Physics Undergrad - Math course advice

College Search & Selection
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<p>I'm going to major in physics this fall; I scored a 720 on SAT Physics without ever taking it in high school ;3
Anyway, the college I'm going to attend requires Calc 1 in the first quarter, and the physics courses don't start until the 2nd quarter, which will be calc-based classical mechanics. However, I'm going to have to start in Pre-Calculus which will most likely put a hold on intro physics courses. Is that right? Or could I still take calc-based physics with only Pre-Calc under my belt? I know this depends on the school's curriculum, but I was wondering what others suggest? With only haven taken up to Algebra II, could I just "wing it" in Calc 1? Has anyone done something similar? I'd like to imagine that a calculus class would start as a review of past maths and move progressively (probably quickly) into the harder, intended course materials. </p>

<p>Any bit of advice would be helpful! </p>

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<p>Obey the math prerequisites for the physics courses.</p>

<p>To check your preparedness for calculus, you can try these placement tests:
<a href=“http://math.tntech.edu/e-math/placement/index.html”>http://math.tntech.edu/e-math/placement/index.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://math.berkeley.edu/courses/choosing/placement-exam”>http://math.berkeley.edu/courses/choosing/placement-exam&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>However, if you have only taken algebra 2 in college, you will likely need a trigonometry and precalculus course before taking calculus. Consider taking it in the summer at a community college if allowed by your college and available.</p>

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<p>Thanks for those links! I scored okay (in the 70s, averaged). I have actually taken high school trig, so I’ve decided to take pre-calculus over the summer.</p>