<p>Are most of the physics courses in college calculus based? My physics teacher told me a while back that I could take a physics course that didn't have calculus.</p>
<p>So I was considering doing just Calc I and then taking a statistics course in math instead. That way I could take the trig-based physics in place of the calc based one, but do med schools require the calc based physics or does it not matter so long as I take a physics course? </p>
<p>I know BDM suggested Calc I and Calc II in the coursework thread.</p>
<p>Med schools do not require the calc based physics – unless it is the only version of physics that is offered at your school and you are not willing to take physics elsewhere. (I heard that MIT kids are required to take calc based one.)</p>
<p>Although it is perfectly OK to take trig based physics, some people believe that calc based physics is actually easier for them. An analogy is that some people believe that SAT Math IIc is easier than SAT Math Ic (I do not know what these SAT II math tests are called anymore.) DS decided to take a calc based physics in sophomore; he thinks it is a “fit” for him. He might get a worse grade if he had taken a trig based physics.</p>
<p>Remember: The professor can make any class hard or easy. Generally, the pre-req class is challenging just because of the competitive students in it, not so much because of the difficult level of the contents. A hypothetical example: If everybody gets 95 but you get 92 in the final, you may get a B or B+. (Usually the class average is much lower though.)</p>
<p>I do not know what year you are in now and what major you are going to be in. So I am not certain whether the following info is relevant to you.</p>
<p>It appears that quite a few not-so-ambitious premeds (should we call them the “more cautious” ones?) may take Physics in Junior. Of course, they can not finish all pre-reqs by the end of sophomore if they choose to go this route. I think they do this probably because they want to avoid taking 3 science classes simultaneously – This may be especially true for those premeds who are not a science major. The downside is that, if they have take AP physics C or B in high school junior year, it will be many years (4 years) before they get back to Physics in Junior year in college – This is not ideal. But I think Physics is such a subject that you may retain most of it quite a long time after you took it. So it may not be a big deal to pick it up again.</p>
<p>Also, some schools may allow a student to switch the track (e.g., switch from a calc based physics to a alg/trig-based physics) as long as the student requests the switch before some deadline (say, by the end of the first 3 weeks.) I personally think this is somewhat unfair (especially if there are some homework/quiz already), but some students may take advantage it if their school has this policy. Check if your school gives you this flexibility.</p>
<p>D is taking physics as a Junior. She could have not fit it into her 19 credit hours schedule before. As most pre-meds in her school, she is taking non-calc based physics. She still is taking it with 2 other science classes, but agreed on my suggestion of less load of only 16 hours this semester.</p>
<p>what kind of calculus is involved in calc-based physics? how much of a background do you need in calc? is it just derivs/integrals? Would i be able to get by only having taken calc 1/2?</p>
<p>Would ANY college physics course satisfy the physics requirement for medical schools? My school offers introductory physics for those with limited background in physics and a physics course that’s basically the same, but just not introductory. I got a 5 on the AP physics exam but i’d rather take the easier class… however my brother (he used to be a premed major at harvard but is now CS/EE) said not all physics courses satsify all medical school requirements?</p>
<p>I’m debating which one to take. I took AP Physics B junior year of HS and did alright in it. Got a 3 on the AP exam by sheer luck I think. I then took AP Calculus AB senior year and pretty much dominated that class. It was easy, it clicked, and it just made sense to me. Even the physics examples used in that class and how they related to calculus just made sense to me. I got a 5 on that exam. Do you think I’d be better at calculus based physics, or should contemplate that? Calculus just makes sense to me, whereas physics didn’t (but that was before calculus, so who knows).</p>