Physics & Math for 15-Year-Olds in 10th Grade

[WORLD-HEN]

I feel so behind everybody! What I do in school seems so dumb, and I feel like my time is being wasted, mostly because I have a lot of friends in america who do all the interesting stuff ( I live in India) . Just to reassure myself, what exactly is a person interested in physics and mathematics expected to know. I am 15 and I am in 10th grade.

 

[JasonRox]

I feel so behind everybody! What I do in school seems so dumb, and I feel like my time is being wasted, mostly because I have a lot of friends in america who do all the interesting stuff ( I live in India) . Just to reassure myself, what exactly is a person interested in physics and mathematics expected to know. I am 15 and I am in 10th grade.

Nothing.

I don't think you actually start physics until 11th and 12th grade.

For a grade 10 student to know quite a bit, well that student probably learned it on his own reading a textbook.

Don't look at other school systems or other students to measure up where you should be. If you're interested, pick up a book and start reading. Don't be in a rush to learn something either because you'll start skipping good and important stuff.

If you really want to learn, I strongly advise you to avoid coffee books. They are books of interest who merely just talk about stuff without actually doing math or anything. They simply just discuss something and make the average person feel smarter.

 

[Moonbear]

Jason has it right. In the US, physics is usually taught in 11th or 12th grade, and some students never take it in high school. Depending on the school district, some students may be allowed to advance more quickly and take subjects sooner, but they aren't the average student. It's tough to compare educational systems between different countries anyway, so there's no point getting too worried about it. What one country considers important to require, another won't teach at all, and vice versa.

 

[z-component]

The mathematics requirements here for the first year of physics are to have completed a second year of algebra. The second year of physics requires concurrent enrollment in a pre-calculus or higher math course.

 

[Gokul43201]

World-hen, I strongly believe that you get a much better physics education in India at the high school level than you will likely get most anywhere in the US. The reverse is true only at (college and) graduate levels.

Jason gives you good advice. If you find you are not being taught enough physics - which I seriously doubt - you could always learn more by yourself.

Here's a good idea of what you "could" know by the end of grade 10. It's from the Indian Certitificate of Secondary Education's (ICSE) syllabus (which in my opinion, is a great school board), though it may e a little old. If that's not enough, and only if you know everything here, and can solve all the problems in the text, would I recommend that you try and learn more by yourself.

1. Force, Work, Energy and Power

(i) Newton's Second Law and its experimental verification; weight and mass.
(ii) Machines as force multipliers; simple treatment of levers, inclined plane, pulley system and gears showing the utility of each type of machine.
(iii) Work, energy, power, and their relation with force
(iv) Different types of energy (e.g., chemical energy, gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, heat energy, elastic energy, electrical energy, nuclear energy, sound energy, light energy).
(v) Principle of conservation of energy.

2. Fluids

(i) Transmission of pressure in liquids; change of pressure with depth; atmospheric pressure; upthrust.
(ii) Archimedes' Principle; floatation; displacement; relationship with density; determination of relative density of a solid; qualitative description of a hydrometer.

3. Light

(i) Refraction of light through a glass block and a triangular prism; treatment of simple applications such as real and apparent depth of objects in water, apparent bending of sticks in water.
(ii) Total internal reflection in triangular glass prisms and a comparison with reflection from a plane mirror
(iii) Lenses (converging and diverging) including characteristics of the images formed (using ray diagrams only); magnifying glass; location of images using ray diagrams and thereby determining magnification
(iv) Single lens model of a photographic camera; focusing; shutter speed; aperture (f-number); simple comparison with the human eye (correction of defects of the eye are not included in the Physics syllabus, but are included in the Biology syllabus).
(v) Using a triangular prism to produce a spectrum from white light; relationship with wavelength or frequency; simple treatment of the electromagnetic spectrum; primary and secondary colours of light; filters and reflections of coloured light; appearance of objects in different coloured lights; difference between spectral and pigment colours (mention must be made why colour disc with VIBGYOR colours does not appear white when spun).

4. Sound

(1) Echoes; their use by bats, dolphins, fishing boats; simple numerical problems on echoes.
(ii) Forced and natural vibrations and resonance; qualitative description of tuning forks, stringed instruments, drums and bells producing sounds.
(iii) Loudness, pitch and quality of sound; difference between music and noise

5. Electricity and Magnetism

(i) Ohm's Law; concepts of emf, potential difference, resistance; internal resistance of cells; cells in series and parallel; resistances in series and parallel; simple direct problems using combinations of resistors in circuits.
(ii) Electrical power and energy; household consumption of electrical energy
(iii) Household circuits - ring main circuit; switches; fuses; earthing; safety precautions; three-pin plugs; colour coding of wires.
(iv) Magnetic effect of a current (principles only, laws not required); electromagnet; demagnetising a magnet using AC; simple treatment of a moving coil galvanometer (shunting excluded); DC electric bell; DC motor; AC generator; transformer

6. Heat

(i) Specific heat capacities; simple determination and problems on specific heat capacity using heat loss and gain and the method of mixtures.
(ii) Latent heat; its determination for ice and steam only (including simple problems); common phenomenon involving specific heat capacity and latent heat.

7. Modern Physics

(i) Thermionic emission and a simple qualitative treatment of a hot cathode ray tube.
(ii) Radioactivity and change in the nucleus; the nature of alpha and beta particles and gamma rays ; carbon- 14 dating (principle only); background radiation and safety precautions.

 

[klusener]

hi bro, it depends on where you are, from personal experience, i know that Tamil Nadu is much better than states like Bihar.. but at the same time Kerala has to be the best in the country because they have the highest literacy rate...

 

[Yapper]

I think the high school education here in the U.S. is in pretty bad shape If your interested in advanced theoretical physics then read books suggested in the post in this section about suggested reading. If you just want to learn the basics of physics mechanical , electricity, fluids, thermodynamics, etc. then pick up a good textbook and work through it.

 

[jai6638]

[q]What I do in school seems so dumb, and I feel like my time is being wasted, mostly because I have a lot of friends in america who do all the interesting stuff ( I live in India[/q]

Im 15 too and just recetly moved to the US... was in the Indian CBSE board till 9th grade .. ( did my first term in 10th grade but i guess that doesn't count ) and am now a 10th grader in a private school... Let me tell you that the Indian Education ( especially the CBSE board ) has a physics and math curriculum much more rigorous than the regular courses in the high schools here... I am taking a general physics course which cannot be compared to the CBSE physics course as its is really VERY EASY! The only thing u might be missing out on is taking AP courses which I guess is not a very big deal..

Btw add OPTICS ( lens formula, mirror formule, convex and concave mirrors/lens,etc ) to Gokul's list and remember, the grass is always greener on the other side..

 

[Moonbear]

Okay, looking at Gokul's list, I'm left wondering, what are they teaching in US schools anymore? With the exception of Modern Physics (radioactivity was covered in chemistry), we covered all those topics in 11th grade physics when I was in high school. And yes, optics was included too. While I can't possibly compare Indian and American curricula, I thought that if you did have physics in high school, you were still taught those topics. No wonder I thought college physics was too easy (it seemed like a complete repeat of high school physics, and I didn't even take the AP level class).

 

[jai6638]

Okay, looking at Gokul's list, I'm left wondering, what are they teaching in US schools anymore? With the exception of Modern Physics (radioactivity was covered in chemistry), we covered all those topics in 11th grade physics when I was in high school. And yes, optics was included too. While I can't possibly compare Indian and American curricula, I thought that if you did have physics in high school, you were still taught those topics. No wonder I thought college physics was too easy (it seemed like a complete repeat of high school physics, and I didn't even take the AP level class).

i don't quite understand what you mean... are you saying that the physics curriculum in high school sucks ?

 

[Moonbear]

i don't quite understand what you mean... are you saying that the physics curriculum in high school sucks ?

I guess I'm asking if it does. Gokul listed those topics covered in Indian physics courses as if those aren't all covered in high school in the US, so I'm wondering if that's really true nowadays. If so, things sure have changed even more than I thought!

 

[franznietzsche]

i don't quite understand what you mean... are you saying that the physics curriculum in high school sucks ?

to put it lightly, yes.

All that stuff is covered in AP physics, but regular physics, well, not in my high school. And physics was not required at all. Chem and bio were, but not physics, even for college prep. Which i think is ridiculous. A good physics education is much more important than a good bio education, not so much in terms of material, but in terms of scientific thinking which is much more rigorous is entry level physics than in entry level bio (in my experience anyway).

 

[Justin Lazear]

i don't quite understand what you mean... are you saying that the physics curriculum in high school sucks ?

In most high schools in America, the answer is a resounding yes.

I've found that even the AP Physics classes tend to concentrate too heavily on how to apply formulas (or problem-solving processes, in the C-oriented classes) instead of where they come from and what they mean. But then, I've always had a little difference of opinion with the schooling system about what should be taught and how it should be taught. Dumbing down the course so that even the least motivated person can look good on paper is foolish.

--J

 

[jai6638]

to put it lightly, yes.

All that stuff is covered in AP physics, but regular physics, well, not in my high school.

Well i think AP physics is more detailed and elaborates on the topics in general phsics..

And physics was not required at all. Chem and bio were, but not physics, even for college prep. Which i think is ridiculousA good physics education is much more important than a good bio education, not so much in terms of material, but in terms of scientific thinking which is much more rigorous is entry level physics than in entry level bio (in my experience anyway).

i know what u mean... I personally think that physics should be compulsory since the other sciences such as chemistry and bio are based on it to a certain extent! Its good that in the Indian Curriculum, all the sciences are done simultaneously thus making it compulsory for kids to learn physics too!

I've found that even the AP Physics classes tend to concentrate too heavily on how to apply formulas (or problem-solving processes, in the C-oriented classes) instead of where they come from and what they mean.

Damn that sucks.. i was hoping that i would be able to derive forumulas in AP physics as opposed to just applying formulas and plugging in values! used to derive formulas in CBSE and it was fun knowing how the formulas came about as opposed to just plugging in values which anyone could do!

Btw, is AP physics a calculus based course?

 

[JasonRox]

In most high schools in America, the answer is a resounding yes.

I've found that even the AP Physics classes tend to concentrate too heavily on how to apply formulas (or problem-solving processes, in the C-oriented classes) instead of where they come from and what they mean. But then, I've always had a little difference of opinion with the schooling system about what should be taught and how it should be taught. Dumbing down the course so that even the least motivated person can look good on paper is foolish.

--J

It feels (well it is) like we are practicing solving questions all day. It's like you can't past the test unless you do a million questions, so let's half a million in class and you can do half a million at home. They almost... well they never talk theorie.

 

[jai6638]

It feels (well it is) like we are practicing solving questions all day. It's like you can't past the test unless you do a million questions, so let's half a million in class and you can do half a million at home. They almost... well they never talk theorie.

However, solving problems is essential in addition to understanding the concepts! Practice makes perfect!

 

[JasonRox]

However, solving problems is essential in addition to understanding the concepts! Practice makes perfect!

Doing a million isn't necessary.

Also, if you plan on going any further into the subject/topic, it is ESSENTIAL that you know where all these formulas and ideas are coming from. Of course, they don't have time to do that because there is 999, 999 more questions to go through!

 

[Justin Lazear]

It feels (well it is) like we are practicing solving questions all day. It's like you can't past the test unless you do a million questions, so let's half a million in class and you can do half a million at home. They almost... well they never talk theorie.

The technique is not particularly difficult. Actually, the technique isn't difficult at all. Even the Physics C exam amounts to little more than algebra with the odd derivative or integral thrown in.

I don't even agree that all the "different" problems that you do are even helpful. Most of the time the teacher throws a bunch of problems at you that all amount to just about the same thing, then goes on to say that you have to solve each one differently, confounding the students into believing they have to learn (memorize) all sorts of junk (50 different ways to solve the same problem? Useful? What?) and diverting their attention away from the whole point of the physics (to understand what's going on). Students are taught the approach to problems of "Which problem that I've done before is this problem similar to and how was I taught to solve that one?" instead of "What's going on in this situation?" Naturally, the first approach will take you nowhere, since you can't memorize the solution to a problem you've never seen before, and if you can't solve problems you've never seen before, then a computer can do your job for you a thousand times faster and a hundred times cheaper.

End rant. Sorry if I'm preaching to the choir here, but the rant's not really directed at anybody's opinions in particular. Just the educational system.

And I'll add that practice does not make perfect when you have no clue what you're practicing.

--J

 

[JasonRox]

a computer can do your job for you a thousand times faster

You might want to make that a million.

 

[Justin Lazear]

You might want to make that a million.

A million's probably a better estimate. I was just on a bit of a roll.

--J

 

[Moonbear]

Wow! Times certainly have changed.

Jai, you seem to have the right idea. There needs to be a balance between theory (so you understand what you're doing) and practice (so you know how to do it).

 

[Gokul43201]

I guess I'm asking if it does. Gokul listed those topics covered in Indian physics courses as if those aren't all covered in high school in the US, so I'm wondering if that's really true nowadays.

Moonbear, those are the courses covered in the 9th and 10th Grades in India.

 

[Gokul43201]

The following is what a well prepared student hoping to major in Science or Engineering is expected to know in math by the end of high school (it's the syllabus for the Entrance Exam to the place where I went to college) :

MATH :

Algebra:

Algebra of complex numbers, addition, multiplication, conjugation, polar representation, properties of modulus and principal argument, triangle inequality, cube roots of unity, geometric interpretations.

Quadratic equations with real coefficients, relations between roots and coefficients, formation of quadratic equations with given roots, symmetric functions of roots.

Arithmetic, geometric and harmonic progressions, arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means, sums of finite arithmetic and geometric progressions, infinite geometric series, sums of squares and cubes of the first n natural numbers. Logarithms and their properties.

Permutations and combinations, Binomial theorem for a positive integral index, properties of binomial coefficients.

Matrices as a rectangular array of real numbers, equality of matrices, addition, scalar multiplication and product of matrices, transpose of a matrix, determinant of a square matrix of order up to three, inverse of a square matrix of order up to three, properties of these matrix operations, diagonal, symmetric and skew-symmetric matrices and their properties, solutions of simultaneous linear equations in two or three variables.

Addition and multiplication rules of probability, conditional probability, independence of events, computation of probability of events using permutations and combinations.

Trigonometry: Trigonometric functions, their periodicity and graphs, addition and subtraction formulae, formulae involving multiple and sub-multiple angles, general solution of trigonometric equations. Relations between sides and angles of a triangle, sine rule, cosine rule, half-angle formula and the area of a triangle, inverse trigonometric functions (principal value only).

Analytical geometry:

Two dimensions: Cartesian coordinates, distance between two points, section formulae, shift of origin. Equation of a straight line in various forms, angle between two lines, distance of a point from a line. Lines through the point of intersection of two given lines, equation of the bisector of the angle between two lines, concurrency of lines, centroid, orthocentre, incentre and circumcentre of a triangle. Equation of a circle in various forms, equations of tangent, normal, and chords. Parametric equations of a circle, intersection of a circle with a straight line or a circle, equation of a circle through the points of intersection of two circles and that of a circle and a straight line. Equation of a parabola, ellipse and hyperbola in standard form, their foci, directrices and eccentricity, parametric equations, equations of tangent and normal. Locus Problems.

Three dimensions: Direction cosines and direction ratios, equation of a straight line in space, equation of a plane, distance of a point from a plane.

Differential calculus:

Real valued functions of a real variable, into, onto and one-to-one functions, sum, difference, product and quotient of two functions, composite functions, absolute value, polynomial, rational, trigonometric, exponential and logarithmic functions. Limit and continuity of a function, limit and continuity of the sum, difference, product and quotient of two functions, l'Hospital rule of evaluation of limits of functions. Even and odd functions, inverse of a function, continuity of composite functions, intermediate value property of continuous functions.

Derivative of a function, derivative of the sum, difference, product and quotient of two functions, chain rule, derivatives of polynomial, rational, trigonometric, inverse trigonometric, exponential and logarithmic functions. Derivatives of implicit functions, derivatives up to order two, geometrical interpretation of the derivative, tangents and normals, increasing and decreasing functions, maximum and minimum values of a function, applications of Rolle’s Theorem and Lagrange’s Mean Value Theorem.

Integral calculus: Integration as the inverse process of differentiation, indefinite integrals of standard functions, definite integrals and their properties, application of the Fundamental Theorem of Integral Calculus. Integration by parts, integration by the methods of substitution and partial fractions, application of definite integrals to the determination of areas involving simple curves.

Formation of ordinary differential equations, solution of homogeneous differential equations, variables separable method, linear first order differential equations.

Vectors: addition of vectors, scalar multiplication, scalar products, dot and cross products, scalar triple products and their geometrical interpretations.

 

[Justin Lazear]

And what college is that, Gokul?

The math aspect of the US high school system isn't all that bad, simply because many high schools have built in avenues that allow more advanced students to get ahead. The lower level math classes still suffer from the catering to the slowest student problem, and we're not requiring enough math to be taught in elementary and middle school. High schools would do better to assume a student has a knowledge of basic algebra, but they simply can't because so many of the students don't (and don't particularly want to, but that's another issue).

Regardless, most schools have at least up to differential and integral calculus of one variable, even if not rigorously, so students have the opportunity to learn all but the last two paragraphs of that list. Some schools go even farther and include vector calculus and differential equations classes (completing that list), and I've heard of schools that include some analysis classes, although I wouldn't put much faith into them personally.

It'd be nice to see some rigorous math classes in high school so students can be exposed to proofs and they're not thrown into the pirahna's pool in college.

--J

 

[franznietzsche]

Damn that sucks.. i was hoping that i would be able to derive forumulas in AP physics as opposed to just applying formulas and plugging in values! used to derive formulas in CBSE and it was fun knowing how the formulas came about as opposed to just plugging in values which anyone could do!

Btw, is AP physics a calculus based course?

Yes its calculus based. Any physics course that isn't is a waste of time, IMHO.

I don't know he means about not learning derivations, we covered all that in my class, but i had a good teacher, that might be the difference.

 

[franznietzsche]

And what college is that, Gokul?

The math aspect of the US high school system isn't all that bad, simply because many high schools have built in avenues that allow more advanced students to get ahead. The lower level math classes still suffer from the catering to the slowest student problem, and we're not requiring enough math to be taught in elementary and middle school. High schools would do better to assume a student has a knowledge of basic algebra, but they simply can't because so many of the students don't (and don't particularly want to, but that's another issue).

Regardless, most schools have at least up to differential and integral calculus of one variable, even if not rigorously, so students have the opportunity to learn all but the last two paragraphs of that list. Some schools go even farther and include vector calculus and differential equations classes (completing that list), and I've heard of schools that include some analysis classes, although I wouldn't put much faith into them personally.

It'd be nice to see some rigorous math classes in high school so students can be exposed to proofs and they're not thrown into the pirahna's pool in college.

--J

If you don't know everything on that list that gokul gave, you need to push to have your calc and algebra teachers fired and the curriculum reviewed, assuming you took those classes. The vector math there is incredibly basic, it was covered in both my Algebra II/Trig class (both subjects, one year) and in my Math HL course (two year calc course). Everything on that list should be included on any worthwhile curriculum that goes through AP calculus.

 

[Justin Lazear]

If you don't know everything on that list that gokul gave, you need to push to have your calc and algebra teachers fired and the curriculum reviewed, assuming you took those classes. The vector math there is incredibly basic, it was covered in both my Algebra II/Trig class (both subjects, one year) and in my Math HL course (two year calc course). Everything on that list should be included on any worthwhile curriculum that goes through AP calculus.

Fire a teacher? It'd be easier to grow wings and fly to Australia.

Now that I look over what Gokul's list actually covers, you're right. I skimmed it and thought it included vector calculus, not just algebra, and non-trivial differential equations.

Personally, my high school had a two-year calclulus track that included a semester of vector calculus and a semester of differential equations (primarily technique, no theory) after taking the differential and integral calculus for the BC exam. Ironically enough, there was only one physics class, and all it didn't have any calculus at all! Or any other redeeming qualities, for that matter.

--J

 

[Gokul43201]

And what college is that, Gokul?

The Exam is called the Joint Entrance Exam - for admission to system of Tech Institutes in India.

My only experience with the US high school syllabus comes from TA'ing courses in physics for freshmen. I guess none/few of my students took AP level courses. Could that be possible, even though they were honors students expecting to major in Engineering ? Besides that there's only been the students that come here for homework help. And I'm trying to compare the problems I was solving in high school physics to those that appear in the Homework Help forum.

Here, I found the Physics syllabus for the Joint Entrance Exam :

Physics General:

Units and dimensions, dimensional analysis; least count, significant figures; Methods of measurement and error analysis for physical quantities pertaining to the following experiments: Experiments based on using vernier calipers and screw gauge (micrometer), Determination of g using simple pendulum, Young’s modulus by Searle’s method, Specific heat of a liquid using calorimeter, focal length of a concave mirror and a convex lens using u-v method, Speed of sound using resonance column, Verification of Ohm’s law using voltmeter and ammeter, and specific resistance of the material of a wire using meter bridge and post office box.

Mechanics:

Kinematics in one and two dimensions (Cartesian coordinates only), projectiles; Circular motion (uniform and non-uniform); Relative velocity. Newton’s laws of motion; Inertial and uniformly accelerated frames of reference; Static and dynamic friction; Kinetic and potential energy; Work and power; Conservation of linear momentum and mechanical energy. Systems of particles; Centre of mass and its motion; Impulse; Elastic and inelastic collisions.

Law of gravitation; Gravitational potential and field; Acceleration due to gravity; Motion of planets and satellites in circular orbits. Rigid body, moment of inertia, parallel and perpendicular axes theorems, moment of inertia of uniform bodies with simple geometrical shapes; Angular momentum; Torque; Conservation of angular momentum; Dynamics of rigid bodies with fixed axis of rotation; Rolling without slipping of rings, cylinders and spheres;

Equilibrium of rigid bodies; Collision of point masses with rigid bodies. Linear and angular simple harmonic motions. Hooke’s law, Young’s modulus.

Pressure in a fluid; Pascal’s law; Buoyancy; Surface energy and surface tension, capillary rise; Viscosity (Poiseiulle’s equation excluded), Stoke’s law; terminal velocity, streamline flow , Equation of continuity, Bernoulli’s theorem and its applications.

Wave motion (plane waves only), longitudinal and transverse waves, Superposition of waves; progressive and stationary waves; Vibration of strings and air columns. Resonance; Beats; Speed of sound in gases; Doppler effect (in sound).

Thermal physics:

Thermal expansion of solids, liquids and gases; Calorimetry, latent heat; Heat conduction in one dimension; Elementary concepts of convection and radiation; Newton’s law of cooling; Ideal gas laws; Specific heats (Cv and Cp for monatomic and diatomic gases); Isothermal and adiabatic processes, bulk modulus of gases; Equivalence of heat and work; First law of thermodynamics and its applications (only for ideal gases). Black body radiation: absorptive and emissive powers; Kirchhoff’s law, Wien’s displacement law, Stefan’s law.

Electricity and magnetism:

Coulomb’s law; Electric field and potential; Electrical Potential energy of a system of point charges & of electrical dipoles in a uniform electrostatic field, Electric field lines; Flux of electric field; Gauss’s law and its application: to find field due to infinitely long straight wire, uniformly charged infinite plane sheet & uniformly charged thin spherical shell. Capacitance; Parallel plate capacitor with and without dielectrics; Capacitors in series and parallel; Energy stored in a capacitor.

Electric current: Ohm’s law; series and parallel arrangements of resistances and cells; Kirchhoff’s laws and simple applications; Heating effect of current.

Biot-Savart law and Ampere’s law, magnetic field near a current carrying straight wire, along the axis of a circular coil and inside a long straight solenoid; Force on a moving charge and on a current carrying wire in a uniform magnetic field. Magnetic moment of a current loop; Effect of a uniform magnetic field on a current loop; Moving coil galvanometer, voltmeter, ammeter and their conversions. Electromagnetic induction: Faraday’s law, Lenz’s law; Self and mutual inductance; RC, LR and LC circuits with d.c. and a.c. sources.

Optics: Rectilinear propagation of light; Reflection and refraction at plane and spherical surfaces; Total internal reflection; Deviation and dispersion of light by a prism; Thin lenses; Combinations of mirrors and thin lenses; Magnification. Wave nature of light: Huygen’s principle, interference limited to Young’s double slit experiment.

Modern Physics: Atomic nucleus; Alpha, beta and gamma radiations; Law of radioactive decay; Decay constant; Half-life and mean life; Binding energy and its calculation; Fission and fusion processes; Energy calculation in these processes. Photoelectric effect; Bohr’s theory of hydrogen-like atoms; Characteristic and continuous X-rays, Moseley’s law; de Broglie wavelength of matter wave

It's all basic stuff, but very important. I'm guessing this too should be like a good AP Physics program.

Ooh, this is so nostalgic. Let me see if I can dig up the questions I had on my Exam ...

 

[motai]

Here, I found the Physics syllabus for the Joint Entrance Exam :

Ouch.. I feel very unprepared. My current HS Algebra based course is skimming many of the covered topics, and has only a few questions per section (not a million). So far it hasn't been as challenging as I had expected it to be. No mentioning of moments of inertia, and the course by its nature doesn't delve into the mathematical similarities between things. It was the only course covered at the time. I'm trying to teach myself some of the other concepts, but it has been kinda tricky so far. I do fit *most* of the mathematics criteria listed earlier, so that should help.

Is a course like AP Physics crucial to being successful in college physics courses? Or will I be left out in the dark when I do take such courses in the future?

Gah. I don't want my education to suffer just because the school system doesn't have a proper physics course.

 

[Justin Lazear]

Is a course like AP Physics crucial to being successful in college physics courses? Or will I be left out in the dark when I do take such courses in the future?

Gah. I don't want my education to suffer just because the school system doesn't have a proper physics course.

AP Physics isn't necessary for success. As I mentioned before, usually all it does is teach you a bit of technique. And, as I mentioned before, the technique isn't particularly difficult anyway. By the time the difficult stuff comes up, it's out of the realm of AP Physics anyway.

Then again, I'm only familiar with the physics programs of two universities, so I could be mistaken. I think I'll add the big qualifier "If you happen to show up at Caltech or ASU," before everything.

--J

 

[franznietzsche]

AP Physics isn't necessary for success. As I mentioned before, usually all it does is teach you a bit of technique. And, as I mentioned before, the technique isn't particularly difficult anyway. By the time the difficult stuff comes up, it's out of the realm of AP Physics anyway.

Then again, I'm only familiar with the physics programs of two universities, so I could be mistaken. I think I'll add the big qualifier "If you happen to show up at Caltech or ASU," before everything.

--J

AP Physics is meant to be equivalent to a first year physics course. And in my experience it is mostly. My physics classes now are some what more rigorous, but its the same material.