've died in physics without Khan Academy.
 
nodeofranvier said:
Thank you. Does anyone have specific book recommendations?
Click to expand...

I used this book: Amazon product ASIN 1889057339
I hated physics, and I still hate physics, which made this book perfect. It teaches you almost exactly what you need for the MCAT and no more (there are a couple of topics from the old MCAT still here, just disregard those chapters). Tons of practice MCAT style questions with well written solutions.
 
I did not expect so many replies. Thanks so much.
 
Last edited:
DNAJB6 said:
Why?
Click to expand...


On occasion, I recommend students take a harder/more difficult professor's course. Why? Because I know the student will seek out tutoring and do well in the course relative to other students who do not seek out tutoring. It is a counter-intuitive approach and has worked for my students.
 
chemphysicsinstructor said:
On occasion, I recommend students take a harder/more difficult professor's course. Why? Because I know the student will seek out tutoring and do well in the course relative to other students who do not seek out tutoring. It is a counter-intuitive approach and has worked for my students.
Click to expand...
It's counter intuitive because it generally doesn't work. The MCAT's physics is algebra based. Students should learn the subject on the MCAT's terms. The very best option is to find a physics teacher that "teaches to the MCAT". There is an article behind a paywall by Gardo Blado of Houston Baptist that shows how that is done. Furthermore, at most colleges calculus based physics courses require two semesters of calculus. Who needs that?

I am sure that the physics purists will disagree with me but I don't care. There is almost no physics in use in medical school. Physics is simply a rite of medical school passage and another hoop through which aspiring physicians must jump.
 
Obnoxious Dad said:
It's counter intuitive because it generally doesn't work. The MCAT's physics is algebra based. Students should learn the subject on the MCAT's terms. The very best option is to find a physics teacher that "teaches to the MCAT". There is an article behind a paywall by Gardo Blado of Houston Baptist that shows how that is done. Furthermore, at most colleges calculus based physics courses require two semesters of calculus. Who needs that?

I am sure that the physics purists will disagree with me but I don't care. There is almost no physics in use in medical school. Physics is simply a rite of medical school passage and another hoop through which aspiring physicians must jump.
Click to expand...

Unless you are planning on applying to Carle Illinois
 
Obnoxious Dad said:
It's counter intuitive because it generally doesn't work. The MCAT's physics is algebra based. Students should learn the subject on the MCAT's terms. The very best option is to find a physics teacher that "teaches to the MCAT". There is an article behind a paywall by Gardo Blado of Houston Baptist that shows how that is done. Furthermore, at most colleges calculus based physics courses require two semesters of calculus. Who needs that?

I am sure that the physics purists will disagree with me but I don't care. There is almost no physics in use in medical school. Physics is simply a rite of medical school passage and another hoop through which aspiring physicians must jump.
Click to expand...

I agree mostly with this. If you like calculus then calculus-based physics is great and you understand the concepts much more deeply and you can answer a lot more physics questions on the MCAT without even needing to memorize equations. You have to remember that Newton invented calculus to make physics easier, not more difficult.

Of course, if you hate calculus, then don't take a calculus-based physics. That would be stupid. People can have other interests outside of the typical premed classes. I enjoyed math and physics, and I completely understand that I am in the small minority with this opinion.
 
Obnoxious Dad said:
It's counter intuitive because it generally doesn't work. The MCAT's physics is algebra based. Students should learn the subject on the MCAT's terms. The very best option is to find a physics teacher that "teaches to the MCAT". There is an article behind a paywall by Gardo Blado of Houston Baptist that shows how that is done. Furthermore, at most colleges calculus based physics courses require two semesters of calculus. Who needs that?

I am sure that the physics purists will disagree with me but I don't care. There is almost no physics in use in medical school. Physics is simply a rite of medical school passage and another hoop through which aspiring physicians must jump.
Click to expand...


I am interested in the article. Do you know the name of it?
 
nodeofranvier said:
Hi all,

I'm a post-bacc student about to begin physics, which I've never taken.

What resources did you find especially useful as a pre-med? I want to purchase a supplemental physical text, but I welcome digital suggestions, as well.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Chads review
 
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