How Can I Prepare for Physics Before Starting My Electrical Engineering Program?

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In summary: One option might be to take a course like Intro to Physics from OpenCourseWare.org. This is a derivative of a course offered at MIT and is a well-respected course. There are also many free online courses available that can be started right away.
  • #1
Donello
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Hi,

It has been 2 and a half years since I touched a college-level book and that was due to certain circumstances. However, In October/2016 I am starting my Electrical Engineering program and honestly I have no clue where to start now.

To get a good refreshment for my brain regarding the Math, I have just bought "Pre-Calculus Demystified 2nd edition" By Rhonda Huettenmueller. And where I live now there is a course for Mathematics called "The Bridge course" which is offered by a union of Technical universities among Germany. So pretty much the Math issue is no longer an issue for me as I will get over it pretty soon.

The university also recommends some programming experience although it is not a must, for that matter I got the book "Python Programming: An introduction to Computer Science 2nd edition by John Zelle".

So I could manage it with Math and Intro-Programming but I am clueless about what to do with Physics !

I have almost a year before enrolling and want to fix my Physics-Situation as much and as soon as possible.

Could you please advise and recommend a book taking my Physics-zero skills into consideration ?
 
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  • #3
Donello said:
Hi,

It has been 2 and a half years since I touched a college-level book and that was due to certain circumstances. However, In October/2016 I am starting my Electrical Engineering program and honestly I have no clue where to start now.

To get a good refreshment for my brain regarding the Math, I have just bought "Pre-Calculus Demystified 2nd edition" By Rhonda Huettenmueller. And where I live now there is a course for Mathematics called "The Bridge course" which is offered by a union of Technical universities among Germany. So pretty much the Math issue is no longer an issue for me as I will get over it pretty soon.

The university also recommends some programming experience although it is not a must, for that matter I got the book "Python Programming: An introduction to Computer Science 2nd edition by John Zelle".

So I could manage it with Math and Intro-Programming but I am clueless about what to do with Physics !

I have almost a year before enrolling and want to fix my Physics-Situation as much and as soon as possible.

Could you please advise and recommend a book taking my Physics-zero skills into consideration ?

Why do you need physics skills at the moment? When you take the first series in college it is assumed most students have never taken a physics class before.

There's nothing wrong with studying up on it before hand, I just don't see it as a "situation that needs fixing" as you put it.

A good intro book is Physics by H&K. Generally clear, and not too much calculus right away since you're still dealing with pre-calculus. You might even want to use an algebra based book instead.
 
  • #4
Student100 said:
Why do you need physics skills at the moment? When you take the first series in college it is assumed most students have never taken a physics class before.

That really depends on where one is. There are a number of calc based physics courses out there where one will be at a significant disadvantage without having had high school physics or the equivalent.
 

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