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proton
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Since I'm attending a community college (thankfully this is my last semester before I transfer), I got a very poor education in my introductory mechanics with calculus class. Also, I wasn't motivated at the time so I didn't self- study much.
My question is what would be better preparation for my upper-div courses: the mechanics or the math?
How much of the mechanics will be useful for upper-div physics courses? I know some material like rotational mechanics, energy, etc are important, but what about sound and fluid dynamics, etc? Since the intro mechanics class is designed for prospective scientists and engineers, I assume that a lot of the material is useful for engineers but not physics majors.
Also, I've heard that the upper-div will focus a lot more on math. So would it be better if I reviewed all of the mechanics, or to self-study as many math methods from Boas? Subjects like calculus of variations, tensors, PDEs, etc.
My question is what would be better preparation for my upper-div courses: the mechanics or the math?
How much of the mechanics will be useful for upper-div physics courses? I know some material like rotational mechanics, energy, etc are important, but what about sound and fluid dynamics, etc? Since the intro mechanics class is designed for prospective scientists and engineers, I assume that a lot of the material is useful for engineers but not physics majors.
Also, I've heard that the upper-div will focus a lot more on math. So would it be better if I reviewed all of the mechanics, or to self-study as many math methods from Boas? Subjects like calculus of variations, tensors, PDEs, etc.
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