really need help with the physics

[morrisol]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

so im looking for advice on how to prep for the physics stuff. i find it so daunting and overwhelming. i was wondering how people studied for physics and what resources you used. i found that the physics passages on my mcat were what tripped me up more than anything and so i need advice on how to prep. i would relaly appreciate some tips

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

The biggest piece of advice for physics is that you need to think about it like an engineer. See the design behind things. Figure out how basic physics can explain how things work. For instance, what happens to blood when it flows through an occluded vessel? What happens to neurons if they lose their myelin sheath? When comparing two different objects falling through two different mediums, what factors matter in deciding which goes the fastest or slowest?

You should also learn your equations in sentence form, as that is how answer choices often appear. Learning physics through physiology, biochemistry, and general chemistry examples may help immensely with your confidence. Case in point:

Which protein will migrate to the anode the fastest through a gel buffered at pH = 6.6?
a) V-F-E
b) D-A-G
c) K-G-I
d) R-Y-W

While this is definitely amino acid chemistry, the crux of the question is actually physics. Fastest migration will be seen with a larger magnitude of charge on the lowest mass. You are looking for a large charge-to-mass ratio. That is the core physics at work here. You are also looking for an anion, because anions migrate to the anode of a capacitor. Again, this is physics knowledge hidden in an amino acid question.

From this point, you need to apply amino acids chemistry knowing that D and E are anions at pH = 6.6 and R and K are cations at pH = 6.6. You also need to know that G is lighter than A, which is lighter than V, which is lighter than I, which is lighter than F, Y, and W.

The point is that you can learn conceptual physics by taking time to see how it applies to areas of science you enjoy.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

For some of the prep people who have been here for a while, such as myself, EKperson, and Altiusprep, there has always been a code of honor about not addressing questions on other people's materials or commenting one way or another. I have a good deal of respect for Nova and do not wish to break professionalism by addressing a question.

Can you ask a generic question that pertains to the subject matter?

 

[morrisol]

For some of the prep people who have been here for a while, such as myself, EKperson, and Altiusprep, there has always been a code of honor about not addressing questions on other people's materials or commenting one way or another. I have a good deal of respect for Nova and do not wish to break professionalism by addressing a question.

Can you ask a generic question that pertains to the subject matter?

i do too. i just didnt understand the chart and where each variable came from. i deleted it. sorry.

 

[morrisol]

i do too. i just didnt understand the chart and where each variable came from. i deleted it. sorry.

im not quite sure where the kA/m came from when talking about acceleartion for a spring. i dont get why v is zero at some points and not at others.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

The acceleration of a spring depends directly on the restoring force, -kx. So if we consider a simple horizontal spring on a frictionless surface, where weight cancels normal force, then the net force F = -kx. Given that force is ma, we get ma = -kx. Solving for a, we get: a = -kx/m. In the question you asked, the displacement is represented as A (amplitude) rather than x (distance), leading to a = kA/m.

Does that help?

 

[morrisol]

The acceleration of a spring depends directly on the restoring force, -kx. So if we consider a simple horizontal spring on a frictionless surface, where weight cancels normal force, then the net force F = -kx. Given that force is ma, we get ma = -kx. Solving for a, we get: a = -kx/m. In the question you asked, the displacement is represented as A (amplitude) rather than x (distance), leading to a = kA/m.

Does that help?

yup! that definetly does. thanks

 

[Wahed]

I felt overwhelmed by it too. I made an Anki deck of all the relevant MCAT equations as they came up in my content review, and then a couple weeks ago I sat down with the deck over the course of a few days (just an hour or so each day) and memorized all of the equations. My cards would look like "What is the formula that relates angle with refraction index / Snell's law: n1sinθ1 = n2sinθ2"

I've found that this has made physics passages considerably easier because all of the equations just kind of pop into my head as I'm reading passages and it's easier to think about the relationships between variables and how equations relate to each other.

 

[morrisol]

I felt overwhelmed by it too. I made an Anki deck of all the relevant MCAT equations as they came up in my content review, and then a couple weeks ago I sat down with the deck over the course of a few days (just an hour or so each day) and memorized all of the equations. My cards would look like "What is the formula that relates angle with refraction index / Snell's law: n1sinθ1 = n2sinθ2"

I've found that this has made physics passages considerably easier because all of the equations just kind of pop into my head as I'm reading passages and it's easier to think about the relationships between variables and how equations relate to each other.

ill give that a try