Having a test in classical physics after 2 two months!

agphys

So ye the test begins in 2 months, and i will need to memorize all the phyisc book, its like 300 pages of good ol' physics, conitaining everything everything from electromagnetic induction, alternating current, lasers, wave osscilaitons, sound, em waves etc etc.

i would like to ask about your opinion, how should i start well in matter of fact i know a little alhamdullilah, but how can i memorize all the book, containing problems etc etc.

the thing with the problem is like i dont know how to use the rules, like you need to use like 5 rules for 1 question lol, isnt there any site for formulas, for physics (A) i think.??

thanks

daveb

If you try to memorize the book I fear you won't do well. Memorization does little in the way of learning to solve problems.

agphys

how should i study then? i want to like it but yet i do not want to read. i want to learn but i cant i guess, the problems are way to hard.

the thing is i did not read "pre calculus" physics, i did not read physics in two years then at the last year i jumped to physics A.

Harrisonized

Physics is actually quite simple. The entirety of physics is composed of two parts:
1. Setting up the problem mathematically
2. Solving what you set up

As you can imagine, part 1 is the most important. However, part 2 can also be revealing, because sometimes, you can use the answer you get in part 2 to solve a more difficult problem. An example of this is using the solution found for the electric field from a circular ring to obtain the electric field from a circular disk, since a circular disk is just a superposition of circular rings.

To set up the problem, one only needs to consider:
1. Rules pertaining to the particular situation
2. Conservation laws

For classical physics, number 1 includes:
1. F=ma (obviously), p=mv, E=p²/(2m)
2. the analogs for torque
3. E = 1/(4πε₀) q/r², the analogs for magnetic fields B
4. Laws derived from the above

The conservation laws are of mass, charge, energy, and momentum. Considering that you are being tested on "all of classical physics", I would spend most of my time learning how to set up problems. Solving them is just algebra and calculus, which you should already have under your belt. You should solve around 4-5 problems for each problem you set up just to see that it works. Don't bother plugging in numbers for any of your variables, since you can just do that at the end. During the last week, actually plug in numbers to your solutions to see what kind of numbers you get.

Darth Frodo

It sounds like you have a work ethic problem. It takes more than wanting to learn to learn...

agphys

well i understand the problem when im going trough them, but after some days i forget them lol.