<p>I have never taken a physics class before so I could use some advice. I am taking calculus-based physics: mechanics with a couple of friends, all of which are dedicated and will study long hours with me. The teacher I am taking is very hard, usually around 80% of the class drops or fails. I have no other option though, so I am screwed. Please let me know what to expect and any resources (videos, websites) will really help. thanks</p>
<p>In my opinion, these videos explain the concepts most clearly out of all the videos I’ve seen:
<a href=“http://apphysicslectures.com/”>http://apphysicslectures.com/</a></p>
<p>If you’re studying with friends, I recommend trying to teach each other concepts and explain how to do various problems - it’s harder to do this than you think and it’ll really tell you where the gaps in your knowledge are.</p>
<p>Calc-based physics isn’t hard. All you have to do is read your textbook and make sure you know how to do all the worked out examples. If you can’t do physics 1 while giving full effort then you should really rethink becoming an engineer or scientist.</p>
<p>As for resources:
<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube; (MIT lectures)
<a href=“null - YouTube”>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA0988AB0397B879A</a> (MIT homework help)
<a href=“http://www.lightandmatter.com/html_books/0sn/ch00/ch00.html”>http://www.lightandmatter.com/html_books/0sn/ch00/ch00.html</a> (textbook)
<a href=“TwuPhysics”>https://sites.google.com/site/twuphysicslessons/home</a> (Mrs. Twu physics videos and practice problems)
<a href=“http://www.flippingphysics.com/calculus.html”>http://www.flippingphysics.com/calculus.html</a> (Flipping physics videos)
<a href=“AP Physics C Video Tutorials”>http://aplusphysics.com/courses/ap-c/videos/APCVidIndex.html</a> (Dan Fullerton’s videos)
<a href=“Donald Luttermoser's PHYS-2010 Course Notes”>http://faculty.etsu.edu/lutter/courses/phys2010/index.htm</a> (Course Notes)</p>
<p>Physics I isn’t too difficult as long as you have a good understanding of the relevant calculus. In all reality though, you’ll likely do very little actual calculus in there. The conceptual understanding of where the equations came from and what the calculus -means- is really the important part. Physics II is where it starts getting more difficult. The concepts in Electricity & Magnetism are a lot more conceptually difficult and less intuitive than the material in physics I. </p>
<p>In physics, study groups are the way to go. Working in groups can be amazingly helpful. Sometimes the problems will take a long time to work out because there will be several different things that you need to find for any given problem. If one person understands one part, another person understands another part etc., then you can work together and come to a common understanding of the problems. It’s important to work through problems individually too though, because you won’t be in groups for your exams. </p>
<p>Wait, so is it “physics 1” or is it mechanics? Because in most universities, mechanics is a “core” physics class that you typically don’t take until junior year after you have taken “physics 1” and at least two semesters of calculus.</p>
<p>@NHuffer
She’s referring to physics 1. “I have never taken a physics class before”. Most schools call their physics 1 class physics 1: mechanics, because it deals with newtonian mechanics.</p>
<p>Free-body diagrams will become bae, and a TI-89 may be a godsend when you need to solve systems of equations (especially ones with trig functions in them).</p>
<p>Yes, OP is referring to University Physics I, which covers classical mechanics. There is also upper level mechanics, but someone is not going to take such a course as their first physics class. Generally if someone is referring to something as ‘calculus based physics,’ it is the introductory physics sequence. An upper level mechanics course is obviously going to use some calculus. There’s really no way around it. </p>