Want to self study highschool physics

[kazefenrir]

Hi, I am currently in high school (Year 9) in Australia.
I would like to self study high school physics so I can prepare for my HSC earlier.
I finished all the year 9 maths and I'm currently up to quadratic formula. I have yet to do curves and logarithms.
Can you please recommend me any materials to self study high school physics, or should i just scrap this idea because of my scanty maths knowledge.
Thanks!

 

[Angry Citizen]

If you aren't familiar with trigonometry, I wouldn't bother. Logarithms are sort of necessary as well.

 

[Clever-Name]

@Angry Citizen, don't just smash his dreams just because he doesn't know a few easy to grasp math topics. There are dozens of resources out there to help him (free online).

@kazefenrir, at this point I wouldn't recommend you jump straight into physics. There is a lot of math knowledge required before you can really grasp the concepts and the problem solving steps for questions you'll encounter. I recommend going to khanacademy.org and studying up on the math there. There is a 'flow chart' of topics, find where you are with your knowledge and expand downwards from there. There are also physics lessons on that site that you can watch to see if you understand the math being used. I'd say once you reach the basic calculus lessons and problems on that website you'll know more than enough to tackle high school physics.

 

[Angry Citizen]

@Angry Citizen, don't just smash his dreams just because he doesn't know a few easy to grasp math topics. There are dozens of resources out there to help him (free online).

I wasn't trying to smash his dreams. I told him not to bother without trigonometry and logarithms. I would also recommend an understanding of (very) basic calculus, but I'm sure many would disagree with me. After he learns these topics, by all means, self-study physics.

 

[Leveret]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the typical high school math sequence has geometry after algebra 1 (i.e. the quadratic equation etc.), correct? If so, you should look into that, and at least get a foundation of sine/cosine/tangent, the Pythagorean Theorem, and your basic area/volume formulae for various shapes before you start on physics. I'm not trying to dissuade you from studying physics--on the contrary, I think it's great that you're already so interested in it. However, if you try to learn it without knowing the underlying mathematics, you're likely to just become confused, frustrated, and even put off from physics.

In addition, I wouldn't worry about even a basic understanding of calculus yet, as there are even some 12th grade physics courses that don't require any calculus whatsoever.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

Check out Khanacademy.com and look over the videos there. You could work through their physics videos and get a good idea on the subject, when you encounter trig, just watch their trig series videos. It's not a difficult subject, and you might even find it enjoyable.

 

[kazefenrir]

Alright thanks guys for the advice.
I will be going to watch some basic function videos then go to in-depth trigonometry(if possible).
I am wondering if I should bother looking at curves right now or I lack enough knowledge.
Thanks.

 

[Clever-Name]

Take a look at the flow chart on khanacademy.org and see where your current knowledge sits; it will be obvious once you're looking at it to understand what I mean.

As you can see with the image I attached there are lines connecting each section. Once you complete one it will branch out and show you where suitable exercises lie ahead.

 

[kazefenrir]

Thanks. I have already seen the flow chart before. I can't seem to find parabola in that chart.
I will probably learn logarithm and function first, before going into trig.