<p>Electrical eng here, I'm having trouble comprehending the physics. Ask I screwed for my future classes?</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC HD2 using CC App</p>
<p>The mechanics portion of introductory physics may be less critical for an electrical engineering student than the electricity and magnetism portion. But most students find electricity and magnetism more difficult.</p>
<p>I’m kind of hurting right now about physics. I feel like a complete dumbass cause I don’t comprehend it properly. This class is freshmen physics also which makes me feel ■■■■■■■■, will I have trouble in the upcoming physics class since I’m having trouble with freshmen physics? Also I’m supposed to be an “electrical engineer” major. Am I doomed for my dreams to slowly shatter in front of me? I have my final on wednesday. I’m pretty good on the math, I’m at multicalc.</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC HD2 using CC App</p>
<p>Have you gone to office hours? Is there a study group you could join?</p>
<p>I’ve never met, not saying they don’t exist, someone that failed a class and put in maximum effort.</p>
<p>Yeah true haha math comes way easier to me than physics. I believe it’s the application part hah. Also I feel somewhat intimidated when going to a professors office hours. Anyway to overcome this? I don’t want to start off on an awkward foot.</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC HD2 using CC App</p>
<p>Just go.</p>
<p>The whole purpose of office hours is to help students who aren’t understanding the material. Every time I’ve used office hours the professor was extremely helpful and was glad I was taking advantage of the time he set aside for that very purpose.</p>
<p>I know it can feel like you are wasting their time but they are getting paid to teach you the material… take full advantage of it.</p>
<p>Is there any particular subject you are having a problem with? My advice for passing Phys 1 is two part-</p>
<p>1) Make sure you understand the big picture of what is going on. Don’t just start plugging and chugging. Draw a good picture and label everything. Understand the relationship between rotation and translation. Understand what is being asked in the question… the first thing I always used to ask myself was “what am I trying to find?” Too many people try to memorize formulas and types of problems… physics professors and evil and can find ways to test you that you haven’t seen before.</p>
<p>And most importantly…</p>
<p>2) Do every practice problem you can get your hands on. I would literally do 100s of problems before a test, making sure I understood the answer for each one. Outside of people much too smart to be in Phys 1, I don’t think it’s possible to get a good grade in the class without practice. Do enough problems that drawing an FBD becomes second nature. The more practice you have, the less of a chance you will freeze up on a test. Several times I got a problem I had never seen before but I was able to take techniques from a few practice problems I had and was able to solve the problem.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m a rising senior EE.</p>
<p>I was absolutely terrible in the mechanical physics (phys 1) - but pulled off a B+ since I did the whole office hours/ta/tutor help thing.</p>
<p>Got to e&m physics (phys 2) and did a thousand times better (solid A). </p>
<p>Everyone is different, but I know I’m an oddball for this.</p>
<p>How do I get on a professors good side? What I’m scared of is if they go on a rant about the problem/concept and I totally lose them.</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC HD2 using CC App</p>
<p>If you are in Calc III already, then you shouldn’t be struggling with Physics I. It’s all vectors, trig and derivatives (v = x’, a = v’ = x’'). Are you having trouble visualizing the problems? That’s really the key to Physics: draw a picture, label the values that you know, and use your mathematical knowledge (trig, Pathg. Theorem, adding vectors, etc) to extract more information from the problem. </p>
<p>You should be able to use your calc background to derive most of the formulas you need from x = Xi + vt + .5at^2</p>
<p>no need to feel stupid. just tell yourself that its really math but more words. and just focus on passing at least if you’re having difficulty. dont worry, you’ll do fine</p>
<p>My oldest son who is a Geology major just finished spring semester of his sophomore year during which he also took both Calculus III and General Physics I, Mechanics. He also had some problems in the beginning applying the math he knew to the physical situations found in Mechanics. He found out that there was more to Physics than knowing the math. After many practice problems he learned to determine what the problem was asking, what information was given and then translate the verbal description of the problem into mathematical expressions that could be evaluated to find the answer to the problem. After a semester he was very good at this and received a very good grade on the final exam.</p>
<p>If you are taking Calculus III you already know the math you will need to succeed in a general Physics course in Mechanics, you just have to see how your math skills can be applied to physical situations.</p>
<p>Do not hesitate to go to your Professor’s office if there is something you do not understand. You will not be intruding; professors have office hours specifically for helping students gain a better understanding of points that are giving them difficulty. They understand it is part of their job and many enjoy the opportunity to get to know their students better.</p>
<p>Wow thanks everybody for the encouraging replies. I just received my grade and I passed just below a B. And B+ in lab. I will definitely take the comments into consideration this quarter for summer school. And thanks once again for the encouraging comments.</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC HD2 using CC App</p>
<p>Physics I and II are (a) harder at the college level than the AP equivalent (true of all subjects, I imagine), and (b) are required courses early in the curriculum for engineering/hard science majors (e.g., weeder). It’s supposed to be hard; if it were too easy, you’d not be getting your money’s worth.</p>
<p>That’s my experience, anyway.</p>
<p>I’m an EECS major. I had a really hard time in mechanics (pulled an A by studying my butt off for the final). Most of the difficulty came from the fact that I wasn’t interested in the material. E&M was much easier for me because I was actually interested. That’s not to say that the material was easier, but I was motivated to pay more attention and do more practice problems since the class actually related to my major.</p>
<p>I took AP Chem without any prior knowledge. Had no idea *** the teacher was talking about. I discovered KhanAademy and watched all related videos about chemistry, physics, and calculus.</p>
<p>Those videos were so helpful… I can’t tell this enough times. Watch the videos!</p>