Physics?!

[13132]

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Whats the deal? I have heard opposite opinions on the subject and the people I know have either failed it or aced it. Why is it so polarized?

I am concerned because I am not a mathematically minded person. All A's in Orgo I, Orgo II, Orgo Lab, Intro and Molecular Biology, but I feel physics is a whole different animal.

How do you suggest I prepare and how does the physics workload compare to organic chemistry?

 

[ILikeDrugs]

Sure there's math in physics, and it doesn't go beyond simple algebra, unless you take calc-based physics. I never had physics in high school nor did I take a physics 100 conceptual type of class to warm me up and I got As in both I and II. 😎

 

[Doubtnichts]

At my school, how well you do in physics depends on the prof. The premeds would either get F's or A's and I took the algebra based. Saw no point in taking a calc. based if I didn't have to. But if you're not at all math oriented than I suggest just memorizing everything...if you got an A in orgo you should be fine with the memorization in physics. Don't let it intimidate you lol

 

[Danlee07]

I'm now improving in my grades, and physics was one of the classes that I got an A in this semester.

It's algebra based. Calculus based will make steps much easier but you have to understand calculus as well. Most people understand the algebra. If you understand the physics concept, you can just apply common sense with a formula to get your answer.

Studying conceptually will give you best results, and for the people that tried to memorize all the physics formulas had difficulty. Also, the people that took it a step further and played with physics formulas had difficulty. However, we were given a basic physics formula sheet for every test, and even then, you need to understand the physical meaning.

Physics I and II are freshmen level classes and for the MCAT, that's what you need to know. I'd be more concerned learning conceptually for the MCAT and if you do that well, there's no doubt you can get an A in physics.

 

[sonia1177]

Whats the deal? I have heard opposite opinions on the subject and the people I know have either failed it or aced it. Why is it so polarized?

I am concerned because I am not a mathematically minded person. All A's in Orgo I, Orgo II, Orgo Lab, Intro and Molecular Biology, but I feel physics is a whole different animal.

How do you suggest I prepare and how does the physics workload compare to organic chemistry?

To me, organic chem was the beast of all I have taken so far and I ended up doing well and absolutely loving it. I have only taken Physics 1 so I can't speak to what physics 2 is like But the work ethic is the same as organic-- practice, practice, practice! Sure, it got tough at times especially right at the middle and towards the end of the semester. Believe me, I was nervous before starting but for me, the best way to overcome that feeling is to jump right into learning the material. I have also never taken physics before in high school. Also, another recommendation, KEEP UP with lecture. Things truly become very hard when you don't. Also get a tutor or visit the prof often to get help with difficult problems. If you are free over the break and are taking the class next semester, get the text and start reading and light -problem solving, especially if you haven't taken physics before even in school (like me). This helps a lot, even though I realize some may disagree. Anyways, it's just my humble opinion and hope this helps!

 

[Zairair]

I just took my 1st quarter of physics. My opinion is that it's a heavier workload than ochem but physics was easier than ochem. Ochem class (8 chapters/10wks) didn't really have homework but my physics class (9.5 chapters/10wks) did. The workload maybe a bit tedious for instance my class had us learn basic things involving vectors that we weren't tested on so that added to the workload. Depending on the professor, the test questions may be hard or easy... The difficulty of open-ended problems can be compared to synthesis. For example you can have a simple concept like a block that hits a spring, then you can go back and do it again with steps further like add a 2nd dimension (height/y-axis) and friction.

At it's core... I think that ochem and physics are governed the numbers and although you might think you're not mathematically minded... maybe you are... moreso than other people.

Edit: My physics was algebra-based. Calculus was used to help conceptualize and see graphs. (for comparison of differing physics syllabi)

 

[1825114]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but this is something I've been wondering regarding physics.

Is all of the math you need for physics 1&2 taught to you in the class itself, or do you need to know a certain level of math ahead of time? I've taken precalculus, business calculus (when I wanted to major in accounting), and discrete mathematics, but those were over a year ago and I don't remember them well. Some people say you should take trigonometry before physics. Is that true?

 

[WildEMDoc]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but this is something I've been wondering regarding physics.

Is all of the math you need for physics 1&2 taught to you in the class itself, or do you need to know a certain level of math ahead of time? I've taken precalculus, business calculus (when I wanted to major in accounting), and discrete mathematics, but those were over a year ago and I don't remember them well. Some people say you should take trigonometry before physics. Is that true?

IMO pre-cal is just fine. Most people in my class haven't even taken that yet and are doing fine.

Since I have had up to calc I cannot really say at what level you need to be for math. Pre-cal should've taught you everything you need.

But you really only need to understand trigonometric functions (sin, cos, tan) and when to apply them for the algebra based class. Not in any kind of manipulative way (law of cosines, etc..) just when to use them (SOH CAH TOA) in relation to angles.

 

[Zairair]

You don't have to take trigonometry before physics but you should know SOH CAH TOA and how to do trig functions on a calculator.

 

[Kangaroo Paw]

Physics was an interesting beast to tackle. I've just finished Physics I, and found it kind of a strange-ish experience. My professor was pretty awful (pretended to be a jovial, easygoing fellow but couldn't actually explain concepts, relate to students, or even be nice outside of pre-planned lecture time), and I am by absolutely no means mathematically inclined (seriously...), so I entered Physics I completely scared of failure. I also took it in conjunction with Orgo II and Neuroscience, all three with lab components of varying intensity (our Orgo II lab is quite intense). I found that, despite my aversion to math, physics went surprisingly well: I was very dedicated to reading the textbook, since my professor couldn't teach anything, and to my pleasure, realized that I was actually understanding and applying the concepts while doing problems instead of memorizing how to do them, which was what I had done with math in high school. I could even say that I enjoyed learning and tackling physics problems, despite the fact that my professor had the wonderful habit of giving extremely difficult exams that corresponded in no way to the difficulty of material he presented in class. Overall, I ended up with a *gasp* A- (I know only A's are acceptable here, haha), which I was quite happy with, considering how horrible I thought I was at math. It turns out that I had no problem whatsoever with the math (it was algebra-based physics), and everything turned out for the best!

Soooo end of way-too-long post: physics I is a beast that needs to be tamed on a regular basis, we had weekly problem sets, and I made sure that I understood exactly how to do each problem before handing them in, meaning that I sacrificed a fun Saturday for a physics-filled Saturday. I agree with above posters, physics and orgo need to be approached in the same way, neither are very intuitive (at least for me), but the whole fun is developing an intuition for them!

Hope this helps 🙂, good luck with physics! I'm SO scared for Physics II next semester though, it's going to be... traumatic.

 

[biodreamer]

It really comes down to the professor. I've taken and tutored physics for a range of students. A relatively simple topic can be made extremely tricky and confusing if the professor wants to test in such a manner. Each topic in physics can be taken to a certain "depth" before it gets impossible to keep up with. Hopefully, your learning style matches that of the professor.

 

[circulus vitios]

Understand the concepts and do problems. Think about your answers and if they make sense (units, orders of magnitude, direction, etc.)

 

[circulus vitios]

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but this is something I've been wondering regarding physics.

Is all of the math you need for physics 1&2 taught to you in the class itself, or do you need to know a certain level of math ahead of time? I've taken precalculus, business calculus (when I wanted to major in accounting), and discrete mathematics, but those were over a year ago and I don't remember them well. Some people say you should take trigonometry before physics. Is that true?

My professor taught the math as it was needed (dot products, cross products, surface integrals, and a few other things I can't remember.) The course requirement was calculus I & II, although it was very basic calculus: taking derivatives, taking integrals, taking integrals with substitution, evaluating integrals, basic differential equations, etc. If you take algebra based physics you won't need any of this, just know your trig functions and maybe a few trig identities.

 

[FrkyBgStok]

It really comes down to the professor. I've taken and tutored physics for a range of students. A relatively simple topic can be made extremely tricky and confusing if the professor wants to test in such a manner. Each topic in physics can be taken to a certain "depth" before it gets impossible to keep up with. Hopefully, your learning style matches that of the professor.

agree with this. i had a professor that would get brush over electrical circuits and magnetism and say in a heavy german accent, "this stuff is easy so I am going to spend very little time explaining."

 

[FlowRate]

IMHO most freshmen/sophomores don't have a solid enough foundation in mathematics (calculus) to truly understand calc-based physics. The majority of people in my calc-based physics class--myself included--got by through understanding/memorizing procedures and concepts, but not really by understanding the math. These days I think calc based physics would be much more interesting since I feel like I do understand the math. The few people in my honors phys class who understood it aced the course. Many others (myself, etc.) got A's regardless.

Algebra based physics is extremely easy 95% of the time. (rotational stuff can get rough sometimes)

 

[jm192]

I had alot more trouble with Physics than Organic. I also had more trouble with Gen Chem than Organic. Some people are just better at mathy stuff (or at least that's what I tell myself.)

For Physics (and Gen Chem) I got ahold of solution manuals. I worked problems out of the back of the book, and used the solution manuals to guide me through them, and check myself. If you get it wrong, work through it using the book, try to work through it again without the book, work similar problems. I think there is almost always a solutions manual, you sometimes just have to look extra hard.

Cramster.com is also really good, it has step by step solutions for the majority of problems in most frequently used text books. I think it costs like 10$ a semester, but if you can't find a solution manual for a book, and they have it, it is SO worth it.

We used Giancoli Physics, and there is no student solution manual, but someone somewhere has the teacher's solution manual---and that was how I learned how to do most Physics problems.

Long story short, you HAVE to work problems. The more practice you do, the better you are. Alot of times teachers like to pull old homework problems for the test, or even take problems out of the book that they didn't assign. In Physics 2, I had done every relevant question in the back of the book. when he'd pull stuff, it was awesome, I'd already done it, you could even half-way think if the answer seemed right.

 

[tehrawr]

Calc-based physics is just like non-calc-based physics at my school. My professor explained the only real difference is that they're allowed to use a derivative when explaining something and expect you to know what they mean.

 

[Barcu]

Whats the deal? I have heard opposite opinions on the subject and the people I know have either failed it or aced it. Why is it so polarized?

I am concerned because I am not a mathematically minded person. All A's in Orgo I, Orgo II, Orgo Lab, Intro and Molecular Biology, but I feel physics is a whole different animal.

How do you suggest I prepare and how does the physics workload compare to organic chemistry?

I think people struggle because it is quite different than the other prereqs.

I thought Physics was tough conceptually. Do a bunch of practice problems. Physics, while manageable, can get complicated quick.

Know your trig, do some problems, and you'll be fine.

 

[tehrawr]

If you can do the math, the introductory physics classes, Physics I, II, are not difficult due to the material being difficult. They're difficult due to the fact that you're expected to absorb, understand, and recall a large (comapred to other classes) amount of information in a short amount of time.

For example, my Physics II class covered one chapter per lecture, with two lectures per week, except for days on which exams were held. Each chapter was easily 40+ pages, but if you actually read it, understood it, and worked out exercises, the exams and homework would be easy.

 

[Lil Mick]

I found physics to involve much less work than organic chemistry. If you take calculus-based physics, there is virtually no memorization necessary or studying required. If you understand the concepts, you can derive most of the formulas necessary for exams. This is especially true in the electromagnetic and quantum mechanic part of the course. However, sometimes professors assign mandatory homework, which can take some time to complete (and is quite repetitive).

 

[sc4s2cg]

Physics I was...interesting. We didn't have to memorize any equations, used a sheet on the tests, but still I got: D on the first, C on the second, 100% on the third, 94% on the fourth, and who knows what on the final (professor does not post grades on Vista). Did manage an A- though.

I put my first two grades up to shock after a full summer of ochem.

 

[krispy]

I had alot more trouble with Physics than Organic. I also had more trouble with Gen Chem than Organic. Some people are just better at mathy stuff (or at least that's what I tell myself.)

For Physics (and Gen Chem) I got ahold of solution manuals. I worked problems out of the back of the book, and used the solution manuals to guide me through them, and check myself. If you get it wrong, work through it using the book, try to work through it again without the book, work similar problems. I think there is almost always a solutions manual, you sometimes just have to look extra hard.

Cramster.com is also really good, it has step by step solutions for the majority of problems in most frequently used text books. I think it costs like 10$ a semester, but if you can't find a solution manual for a book, and they have it, it is SO worth it.

We used Giancoli Physics, and there is no student solution manual, but someone somewhere has the teacher's solution manual---and that was how I learned how to do most Physics problems.

Long story short, you HAVE to work problems. The more practice you do, the better you are. Alot of times teachers like to pull old homework problems for the test, or even take problems out of the book that they didn't assign. In Physics 2, I had done every relevant question in the back of the book. when he'd pull stuff, it was awesome, I'd already done it, you could even half-way think if the answer seemed right.

all of this 👍
and cramster WAS a life saver, although I slowly learned that you need to actually understand how to do the homework and not just rely on the website, otherwise test time is 100x harder

 

[PreMedder]

Physics I was...interesting. We didn't have to memorize any equations, used a sheet on the tests, but still I got: D on the first, C on the second, 100% on the third, 94% on the fourth, and who knows what on the final (professor does not post grades on Vista). Did manage an A- though.

I put my first two grades up to shock after a full summer of ochem.

that is an unbelievable curve. where do you go? im transferring.