<p>I have a teacher whom I am doing a Directed Study with in Physics. She gave me an AP Physics B and C practice book as my textbook and I have never even had a physics class in my life. My school doesn't offer one anymore. I don't understand anything in it because it is all math and has symbols representing stuff I don't understand because I don't understand how it is applied to the situations provided since it's never been taught to me before. I tried telling her that I had a hard time because I've never taken Physics before so I don't really know what I'm doing, and I had to turn in something before Interim Reports were due, but she seemed to ignore what I said since she said she'll be giving me her COLLEGE physics text to study from. I feel forced to copy the answers to the practice questions, seeing as how the pages of reading before the questions have nothing to do with the questions. They don't explain how to do the questions. I don't know what to do or what to study from. I only took the Directed Study because I figured she would make it easy and INTRODUCTORY-ish. Not AP! I don't even want to go into physics or science or anything of the sort--I'm majoring in film and minoring in english!</p>
<p>On top of it all, next card marking, I'm supposed to do some kind of presentation based in physics using PowerPoint. I have no idea of what to do, escept for winging it by being funny and making up a slideshow presentation showing Newton with an apple falling towards his head and a little blurb saying, "This apple will keep falling unless and equal and opposite reaction occurs;" then follow that up with the apple hitting his head and a blurb of him saying "Eureka! A reaction!" That's all I remember of physics is Newton's laws. Any ideas?</p>
<p>Try getting an intro physics and AP review book (i hear princeton review is good) off of amazon. I'm taking AP physics and in all honesty, it's not that hard to understand, it's just that there's a lot of it. I'm sure you'll be able to think of something for your presentation. If this doesn't work, I would say be honest and tell your DS teacher. If you can't approach her in person, write her a letter. She can't penalize you for not understanding something, as it's clear that you've been trying. Anyway, best of luck! I'm sure everything will work out in the end.</p>
<p>I've read the pages before the practice questions and they just don't seem to make sense to the questions. It's like in math class when the teacher gives you all the explanations on the board, but then you look at the book's questions and what she told you doesn't apply to the book questions--it's like that. I simply can't understand how it works.</p>
<p>See if you can get a copy of Halliday/Resnick as that's a great physics textbook. Also politely tell your teacher that you're a bit frustrated by how things are going, and make sure she understands what your concerns are.</p>
<p>To understand some parts, you might have to get a math book and learn new math, especially for the vector stuff. Look online, there are lots of good sites with notes, videos, and demonstrations. What book did you teacher give you?</p>
<p>CliffsNotes AP Physics B and C--I've never had not one single physics class before. I've tried the internet and although they give better-looking examples, I still am fustrated by the book's practice questions as they ask you to do things that weren't covered in the prior reading, and their symbols used do not match what I've been taught in math.</p>
<p>My school works on an Integrated Math curriculum, which is completely bogus. Instead of a full year of algebra and learning everything there is to know, they break it up into bit parts so it can be easier for he majority of slow students in my school. That way, your sophomore year of math has you doing more algebra that branches off of where you'd been the year before; the kicker is you don't remember it because it has been a year. The same goes for geometry: bit parts each year. It doesn't help me because then I don't remember everything because it's not being consistantly taught. And plus, the symbols my math texts have used are different from the ones in the AP Physics Prep book.</p>
<p>The whole situation is confusing and I'm at a point where I can't switch up the class. Any ideas for final projects? That is what I am most worried about. It has to b done in PowerPoint. Thanks.</p>
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CliffsNotes AP Physics B and C--I've never had not one single physics class before. I've tried the internet and although they give better-looking examples, I still am fustrated by the book's practice questions as they ask you to do things that weren't covered in the prior reading, and their symbols used do not match what I've been taught in math.
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I can give you my word as a 5-scorer on both the Physics B and Physics C tests: the CliffsNotes book is awful. Get Princeton Review instead.</p>
<p>You are going to have a lot of trouble on physics unless you know calculus and some vector calc. When you get to magnetic fields, its going to be near impossible, atleast it was for me because I had no clue what a cross product was. I suggest using contemporary college physics by jones/childers.</p>