<p>Im my school, calculus-based physics courses are available only during summer. Its year-long supposed-to-be curriculum is taught over 8 weeks, which is divided into two 4week short semesters (5 credits each, 10 credits in sum). </p>
<p>Each semester has lecture hours of 75 hours and 20 minutes, including the hours spent in lab. So it's 18hrs. 50mins. per week. How much workload is it and would it be a lot more intense than 16 credits/term I'm taking now (lecture hours sum to 14ish hrs.)?</p>
<p>I took my school's calc-based physics sequence.</p>
<p>There's not a chance in hell I would want to cram 2 semesters of physics into 8 weeks. Honestly, it felt like it was crammed and rushed even in 2 semesters; I think if they really wanted to go through each topic properly, it would take 3 semesters.</p>
<p>I did this for calc-based physics I. It was hell, but its doable. We had 3 labs a week(1hr each) and lecture 5 days a week (2hours). My professor did not make us write lab reports which was good. The major tests were broken into 10 mini quizzes. </p>
<p>Overall it was pretty hard but not impossible, the curve especially helps. I studied about 4-6 hrs a day(outside of class) and 2 hours a week with a tutor for a B. Some days i got lazy and didnt do anything. Could have got an A if i was a genius/worked nonstop. About 30% of the class got a D-F, but they didn't study at all! Would be easier then this if the professor gives a study guide. Anyways GL, dont drop if you do bad in the beginning physics takes time to get "used to" because of notations, vectors, and diagrams.</p>
<p>Following are course descriptions of the courses from my school:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>First 4 weeks - This course is a calculus-based study of the basic principles of quantitative physics. Topics include classical mechanics, gravitation, heat, sound, and relativity.</p></li>
<li><p>Second 4 weeks - This course is a calculus-based study of quantitative physics. Topics include electricity and magnetism (leading up to Maxwell's equations), optics, and the elements of atomic physics.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Adding up the total hours spent in lecture and lab, I came to conclude that it's a 1-TERM WORTH OF CAL-BASED PHYSICS RATHER THAN TWO TERMS :) (but then each of the two courses is 5credit course. bit weird -_-)</p>
<p>So it's basically introductory semester of calculus-based physics for 8 weeks. Doable or not?</p>
<p>Yuck. I took both calculus based physics and they are a b. Don't take it. Wayyyy too much work, in wayyy too little time. Even one term would be a pain. Summer classes in general are too much work.</p>
<p>I did this over the past Summer while taking other courses (granted they were easy philosophy courses that I simply enjoyed) and received a 4.0 for the semester, this was also a 10-week semester. It is entirely doable but you have to be willing to do the work. I was in class from 10:00AM - 4:00 PM Monday- Thursday, and on Wednesdays we would have recitation which would just be an additional lecture. After class the amount of graded problems the professor gave to the class was a bit daunting, but if you focus and immerse yourself in the work you will really start to feel like you are understanding the subject really well.</p>
<p>Then again I feel like I was lucky for I did not have much difficulty grasping calc-based physics (and I had a very intelligent girlfriend helping me : ) ). But if you are prepared for the amount of work you will have to do and stay focused I think you will do well and really enjoy the subject more than you would if you took it during the regular semester.</p>
<p>I should also mention that the tests were a lot easier than I would have expected to encounter during the Fall. Kids who took physics in the fall had a first-exam grade of ~65%, whereas our first exam average was ~78%.</p>