Recent content by Zarathustra1

Well, my uni actually has two sets of "college algebra" courses: Beginning College Algebra I and II, and College Algebra I and II. There is also an "intermediate algebra" course which is the lowest level math course offered here, which I think is actually at the high school level (it might even...

You'll definitely want a bunch of algebra and trig before stepping into calculus. I suggest you get a college algebra class and then a precalculus class in your first two semesters while getting your lib ed out of the way. I wouldn't sweat it too much if you have a lacking math background...

Heh. Well, theoretical physics or not, I don't have any intentions of going into string theory. That's a little too theoretical for my tastes.

Huh. So I guess the idea I am getting from this thread is that, if one (like myself) is determined to become a theoretical physicist, he or she needs to play their cards in their education in such a way that would leave job opportunities in both acedemia and industry.

Doh, I've been thinking too much about rotational motion lately. Thinking about it in terms of a rope would have been much more convenient in allowing me to answer the question myself. Nope, can't say I've been to that lake (so many lakes around here it's hard to keep track of them all!)...

I understand that nothing--object or influence--can travel faster than c. However, something isn't quite clear to me. Let's assume we have a solid rod or a cylinder that has any given radius and a light-year in length. If the cylinder is at first at rest, and then we apply a torque to this...

I remember learning about the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra in Precalculus, and, much to my frustration, they did not provide the proof for it because it was above the precalculus level. I would imagine that this situation is quite common in high school math, and sometimes you might have to...

Everyone's different. I'm the exact opposite of you; if I have any hope of doing well on the math tests, I have to practice the problems and, in turn, do my homework (even though I usually "get it" right off the bat, I have to practice it to get comfortable with it). On the other hand, in more...

Let's assume for a moment that we have two objects: a solid cylinder rotating about the center, and a section of a cylinder with a given angle rotating about the center of the would-be cylinder (had it been a full cylinder). They have an equal radii, and we will modify their mass-densities in...

Nice thread. Much more to the point than the similar one I started. A question I'd like to add: do your answers to these questions differ between your undergraduate and graduate education? For example, would you rely on textbooks in undergraduate education more-so than in your graduate...

Indeed it is!

Well, he didn't "say" it is less necessary; what I mean by less necessary is the fact that I don't need to study it for the test. Yeah, I like to apply what I learn to something I do, such as finding the velocity of a paintball using the angle it was shot at and the distance it traveled. It's...

I've had two chemistry classes: one in high school and one in college (level 1111, we use four digits here; it is probably something to the effect of a 101 level for those who use three digits). In neither of these were we taught about anything of the sort of quantum levels--we just learned...

In my entire educational history, never have I been so diligent about my classes than I am now with my physics and math courses. Beginning my physics education, I now have a direction in life and, along with it, a reason to study. When I study physics and math, I study it like I'm going to be...

I was under the impression that most people who get a pure physics education do so with the intention of going to grad school. If you want a job involving physics and you don't want to be a research lacky or high school teacher, that's probably what you're going to have to do. As for engineers...