I’ve never taken physics before, i do have an idea of how it works and I’ve seen problems and i know just a little bit about it. So at my community college, they require algebra based physics (with a little bit of trig, just some simple triangle stuff), and then you can take engineering or calculus based physics after.
I was hoping to talk to the counselor and maybe see if i could skip the general physics and just start off with calculus based. Does anyone think this would be fine? I feel like general physics is a waste of time, but maybe im wrong.
What is your intended major? How much calculus have you studied so far? Physics concepts are difficult and when I took physics in the 1970s it was algebra based, so most of mechanics can be easily taught without calculus. And it takes time to understand physics problems and way of thinking about using math to describe the physical world ! . If you have a strong math background and already studied single variable calculus, then maybe its OK to skip the general physics class, but you will miss some good topics.
The calculus based class will be mechanics the first semester, and then electromagnetism in the second semester, called E&M. General physics will cover optics, mechanics, electricity, magnetism, nuclear physics, atomic physics and perhaps, special relativity. So you will be missing all that background if you skip general physics , but ask the professor. The counselor may not know the difference, you need to talk directly to the instructors about this, to understand better what you will be missing by skipping over general physics. You could self study general physics, maybe, depending on your motivation to learn physics. The Feynman Lectures on Physics use very little calculus. Feynman was a professor at Caltech and you can buy these books and study on your own as well. The three books cover mechanics, E&M and Quantum Mechanics. Linear algebra is helpful to solve some of the quantum mechanics problems.
My son is a strong math student. He got accelerated in science his junior year in HS and took AP Physics C (along with AP Calc BC) without having taken a physics class before. It was a bit of a struggle for him at times.
Taking calculus-based physics without previous physics should be doable, but likely to be more difficult if you have not had at least high school physics. Obviously, you need calculus for calculus-based physics.
The CC probably found that students without previous physics tend to struggle in calculus-based physics, so they added the prerequisite.
I did this and went straight to engineering (calc based) physics. I never took physics in high school. I had to drop the class and from there I moved on. I regret not taking General physics because if I did then I won’t have struggled and still be in class. It’s possible for a student without physics knowledge take calc based physics. Just remember, if you decide to take it put effort to it. I
What I’m doing this summer is sitting as a free student and take General Physics 1 at my community college. This will be helpful as I’m going to be taking calc-based physics when I transfer this fall.
Set yourself up for success… I would not think that someone who has not taken Physics before AND is in a CC shoudl not start with a more difficult physics.
Physics concepts are difficult enough that it warrants learning them the first time without the calculus to bog you down. The biggest mistake college students make is rushing. Just go step by step towards your goals. The same goes for mathematics. Do not skip precalculus and expect to pass calculus. Just go step by step from where you are at. Never skip classes, ever. If you know it, its an easy A and you will learn it better by repeating classes too. Calculus may take five tries for some to learn it well. So, you get it once in math and once in physics. But learn the physics then, take it together as a general rule for success.
I’m curious, I’m excellent at math but haven’t studied physics at all. If I study it in summer (e.g. the textbook that will be used + MIT OCW) to prepare to take calc-based in fall, should I be OK? (there is no physics pre-req for calc-based at my CC)
I’m guessing that if you have a strong background in calculus (AP or first-year college level), the mechanics side of physics will be challenging but doable, but you will definitely find calc-based E&M very hard without any E&M physics background
Rushing never pays off. Just go step by step. Physics General, then Mechanics then E&M. General physics is not the same physics content as “calc based physics” which is Mechanics! I really wish the college would rename the classes. General physics is way more interesting as well. It will teach you about optics, electricity, magnetism, mechanics, atomic physics, nuclear physics and some of the cool math like special relativity which is ALGEBRA based. If I had a choice, I would take general physics every time over Mechanics, which is basically the math of moving objects, like a rolling a ball down an inclined plane, and acceleration and Newtons laws of motion. Mechanics will not interest most students. General physics will interest them.
Until reading this thread, I had no idea that it’s standard to take general physics before mechanics… I know many people who have taken university mechanics + E&M and done well (A or high B), and very few of them had taken any physics course before.
"Physics for poets". Not for any students who need physics for their majors or professional schools.
High school physics (may be offered as "preparatory physics" in college).
Non-calculus-based or light-calculus college physics (AP physics B or 1+2 approximate non-calculus-based college physics). Usually for biology majors and pre-meds.
Calculus-based college physics. Usually for physics and engineering majors.
Note that the latter two are typically two or more semester sequences. They cover similar general topics, but the calculus-based courses use (more) calculus and go into more depth.
The calculus-based courses often assume at least high school physics taken previously. Students without high school physics who want to take calculus-based college physics may be directed to take “preparatory physics” if such a course is offered, or take a semester of non-calculus-based or light-calculus physics first. However, many engineering frosh have had high school (or AP) physics while in high school, so they can go directly to calculus-based college physics once they have the math prerequisites.