<p>Ok so I'm first year engineering at U of M - ann arbor. I got calc 3 credit at a community college in high school so I took calc 4 (diff eq) my first semester and got a B+. Now that I look back, I really enjoyed that class. </p>
<p>I took general physics (kinematics, free body diagrams, the mechanical stuff, etc) this past semester and got a B+ too, but physics was really boring, really dry, and I found it really stupid to be honest. I entered physics not liking it, but leaving it I guess its just ok. </p>
<p>should I stay in engineering, now that you know this? does the physics get more exciting/more mathy? I realize I enjoyed the problem solving process when I got a math problem in diff eq...does that happen more as the physics gets harder? Or should I just switch to a match/financial math major?</p>
<p>thanks!</p>
<p>If you are in computer science or computer engineering, all you need (usually) is Physics I (Mechanics) and Physics II (Electricity and Magnetism). If you want to “cheat” a little, take the Physics II after your circuits courses so you can KILL the circuits portion of Physics II.</p>
<p>What kind of engineering are you in?</p>
<p>University of Michigan Physics 240 (General Physics II) and Physics 241 (Lab II) cover electricity and magnetism; if you like that course much more than Physics 140 and 141, then you may want to consider electrical engineering over mechanical or civil engineering.</p>
<p>Switching to a math major is certainly doable if you do not like any kind of physics or engineering at all. If you are considering switching to computer science, be sure to take enough of the introductory CS courses (Michigan EECS 280 and 281) so that you are not “behind”.</p>
<p>thanks for the input guys! I actually wanted to do CS at U of M…haha not gonnna happen I totally failed the intro programming class.</p>
<p>I didn’t declare yet but was thinking about doing naval engineering…</p>
<p>You may find that you like electromagnetism (Physics II), but maybe not. It’s very math intensive but you need a conceptual understanding to take anything away from it. Perhaps a math major might be more suitable for you. Math is a foundation that you need to grasp for engineering, but the lower division Physics is where you get a very strong conceptual understanding of nature and refine your problem solving ability. This is, in my opinion, the most important part of engineering, with mathematical ability not far behind.</p>
<p>I’m half way done with my engineering major and I’m just the opposite of you. I’ve dragged my way through the math courses but where I really excel is physics. This I attribute to my conceptual, very practical and hands on way of thinking. I am surrounded in all my classes by people who can make me look like a first grader when it comes to churning out integrals and differential equations but when the teacher asks a question like “Who can name me a substance with a density that does not change with volume?” they scratch their head and start looking for a formula.</p>
<p>Speaking as a physics major, intro mechanics isn’t really very interesting. Classical mechanics gets interesting because you get to use differential equations and you can realize the physical significance of them. Also concepts of energy conservation and things like that are more abstract, and if you like that then it’s more fun.</p>
<p>Of course, physics gets <em>much</em> more interesting after mechanics… quantum, thermo, electrodynamics… take physics 2 and see if you like it. You might want to consider electrical engineering (or even physics) if you seem to like it. Just make sure that you make an informed decision, instead of saying bah, mechanics was so boring and annoying, I don’t like physics.</p>