Second Semester Physics

[supras2kracer]

How important is second semester physics on the MCAT?
By the time I take the MCAT I will have had all sciences completed except physics 2.
I'd like to take the MCAT in january and if I don't do well I could always take the april one as well.

What do you all think?

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[mongrel]

How important is second semester physics on the MCAT?
By the time I take the MCAT I will have had all sciences completed except physics 2.
I'd like to take the MCAT in january and if I don't do well I could always take the april one as well.

What do you all think?

If your Physics II is the same as mine, then it's pretty dern important. Second semester we covered all of the electricity, magnetism, electromagnetism, etc . To me, this is the hard stuff because much of it's not intuitive-- you can't visualize and almost logic your way through a problem like in kinematics. Of course if you're taking the MCAT in January you could spend your Christmas break teaching yourself this stuff (which is very doable).

 

[poly800rock]

Very Important.

 

[moto_za]

can be done w/o it. Stuy hard, do a lot of practice problems. 2nd sem is a small part of the whole phy sci section.

 

[MSTPbound]

can be done w/o it. Stuy hard, do a lot of practice problems. 2nd sem is a small part of the whole phy sci section.

Probably true, but consider yourself at a significant disadvantage, not having been formally exposed to the content for 25% of the Physical Sciences section.

That means when you go to "content review" for electricity, electrostatics, magnetism, optics, atomic and nuclear phenomena, you won't be reviewing, you'll be learning for the first time. Not the best case scenario. With the kind of pressure that the MCAT puts you under, it might be wiser to get the stuff in your gut first - if nothing else, you will access the knowledge you need when you need it more readily, and it'll save you a couple of seconds when you hit some "impossible" passages that are built on that knowledge - not to mention "giveaway" discrete questions that are quickly answered when you really know your stuff.

My $0.02

 

[.surgical.]

I agree with what ways said.

Just consider yourself and consider the topic list:
Statistical Physics
Electricity
Magnetism
Circuits
Maxwell's Electromagnetic Work
Heat Engines/Thermodynamics

Thats pretty much my Physics II curriculum, the majoritiy of which is considered testable on the MCAT.

 

[Shrike]

If you're taking TPR, this is totally fine. A majority of my spring students are taking Physics II concurrently; a fair number of my summer students haven't had it at all. We gear the class to people who haven't had it before. (In theory, you don't need to have any physics yet at all, but that's a lot harder.)

If you're doing it on your own: don't. It will kill you. The second half of physics is the source of a substantial majority of MCAT physics problems, and it's pretty hard to learn the stuff on your own.

Good luck.

 

[supras2kracer]

thanks for all the great advice guys

 

[.surgical.]

If I had to choose between taking Physics, O-Chem, Chem, or Bio....Physics would not be number 1.

That doesn't mean you dont have to take it ....just saying it wouldn't be the end of the world

 

[oxeye]

It's possible to take it and do well without having had the course yet - but don't plan to go in cold and just hope your test doesn't have a lot of that material. You need to know E&M, optics, some modern physics, etc because I can guarantee you will have some on your test.

I took it without Physics II and did fine but I studied for months beforehand to teach myself the material. I was very disciplined about this because I realized not having the course was a huge disadvantage. If you can't or won't teach yourself the material, then don't take the test in January because it will definitely hurt your score.

Good luck!