Should I Study Calculus or Classical Mechanics First?

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
2 replies · 1K views
ironGG
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Hi I am a high school student and I am about to graduate. within few months I am planning to study physics field if I pass the University selection. I love physics after I found the beauty of Quantum Mechanics, General Relativity, Thermodynamics, etc. Although I want to dive in those field, I realized that I must master the basic of physics before I dive into those.
The problem is I stuck deciding whether I study calculus first and then classical mechanics or vice versa. So what do you reckon? should I take calculus first and classical mechanics or vice versa and why ? Thank you
 
Physics news on Phys.org
It depends on how the courses are taught at your university. In the US, some universities require you to take at least one term of calculus before starting the introductory calculus-based physics course. Others allow you to take them in parallel; in this case they (should) adjust the level of the math in the physics course accordingly. For example, they would probably spend more time at the beginning of the course on velocity and acceleration as a vehicle for learning about derivatives.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: micromass