Hello, I am a running start student currently attending Bellevue College and I am taking General engineering physics Fall quarter without any prior physics experience. I have already taken calculus 1-3 and will be taking calculus 4 / vector calculus simultaneously. I have a firm grasp on calculus but am lacking the essentials of physics.
What can I do to prepare for jumping right into engineering physics?
Is there any way you can take an introductory physics class first semester (algebra based) in order to get an idea of the concepts and approach ?
Since engineering is so selective you run the risk of not getting a good grade and being blocked from your major.
Don’t waste your money and time on a collegiate non-physics based class. Just do Kahn Academy’s free version over the summer.
You can read this free high school physics textbook:
http://nongnu.askapache.com/fhsst/fhsstadmin126-incsub.pdf
http://www.nongnu.org/fhsst/fhsstphy.pdf
Let me chime in as a physics professor. You do not need to have any prior physics experience. You have taken and passed Calculus 1-3 and you are motivated to study engineering so with a bit of effort, you should be fine.
Online resources should suffice. In addition to Khan I’d recommend The Physics Classroom.