<p>i took AP Physics C Mechanics and E&M in High school. I got a 3 on the mechanics exam. I did not think that a 3 was good enough which is why i am enrolled in physics 1a right now. i am in fronsdal's class and feel like it is a complete waste of time-i already know what he's teaching.</p>
<p>the deadline to drop a class is this friday. I am wondering if I will be at a disadvantage in physics 1b if i drop this class right now. looking at the the syllabus, the topics are familiar</p>
<p>has anyone here not taken physics 1a and did fine in physics 1b?</p>
<p>also, i looked at the AP credit, and I get "General C" credit. do i even have the option of not taking this class?</p>
<p>by the way, i am currently enrolled in 17 units. without this class i will be at 12 units...</p>
<p>A 3 is somewhat weak on the Mechanics section, but since you are ChE, it won't matter much.</p>
<p>To have a solid understanding of Newtonian mechanics, you should have a 5. Everything first half of Physics 1A is very easy. An 8th grader can get an A on the first midterm if he/she put a bit of effort.</p>
<p>The only difficult concept is rotational dynamics, which can be a bit tricky. Physics 1A difficult also depends on what view and method physics is taught from. From a physicists point of view, it can get complicated even if it is mechanics.</p>
<p>Physics 1B is harder than 1A of course. This is the 4th week, and so far, I think only electrostatics is covered (Gauss' Law). If you have a 4 or higher for AP Physics C E&M, then I'd say you will have a fine transition. Even though the topics may seem familiar, you might have no known how they were derived, how to properly use them, etc. Do you know what hysteresis is? </p>
<p>My advice is stick around for 1A if you want deeper understanding of rotational dynamics. If you're not interested, then take the challenge of 1B. What I noticed is that the physics series is not very important in terms of building blocks for upper division courses. It exercises your brain and gives you deeper general knowledge of science though - which is why you're at UCLA!</p>
<p>1) I don't think you even have the option of skipping 1A, if you didn't get a 5 on the Mechanics part of the C exam. I got a 5 on the Physics B exam and I still had to take 1A. Don't quote me, though. </p>
<p>2) Isn't the minimum number of units for a full-time student 13?</p>
<p>3) Like Boelter said, rotational dynamics, moments of inertia, torque, etc all come up in 1B. It really helps to be good at that. The rest of 1A is a joke. I stopped regularly going to lecture at around the 4th week. Right now, I'm enrolled in 1B, and so far it's quite a bit harder (I have Corbin though, whose tests score ~30%).</p>
<p>you NEED a 5 on physics c mechanics to pass out of 1A, so that isn't an option anyway</p>
<p>I'm in 1B at the moment (skipped out of 1A) and I think passing out was a mostly good idea... I would have to agree that the hardest topic of 1A is rotiational dynamics... it's my worst area of mechanics, and I kinda didn't need to know it too well to get a 5 on the AP exam.... however it's the one that you kinda get tested on early on in 1B, since it covers oscillations, etc...
so i agree that getting a good background in it can help</p>
<p>yeah just took Corbin's midterm today... omg... I could only do the 2nd question (of 3), which was a circuit (and we haven't even started E/M). It was just a question that tested ure understanding of "damping,"differential equations, and angular frequency tho...</p>
<p>my TA emailed us today saying, "A few words about the midterm: it was hard. We are in the preliminary stages of grading, but the average score is looking fairly low (<30)."</p>
"damping,"differential equations, and angular frequency tho...
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<p>You will visit that again in 33B; you will learn to solve the ODE under damping, no damping, and other oscillation situations involving inequalities.</p>
<p>To add to my previous post --
In future courses, ideas that will be used again will be reintroduced. For example, most people forgot 32B material about Stokes' Theorem. Kindly, the textbook reintroduced the idea quickly and so will the professor (if it's early in your upper division courses).</p>
<p>To paraphrase, it is good to have an idea of what you learned previously (not necessarily everything because that is impossible unless you visit every topic you learned frequently). As long as you do, you will be fine. </p>
<p>Last week, someone asked in recitation what a unit vector is, and how to find it. That is pretty sad. Retaking a course which you know the material is going to help you build your foundation on simple topics. If you feel like you have enough exposure to the material, then move on.</p>
<p>I know that you probably won't forget what a unit vector, but as long as you have the basic idea of the course objectives in each of your classes, you will be okay. Keep in mind that you might be "tested" on the basics of some science/engineering topics in job interviews, like "What is Reynold's number" or "draw the stress-strain curve and label each point ".</p>
<p>ChemE doesn't begin until your junior year. ChemE 100 is just an introductory course you take in your sophmore year. </p>
<p>Most people don't get internships until their summer transition from Junior year - Senior Year. The reason for this is you begin to understand the fundamentals. Some seniors still don't understand what ChemEs do to the diverse nature of the profession. </p>
<p>Problem is, on the West Coast, we only focus on manufacturing and petroleum. In south, there is paper and pulp and other industries.</p>
<p>P&G is having a "pre-internship", hope you went to to the infosession to get more details. Talk to Bill Beard, 5th floor Boelter, M/Th usually to get more info.</p>
<p>Most petroleum companies begin their hiring process for interns usually now or earlier. </p>
<ul>
<li>TB54</li>
</ul>
<p>P.S. </p>
<p>ODE/Nonlinear ODE will come back to you in CHE 107. ODEs/Nonlinear are one the biggest topics in ChE.</p>
<p>Just remember the basics: Accumulation = In - Out + Gen</p>
<p>Baxter is hiring as many interns as possible from UCLA. They want this to be a UCLA ChemE only. I think they are looking for juniors only however.</p>