How Can a Young Aspiring Physicist Get a Head Start?

[Angry Citizen]

I am in this situation, but I want to learn the game. Is there any early practice that can help me acquire a scholarship or perhaps a good chance of getting into a university for physics?

Do good in your physics and math classes. Take any dual credit classes you can, and take as many AP courses (in math/physics/chem) as you can. Beyond that, you're shooting for the moon IMO.

 

[alexhenderson]

I am going into advanced science and math for my grade next year, when I will be starting high school. I did the 2009 sophomore graduation test or the OGT for my state and scored a 43/46 on that.

Do universities put a major impact on test scores? Like SAT, and ACT.

 

[Angry Citizen]

Depends on the university. I got into Texas A&M's engineering school (fairly competitive, considering Texas has to admit everyone in the top 10% of their high school class if they apply) with a homeschooling background and an ACT math score of 25 (IIRC). Then again, I was a transfer student.

 

[mal4mac]

It's the difference between reading books about music history or music appreciation for laymen, and actually learning how to compose a symphony or a concerto by studying music theory and getting lots of practice listening to various instruments and trying out different sonorities, themes, etc.

I think reading Hawking, and other good popular books, is more like listening to 'light' music by a great composer, rather than reading a book about music history by any old guy. Of course to be a practising physicist you have to do the equivalent of studying music theory, and get lots of practice in actual composition. Just listening will not hack it! But Einstein, Feynman, and others were inspired by the popular books of their day. To keep an interest in the subject, the 14 year old aspirant should definitely read good, popular books as well as 'studying theory'.

 

[AlexChandler]

Tell that to Freeman Dyson...

Try reading biographies of great physicists and see what they were doing & reading at 14. See what *they* suggested that kids should be doing. Try and emulate them, as much as you can... There are good biographies of all the big names, start with Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein, Freeman Dyson, Richard Feynman, and Stephen Hawking.

A surprising number of them, you'll find, read large chunks of the Encyclopedia Britannica at around your age - so you might try that ...

Wonderful advice! I agree 100%. More people should have this attitude. Yes Einstein had mastered differential and integral calculus by age 15. We should encourage young people to strive to do the same.

 

[AlexChandler]

Are there any specific grades I should maintain?

So is there any math or anything I can do now on my free-time. Geometry at school right now doesn't really spur any interest into me. It is just proving triangles congruent, and finding the volume of a cylinder..

Thanks.

The way that math is presented by many high school courses can seem boring. However I assure you that Euclidean Geometry is truly a fascinating subject. If you wish to understand something like general relativity some day, then you must understand Euclidean Geometry to come to realize that it is not a good description of how space is in reality.

If you find yourself bored in high school math, do now worry. If I could recommend only one thing to you, it would be to study the videos made by Salmon Kahn at

www.khanacademy.org

Khan makes math and physics understandable and interesting. You can learn basic physics there, and basic math. He will teach you everything from 1+1 to differential and integral calculus. He also has a playlist on the very important topic of linear algebra. There is a wide range of exercises you can do on the website as well.

Aside from that, I recommend reading anything written by Feynman. He was a wonderful scientist, and seeing the world from his perspective is very enlightening. Also read about Michael Faraday, Paul Dirac, Albert Einstein, James Clerk Maxwell, Freeman Dyson and whoever else may catch your interest.

Finally, I think it is important to be shown the difference between science and pseudo-science. This is something, sadly, that many smart people will fail to ever accomplish. The best way to accomplish this is to read a book called "Demon Haunted World" by Carl Sagan. Another book that is quite good is "Flim Flam" by James Randi. The basics can be explained online by Michael Shermer. Here is a link to a great video



I hope this helps,
Good luck to you my friend