Preparing for Physics II: Do I Need to Review Mechanics First?

[Mugwump101]

I'm going to be taking Physics II with calculus next semester and honestly, I don't remember anything from Mechanics. I took it last year and I have horrible memory. Do you still think I'll do well in Physics II if I study hard and do problems with no previous knowledge of mechanics/physics I or do I need to go back and learn everything over again?


Thank you so much!

 

[Redd]

Are you in high school or college? These courses vary between schools but is this
an introductory Electricity and Magnetism course?
You won't really use much mechanics in an E&M course.
There will be the occasional problem that requires basic F=ma type solving,
or maybe a little kinematics (electron fired through a magnetic field at a certain velocity how far will it be deflected?).
But even then it shouldn't really be an issue.

 

[Jack21222]

You may also need to remember how to draw a force diagram, and it would help to remember torque.

 

[Redd]

On a totally unrelated note is your name in reference to Naked Lunch?

 

[Mugwump101]

Oh noes, why do I need to remember Torque?

And about my name, I have been told it's from Naked Lunch but no, I just borrowed it from Harry Potter haha. But it just means a neutral person in politics.

 

[Jack21222]

Oh noes, why do I need to remember Torque?

And about my name, I have been told it's from Naked Lunch but no, I just borrowed it from Harry Potter haha. But it just means a neutral person in politics.

In my Physics 2 class, we did torque twice. Torque on an electric dipole in an electric field, and then torque on a current carrying loop in a magnetic field.

 

[1stepatatime]

I actually took a year off after Classical Newtonian Mechanics (I think this is considered Physics I) then took intro to Calculus-based E&M a year later just this past semester and did fine.

While I did remember how to do most problems from mechanics, I'd say it's important to know the very basics. Aside from the obvious: resolving vectors, some free body diagrams, familiarity with fields, periods and frequencies (for Faraday's Law), torque for the situations Jack21222 brought up; I think understanding the concepts of energy (potential, potential difference, conservation of, etc.) is a good foundation for most of the material covered.