All right, so I had to drop out of Physics after attempting it my first semester WITHOUT any prior experience. It was too hard. After consulting the TA about this, all I got was a “The most you need is experience in calculus.” I’ve gotten BC calculus credit from High School, yes. However, I’ve noticed that the calculus in this Physics course was, of course, more conceptual, so those math skills didn’t come in handy at all.
As much as I’d like to never take it ever again, I have to score above a B in “Physics for Scientists and Engineers,” in order to get into my major of CS at my university. I, again, was not successful the first time around – even after studying for this class alone an entire weekend, I managed to get probably a whopping 0 on the quiz. What I want to know is whether the class is supposed to be THIS difficult for those who haven’t taken Physics. I’m afraid that maybe I’m not capable of succeeding in this class… ever? Maybe I’m just dumb when it comes to Physics… And I’m honestly afraid for next semester. What can I do to hopefully improve by the time I have to take the class this spring?
***I’ve thought about self-studying for this class but a) I have too much work from other classes and b) IDK if this would even be effective LOL – It’d probably take me a month to understand one chapter by myself.
I think introductory level physics classes have a reputation for being notoriously hard, even a weed out class at some colleges. I even read on an RPI thread last year when my daughter was an appicant there, that students at RPI sometimes take physics at a nearby community college so that they can pass and make sure the notoriously difficult first year physics does not kill their GPAs and so that they can pass. (Though it would bother me as a parent if my kid had to do this to pass physics rather than take it at their own college). You are very likely capable as a student, but the course was made extra hard by the fact that you had no prior physics background even with a solid calculus background.
That being said, I am wondering if there is something out there such as “Physics for Dummies,” (not that I think you are a dummy by any means) that you could use between now and next semester to pre-study the basic concepts before you attempt the class again. Having a framework to build around may be beneficial. This is just an idea.
Physics is easier for some than others. I would suggest seeking out on line video lessons to supplement what you are getting in class. My daughter did this for her AP Physics class her senior year as her teacher was not very good, and it helped her a lot. When you do the homework, you really need to dig in to understand it. If you have time, do extra problems to reinforce your knowledge. Physics takes a lot of thought and a practice.
Believe it or not, the level of teaching at a lot of these Community Colleges ares much better than at some of these 4-year institutions. Their teaching material tends to be exceptional, easy to follow and class size tend to be much smaller (at least that was the impression I got from two of my kids that did Dual Enrollment at CCs while in high school and my perusal of their Text Book/“Manuals”, which was generally made specially for CC students). Physics classes at 4-year colleges tend to be very large (same for Chemistry, Biology and even introductory Computer Science classes). OP, if possible, take the class at a local CC.
OP, if you were able to do well on AP Calculus BC, you should have no problems with Physics. I did 3 Physics courses (General Physics I, II & Modern Physics for Engineers) before entering my Engineering Major and I don’t remember them being that calculus-heavy (I did two years of Physics back in high school also).
@Jamrock411 I certainly was not intending to criticize community college, trying to make the point that it is a common weed out course made extra hard at some schools. I also think it is kind of a shame that some students pay extra tuition elsewhere to take a required course at their own school because they are so afraid they can’t pass it at their own. There is something weird about that to me.
I am also currently in a “notoriously hard” physics class at an engineering university, in fact the second most failed class in the school. My saving grace was having had a really good, engineering based algebraic physics class in high school with an awesome teacher (my professor in my current physics class is disorganized and hard to understand). Try to see whether there is a basic intro physics class that is algebra based (if you are at a school that has a liberal arts population there probably is one for non engineering majors so the liberal arts majors can get their science requirement), even if it is not for credit, so you have a framework of concepts and relationships (because most of what physics is is relationships between properties of objects) to combine with the calculus concepts.
How much time did you spend talking with your professor or TA on concepts that you didn’t understand? A “whole weekend to yourself studying” won’t help a whole lot if you don’t understand what you’re studying. Did you take notes in class? Were you able to work-through any of the problems in your material?
No offense, but if you couldn’t stick-out a week of physics I don’t know if you’re going to suddenly pass with a ‘B.’ First-semester physics is mostly about dissecting a problem and breaking it down into solvable equations. This won’t be all the dissimilar to classes in a CS major. If you can’t do this (not even for a week) perhaps you should rethink your major of choice.
No, man. Where in my post does it say I couldn’t stick-out a week of Physics? I had been in that course for over a month but I decided to drop out after that week. This is the only Physics course I’ll need for my major too so it’s not like the curriculum is physics-heavy or anything. Thanks for the misinterpretation and discouragement! I appreciate it.
Or you could ask the OP for clarification? Anyway, I get that I was at fault for overreacting to his/her comment, but I was upset that he/she suggested I reconsider my major, solely based on the assumption that I couldn’t stick-out Physics for a week. This is more of a personal thing I guess where I’m working my ass off and the last thing I want to hear is someone telling me that my major might not be for me. So I apologize for my irritation and sensitivity.
This is more of a personal thing I guess where I’m working my ass off and the last thing I want to hear is someone telling me that my major might not be for me. So I apologize for my irritation and sensitivity.