Is anyone else taking Physics I or II this semester? Maybe we can all exchange study tips or offer encouragement. I am taking Physics I at a community college and after two previous attempts, (dropped after the first week both times) I am actually liking the class. I probably won’t finish all my prereqs until the fall but when I do you can bet I will have to celebrate!
Pam
Hi there-
I am taking Physics I at a community college, as well. First test is Monday. Pretty unpleasant, but fun at the same time. Did I just say that?
Best of luck. It will be over soon.
Michelle
I’m in Physics II this semester. Just had our first test on Friday. Our prof is going to have to be extremely generous on his partial credit (which he is but…)for me to get a decent grade on this one lol. He really does make it as easy and fun as he can (alg-based so he knows we’re all biology or pre-professional majors) but I missed too many lectures when I thought I was going to have to drop half my schedule due to finances 
.
Unfortunately I doubt I would be much help in the study tips dept…for my class I just have to copy the homework out of the soln manual, write a really good notecard with as much detail about probs as possible, and run thru the homework problems a few times the nite before to get a good grade usually lol.
Hang in there y’all…a good prof is definitely the key to success in physics!
–Jessica, UCCS
I am in physics II. Am all for a support group.
I’m taking Physics I at Columbia right now. Darn, I really needed a support group last week while studying for my first test. It was my first school test in years and I was so nervous! Though I had taken Physics previously (well, 11 years ago) it all felt very new to me. I had taken graduate level Computer Science courses since graduating but the pace is quite different. While those courses had a handful of important topics that we got into in detail, Physics has a googol of concepts, theories, etc. that you really need to understand in order to do very well.
For example, my test had 4 questions with three parts each. The first two parts were always relatively easy to handle if you had been keeping up with the reading and the homework. The last part was always a tricky application type question where you had to really understand all of the topics tested to even set up the answer.
It’s all definitely much more work than I was expecting. But I am enjoying it very much. It brings me tremendous satisfaction just to be back in school and moving towards a long lost dream. The comaraderie amongst the postbaccs in the class is so refreshing after years of the corporate environment.
Hmm, I will talk about class strategies depending on how well I did on that test. 
I’ve got Physics II this semester (non-calc based)… Our professor is a Sadist… but she’s funny and I respect her…
She is very difficult though. We take a test every week… and then she’s got the final exam split up throughout the semester (in 3 parts). We’ve already had 4 tests and part 1 of the final… (or is it 5 tests or 6… i can’t remember)…
If any of you remember me (I’ve been in a black hole for awhile)… you’ll remember that I detest Physics… with every fiber of my being… and this semester is no different…
I might be able to help some… but there’s no telling…
we have a Physics Tutorial Center at my University… and I spend MANY hours a week there either working on homework or getting help. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn’t…one of the advantages there is having met some really cool people that actually know what they’re doing… (or at least one of us usually does so that person can explain it to everybody)…
Anyway…
After my lovely last semester with Physics I I would STRONGLY recommend picking up Schaum’s College Physics… it’s got SCADs of practice problems worked out and can be VERY handy in prepping for tests. It helped me nail the last couple exams and the final in my class and brought my grade up quite a bit in the end… and that’s why I recommend it.
Good luck
Andrea
I second the nomination for Schaum’s Outlines! I referred to them in another thread. I’ve found them very helpful in many ways. If you don’t have time to read the chapter from the textbook before class you can read the outline instead so that class is not the first time you’re seeing the material. You can also re-read the outline after you’ve discussed the material in class. Lastly as Andrea mentions there are a lot of exercises there which can help in preparing for exams.
What textbook are you all using? We are using Serway’s Principles of Physics, 3rd edition.
I was wondering… if anyone else is currently working on chap 23, I cannot seem to get #2. If anyone here knows how… When I can’t get a problem it makes me CRAZY and is all I can think about! Help!
Calvin - Would the question be easy to pose in a post or a pm? I haven’t started my physics review yet, but what the heck every little bit of challenging the mind helps.
Seth
Hope you all don’t mind if I post it here.
Quote:
A 42 turn circular coil of wire has a diameter of 1.00 m. It is placed with its axis along the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field of 39.5 uT, and then in 0.200 seconds it is flipped 180. An average EMF of what magnitude is generated in the coil?
I can’t help you with that problem because we have this weird textbook and I haven’t worked those type of problems yet. I am listing some resources for studying as well as a link that has a physics message board where you can post homework questions.
http://physicsweb.org/resources/home
Links to physics resources
http://wwwrel.ph.utexas.edu/~larry/how/how.html
The University of Texas How to Study for Physics Guide
http://www.howtostudy.org/resources/howp/
Links to a bunch of physics study guides and they have links for other courses as well.
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/BBoard.html
This is a high school physics tutorial but it is really good at explaining basic concepts especially if you have never had physics before like me.
http://www.physlink.com/
Links to a lot of physics resources, has a message board where you can ask physics questions.
Some more links:
http://www.physicscentral.com/
http://www.fearofphysics.com/
http://www.brookscole.com/physics_d/special_features/tutor/tutor.html
http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/tutorials.html
Hope this helps! Pray for me I am going to work some physics problems right now!
Pam
Thanks for posting this goldmine of links. I look forward to trying them out. By the way, where in Texas are you? I am in Houston.
Thanks!
Michelle
Pam,
Good luck in Physics II. I found it more boring than hard. I have no use for running circuit, but thats me. Took it at Richland College (a local CC here). Good luck.
Kathy
I am in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I lived in Houston for one year and am originally from Austin (want to go back there too!).
Pam
Austin is nothing short of a beautiful place, just about the best we have in Texas…I can not visit Austin without conjuring ways to get back there…graduated from UT Austin.
Back to Physics.
Just curious,
Michelle