Beginner Definition and 350 Threads

Inorder to start with calculus ,which topics in mathematics are required and are there any books for beginners to learn calculus?

I'm a physics major and would like to pick up a programming language or two. Any insight as to what language(s) would be most applicable, best compilers (for Windows), or any other general tips? I'm very new to programming (just used MATLAB really), so please explain your answers as much as...

I have a knowledge of precalculus (Algebra II, basic Trig), and I was wondering what would be a few good books for self studying calculus, primarily introductory calculus (Calculus I, Single Variable Calculus). The books I'm currently looking at right now are Thomas and Finney, Swokowski, and...

Hello Reader, I am looking into electronics and how the physically work. I'm less interested in the programing side of them and more interested in how to build them. Eventually I would like to be able to build computers and program them but that is a long way off. Does anyone have any...

Hi everyone, I am a mathematics undergraduate and I'm currently doing an internship at the informatics department of a university. I am well and truly out of my depth. My supervisor has assigned me tasks which include Java (a language I'm having to quickly pick up, having only used python/R)...

I'm trying to understand these basic concepts and I want to understand them deeply. In learning about Newtons and joules, I have a couple of questions. Please bare with me as I seek clarity. 1 netwon is the amount of force it takes to accelerate 1 KG at the rate of 1m/s^2. If a 1KG mass of...

So, I've been inspired by shows like Fringe, games like Deus Ex and Halo, and movies like Robo Cop, The Machine, Eva, and Blade Runner. My interests would fall into the categories of things like neuroscience, biological engineering, nanotechnology, bionics, AI, body-computer interfaces, etc.--...

I am going to purchase a calculus textbook named "A First Course in Calculus" By Serge Lang, is this a good book for a beginner? I mean, complete beginner? This is my first time being exposed to Calculus. Also, if this is not a beginner friendly book, is there any different textbooks that I...

Hi all. Been reading this forum for a few days. A bit overwhelming. I've been studying quantum physics on my own for about a year. My learning started out with youtube docs, and mostly still is. Alot of Michio Kaku. You guys are probably laughing at me here. I started my search for...

Homework Statement If I have shot an arrow, would that arrow speed slow down due to air resistance? If so, would that mean that the the acceleration would be de-accelerating? Homework Equations f = ma The Attempt at a Solution This isn't a a homework problem, this is just something I was...

There are a lot of books out there for learning this language. I have seen and used many good recommendations from this site so I would like to get some advice on which book to choose. Which book would you recommend or what have you used to become proficient with latex? Thanks

Hi all, I read the FAQ so please take into account that this is NOT a perpetual motion (free energy or whatever) question but a theorical case that puzzles me. I read that magnetic fields have an infinite (but decreasing) range. What bothers me is this : let's put a magnet and a iron far...

I am really interested in physics but I am not every good at science. I am currently in year 9 and I want to go to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) recently I read on the website that international applicants need to sit a test from Physics, Chemistry or Biology. My high school hasn't...

I am really interested in physics but I am not every good at science. I am currently in year 9 and I want to go to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) recently I read on the website that international applicants need to sit a test from Physics, Chemistry or Biology. My high school hasn't...

Homework Statement A kilogram is 1000 grams. Write a program that will read the weight of a package of butter in grams and output the weight in kilograms, as well as the number of packages of butter needed to yield 1 kilogram of butter. Your program should allow the user to repeat this...

hi, so i want to be able to run a motor depending on whether or not an IR detector senses IR light. so the basic idea at the start was to connect the motor with the detector and a resistor in series and therefore if there is IR the current will flow turning on the motor. I then learned that the...

hi, my name is suli, 16 year old from living in the U.S. I want to one day become as decent an engineer as i can, i hope that this site will help me learn more about the rules that govern the universe. i am especially interested in electronics, maybe its because of iron man ? dunno... well...

I've spent the last 4 years doing a chemistry degree, and before that I did maths, chemistry and biology at 6th form. (that's junior & senior year at high school if you're from across the Atlantic). So I've learned about a decent amount of science but with a distinct lack of physics, which I'm...

So I stumbled upon ∫1/(x^4) , and by applying the power rule , the answer is: -1/(3x^3) Why's that? Sorry for bothering you guys with such a beginner question!

Hello all, I have recently become very interested in Probability Theory, but I have NO real experience in it thus far. I am currently reading YA Rozanov's Probability Theory: A Concise Course, and I love it; it is a very well written book, and though I do have difficulty understanding some of it...

Hi Everyone... I suspect I'm older than most here but I want to learn and see what is happening in the world of physics and math... so... I'm here.

I am studying Electronics and Telecom Engineering and beginner in Robotics.I want to make serious start from scratch with interest but confused from where to start.So can anyone give some suggestions for 1.As a beginner in robotics ,are there some simple and basic robots or circuit designs...

Hey guys, So I've recently decided that I will apply to study a Bachelor of Science in 2016, and to spend this year acquiring the prerequisites that I missed when I was in high school. I've been learning maths on Khan Academy, and have just applied to an introductory maths course. After this, I...

1.The semester just started and my teacher has assigned us this question: How high of a tower could you build from the people in this class(30 people)? Include diagram. How much force would be pushing down on one of the base person's legs? 2. Note : Fg = mg 3. Here is my work so far ...

1. Is there any reason to interpret the wave function as probabilities of specific states rather than an actual interference of those states? Or are there some types of measurements that are better thought of as probabilities? For example, thinking of the particle as a point-like object with the...

Is it worth it for a beginner to get a wolfram alpha pro acct? I'm interested in learning math and I find the free tools great. I'm curious as to how people that know how to do math think of wolfram. Do you think having the extended features would be too much for someone at a gr 12 u level...

Hi, I am at University studying some languages and I study some others at home by myself. But physics seems very appealing to me and I would really appreciate if someone could make me a little walkthrough of what I should study from my point to the highest point (I know it is way far off but...

Hi guys, complete beginner here. I've been reading about electricity the past couple of days and I am confused about some of the most basic concepts. I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could answer a few questions in a dumbed-down manner. I've been learning with kid-friendly analogies...

Homework Statement F[/B]ind the Antiderivative of: (x^3-1)/(x-1). All is known is the integration formulas (i.e. ∫sinx = -cosx+c) Homework Equations Integration Formulas the most complicated being ∫cscx dx= -ln(cscx+cotx)+c The Attempt at a Solution I tried doing (x^3/x-1) -(1/x-1), but now...

Does anyone know of any Cellular Automaton books or articles for the absolute beginner, assuming they only know Trigonometry? I've built a http://ozramos.com/blog/first-try-terrajs but they're completely naive. I have a week off before school starts and would love to spend it learning this...

I just recently got a dobsonian reflector telescope, (Orion SkyQuest XT8 PLUS Dobsonian Reflector Telescope) and I was wondering what the best way to see the andromeda galaxy would be using the telescope? Of these, which would be the best eye piece for that sort of thing?: Orion 2" 28mm...

I thought this was a super cool vector, example problem from An Introduction to Classical Mechanic by K&K. It says: The solution first begins by recognizing that since the problem is asking to find a unit vector perpendicular to A, then we can conversely say that the dot product of A and B must...

I know there are many recourses online. But I'd like your individual input/advice What are some good chemical experiments I can do at home? Thanks

I wish to learn some programming basic during the holiday. I stumble across Java , C , C++ , Matlab , SQL, PHP and others. There're so much types of programming languages. Which one is the easiest to start?

I hope to pursue a future in physics one-day, and my friend who has left the state to study left me a list of things to study that would help. Anyone know where I can find books that aren't too over the top with what I'm about to list. I know that Quantum and String are advanced, so I was...

i am a newbie to Latex. i have downloaded TeXWorks from the Internet. i copied and paste some text directly from the Internet to test it. Unfortunealy i can't see the 'results' when i saved it as a file. Which type of file should I save in order to see the 'results' . Can someone help please?

Hi, can anyone recommend some good beginner quantum physics books? I don't have much knowledge of the subject and am looking for a good starting point.

Hey folks, I'm trying to dip into group theory and got now some questions about irreducibility. A representation D(G) is reducibel iff there is an invariant subspace. Do this imply now that every representation (which is a matrix (GL(N,K)) is reducibel if it is diagonalizable?Best regards

I am already familiar with High school math and physics. I have also studied Calculus(vector included), Differential Equations and basic electrodynamics in freshman year in college and I want to take it a step further. Which books should I study to strengthen my physics background if I want to...

I am just starting college and I want to major in physics. I don't know why I am drawn to this particular field. I just am. This is the only thing I can see myself doing for decades to come. The only problem is that I have only taken one physics class in my life and I feel like I'm always...

First, I'd like to make clear that this isn't exactly homework. I've been reading books about astronomy out of pure interest and I've bought myself an introductory astronomy textbook and I've been reading through it and answering all the questions. I've been doing fine... that is until I reached...

[Moderator Note: Thread content restored from archive. Relevant portions of the original attachment have been uploaded and included here] Hello, I am working on a beginner level circuit analysis problem due tomorrow, but my branch current values aren't making sense. I've been struggling to...

Hey Guys, I am currently a first year computer science student and I am taking discrete mathematics. After having done the logic portion of discrete, I wanted to learn more about logic so I went online and found Peter Smith's guide on learning logic. I followed his advice under "baby-logic" and...

Hello. I am at my first year of engineering and the syllabus include QM. Chapters covered are: Fundamentals of QM - Wave particle duality, matter waves, phase and group velocities, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and its applications, physical significance of wave function, probability...

Homework Statement "A 3-digit number is made up using the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 at most once each. The number cannot start with 0. How many such numbers can be formed if: a. there are no other restrictions b. the number ends in a 5 c. the number ends in a 0 d. the number is...

Hey guys, I recently joined this forum and so far I'm loving every bit of information all of you have posted. There is one problem with my current position, I am a beginner and I don't quite understand the "rules" and "equations" of physics and mathematics. If you guys could help me on where I...

Hello phycisists, I'm a sophomore high school student that recently finished the first grade and I have a question or two relating to physics. I have been tested by a licensed psychologist that evaluated my cognitive functions and came to the conclusion that my overall intelligence...

Math level is through the first year of calculus, so differential calculus. I want a book with some math in it and wouldn't object to one where it would explain key concepts (likely linear algebra). I've heard Griffiths text is good but not sure how good for a motivated high school student. Thanks.

Hello, I am looking for some clarity on the second law of thermodynamics. I am an amateur physics student and only just beginning and so my understanding is currently very basic! I have watched Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe, where he talks about the second law of thermodynamics being...

Hello, I haven't learned anything about micro controllers yet but I wanted to get a head start since I hear that programming is difficult. I have a pretty good understanding of C and Java but my assembly is terrible and I am out of touch with any IC languages by this point. I was doing...