Physics 1 with Calculus: Pre-reqs and Advice

[leroyjenkens]

I've never taken a formal physics class, but I'm familiar with the basics. The only prerequisite listed on the school website is calc 1, which I'm taking in the summer, but they have a note at the bottom that they recommend you take "general physics 1" if you don't have any physics experience. Is being familiar with the basics good enough? General physics goes over the basics, like Newton's laws and stuff like that. Does "physics with calculus" do the same, but just with some calculus calculations thrown in?

Thanks.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

What does the syllabus look like for Gen phy and Phy 1?

 

[leroyjenkens]

I'm not sure how to view the syllabus, but on the website that shows me which classes I can take for my degree, it has this information listed for general physics:

"The course, designed for those students who are majoring in pre-med, physical therapy, pre-optometry, pre-dental, pre-veterinary, biological sciences, technology and geology, stresses problem-solving abilities. Subject matter includes mechanics, heat and thermodynamics."

And this information listed for physics with calculus:

"This course, designed for students majoring in physics, chemistry and engineering, includes mechanics, conservation principles, rotational and harmonic motions, heat, thermodynamics and waves. Laboratory work will illustrate important principles and develop techniques. It is recommended that the student with no prior physics take PHY 2053C (this is general physics 1)."

This is where it says the "no prior physics" thing. While I don't have any formal physics classes under my belt, I've had a good amount of experience with physics.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

I would just take Physics I. The first part is fairly simple, and you should be able to get up to speed, but I doubt it would be a problem for anyone. At my univ. that General Physics class (called something different here, but the same class) is simply a watered down version of some very basic Newtonian mechanics so med students have a chance to meet their physics requirements. It's a joke really.

 

[Chunkysalsa]

At my school we have 3 into physics classes. Intro to physics, Algebra based I+II and Calculus based I+II.

The intro class was for people who didnt take physics in high school or made a C (like me v_v). The class was absolutely worthless. It was 2 credit course that covered most of the subjects that other physics courses cover in 2 semesters.

It was like okay this is work and work equals Force * perpendicular distance. Next topic.

The algebra based physics is the one for med students. Everyone else takes calculus based.