<p>Just received the email describing the course from Professor Norman H. Christ....</p>
<p>The email says automatic entrance into the course is allowed by a 5 on AB/BC and Physics C.</p>
<p>I have a five on Physics B, but I never took Physics C.</p>
<p>The letter does say that a good score on the "entrance quiz" can allow students with different levels of advanced preparation to enter the class.</p>
<p>I'm very interested in Physics, and I've wanted to take this class ever since I first saw it. But will I be in over my head if I took it (assuming I was able to place into the class in the first place) with no calculus based physics training?</p>
<p>Also, what should I look for on the placement quiz--the website mentions calculus applications to mechanics? I'm assuming some integrals and derivates dealing with position, velocity, acceleration...but that's all I know. Thanks for any help and/or opinions you all have.</p>
<p>Physics C is nothing like Physics B so I recommend you to take the normal 1401 physics. 2801 is very fast paced and concepts are much more profound than Physics B so you might wanna take it easy.</p>
<p>I have done extensive physics reading on my own time about quantum theory and various other concept, so I don’t think the concepts are what I’m afraid of, its more the calculus application of Physics B concepts…</p>
<p>do not take this course. virtually all culpa reviews indicate that a rigorous background in calculus based physics is not really sufficient for this course, as it requires advanced applications of calc 3 and 4 and linear algebra.</p>
there’s much more than just 2d motion with calc-based physics, such as SHM, inertia of randomly shaped objects, gravitational fields of randomly shaped objects, vector calculus related to work/rotation etc… but the course probably teaches you these concepts, so i guess if you’re confident in your natural physics abilities, adding calculus to physics shouldn’t be that difficult a process. i never took the course, so cant say for sure.</p>
<p>i never received his email, mostly because i took IB Math instead of AP Calc (but i have 5’s in Physics C). what website did he mention? im interested in knowing about the placement quiz.</p>
<p>Looks like I will be skipping out on this course…although I love physics it isn’t my major and I’m sure I can bolster my GPA in the 1601 sequence.</p>
<p>I understand that you are eager to take advance courses but I suggest that you don’t ruin your gpa for its sake. I don’t know how much quantum mechanics you have studied but I took a modern physics 2000 level course freshman year and I can say that it was such that Physics I and II were assumed to be known. Wave Equation and angular momentum of electrons, schrodinger equation all involved intermediate level calculus(double integrals and differentials and vector fields), so physics applications of calculus were the building blocks for most concepts. Even for normal Electricity and Magnetism you should have some knowledge of multivariable calculus to grasp the concepts of maxwell’s equations,force fields, line integrals, flux linkages, etc. Best course of action would be to speak to the professor and express your concern.</p>
<p>It might sound cool as you’re used to being the best of the best in high school and like challenging yourself, but chances are you’re going to be somewhat average (even in 1600) at Columbia. Unless you know you’re one of those few physics savants in the class, get used to being somewhere in the middle of the class. (This applies to pretty much everything else too, but eventually, you might find something that you’re above average or awesome at)</p>
<p>On the advice of an upperclassman friend i didnt take 2800. Even in 1600 had it not been for the textbook answer keys that I had, I would’ve been screwed. I know some friends who without the answer key would slave away for 10+ hours on each 10 question problemset. </p>
<p>If you aren’t 100% comfortable with Calc I/II material, I would even suggest going for 1400. Unless you’re a physics major, everyone pretty much ends up in the same place by junior year. Challenge yourself, but I’ve found it much more rewarding to take a 6th class than to battle it out with the Butler residents and Asian try-hards in an accelerated class.</p>