Want to study mechanical engineering.... but failing physics exams?

[rl54321]

Hi, I'm feeling pretty disheartened after failing my second college physics exam in a row (I have about a low C in the class with homework and labs). I'm a freshman in physics 1, my first college physics class, where we are learning mechanics. I took physics in high school but my teacher was very new to the job, and we mostly ended up doing circuits and very very basic mechanics and that's about it.

So already I feel behind compared to most kids in my class. But that's kind of beside the point and it's not my high school teacher's fault I'm not doing well. I'm just really frustrated and disappointed with myself, I really work hard and I studied a lot for the past two exams, but what was on the exams was a lot different than what I studied and I just felt so lost, like all of my critical thinking skills just go out the window when I look at a physics problem.

Growing up I've always been a tinkerer and I started an engineering club at my school where we did some pretty awesome projects and I loved every second of designing and building, and I absolutely love math, so I thought mechanical engineering would be a natural fit, and I was thrilled to get into a good college engineering program. But now I'm questioning everything because I'm having such a hard time with physics 1, which is linked so closely with mech e.

Does my performance in this class now foreshadow my success as a mech e major down the line? Has anyone gone through this same thing? Should I consider a major change? I don't mind putting in the work and the effort to succeed and I know that's what it takes. But will I end up falling behind in the future as a mech e if I'm struggling now? Any insight or guidance would be very appreciated, thank you

 

[jedishrfu]

First you need to fix this as what you’re learning now will come back in your engineering classes. I’m assuming this is calculus based right and that you’ve had calculus already.

Khan Academy may be able to help you here. Check out their videos looking for things you didn’t quite understand. khan can also help for calculus too.

there are some channels on YouTube that you’ll have to search for based on the problem you’re having trouble with but that will chew up some time and Isn’t the best way to go.

theres also the hyper physics website that summarizes problems with links and compact descriptions that would help With any conditions on when formulas can be used.

lastly, this is a course it’s not going to ruin your life. Your grades are telling you you have a problem and need to act on it now.

take care
jedi

 

[Haborix]

You have a benefit that someone who has made the same grades as you might not have. That is, compared to a person who didn't work hard, you know that your problem is how and what you study. The other person doesn't know if they need to work harder or if they need to change how and what they study.

You mentioned you like to tinker and also that you like math. To do physics both of those qualities will serve you well, but the hardest part of physics is abstracting the world and casting it into mathematical statements and principles (and the inverse). That skill is always put to use in setting up the problem.

I'm just guessing, but I suspect a person who works diligently and likes math but does poorly in physics is not getting that abstracting skill. When you study, are there moments where you get stuck and don't know what to do next or even how to get started? If there are, do you stick with that uncertainty and really try and figure it out, or do find a "hint" somewhere and just churn through the math and call it a problem solved? Do you work only the easy problems (the difference between an easy problem and a hard problem is rarely churning through the math)?

All this to say don't cheat yourself when you study. If you find you're spending almost all of your time just churning through math, which you are already good at, then you are wasting your time.

I hope this helps and that you allow yourself the chance to have the aha! moment. What I've identified isn't necessarily the issue you're having, but it should hopefully give you an idea of how to start evaluating your own studying. Be honest with yourself and progress can be made.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

Most students who have struggled in my intro physics courses fall into one of two camps (or both):

1) They are not successfully completing all the assigned homework problems.
2) Their math skills are very weak, often the weakness is algebra and trig rather than calculus. This leads them to play formula roulette and attempt to solve every problem as a 1 dimensional problem even though most involve vectors.

If you fall into one or both camps, you need to fix it.

Most teachers will be happy to sit down with you, review your work, and help you identify what is happening and how you might prepare better. Many universities also have tutoring services where the more skilled tutors can do the same thing. Though you may run into some less skilled tutors along the way. If a tutor struggles with solving physics problems from your class, politely try and find a better one.

 

[rl54321]

First you need to fix this as what you’re learning now will come back in your engineering classes. I’m assuming this is calculus based right and that you’ve had calculus already.

Khan Academy may be able to help you here. Check out their videos looking for things you didn’t quite understand. khan can also help for calculus too.

there are some channels on YouTube that you’ll have to search for based on the problem you’re having trouble with but that will chew up some time and Isn’t the best way to go.

theres also the hyper physics website that summarizes problems with links and compact descriptions that would help With any conditions on when formulas can be used.

lastly, this is a course it’s not going to ruin your life. Your grades are telling you you have a problem and need to act on it now.

take care
jedi

Hi Jedi, Thank you so much for your response. I'm taking a hard look at my current studying methods and thinking how to adjust them as I prepare for my next exam. I'll definitely check out those resources.

 

[rl54321]

You have a benefit that someone who has made the same grades as you might not have. That is, compared to a person who didn't work hard, you know that your problem is how and what you study. The other person doesn't know if they need to work harder or if they need to change how and what they study.

You mentioned you like to tinker and also that you like math. To do physics both of those qualities will serve you well, but the hardest part of physics is abstracting the world and casting it into mathematical statements and principles (and the inverse). That skill is always put to use in setting up the problem.

I'm just guessing, but I suspect a person who works diligently and likes math but does poorly in physics is not getting that abstracting skill. When you study, are there moments where you get stuck and don't know what to do next or even how to get started? If there are, do you stick with that uncertainty and really try and figure it out, or do find a "hint" somewhere and just churn through the math and call it a problem solved? Do you work only the easy problems (the difference between an easy problem and a hard problem is rarely churning through the math)?

All this to say don't cheat yourself when you study. If you find you're spending almost all of your time just churning through math, which you are already good at, then you are wasting your time.

I hope this helps and that you allow yourself the chance to have the aha! moment. What I've identified isn't necessarily the issue you're having, but it should hopefully give you an idea of how to start evaluating your own studying. Be honest with yourself and progress can be made.

Haborix, your response really resonated with me, I think you pretty much nailed it here. It is definitely "abstracting the world" that I struggle with. I try to solve problems on my own, but I think I too often turn to other resources to help guide my thinking, and then I do the math from there thinking that I understand it. I'm going to seriously reevaluate my study habits and figure out how to change the way I go about working through problems before my next exam. I really appreciate you taking the time to write all of this.

 

[rl54321]

Most students who have struggled in my intro physics courses fall into one of two camps (or both):

1) They are not successfully completing all the assigned homework problems.
2) Their math skills are very weak, often the weakness is algebra and trig rather than calculus. This leads them to play formula roulette and attempt to solve every problem as a 1 dimensional problem even though most involve vectors.

If you fall into one or both camps, you need to fix it.

Most teachers will be happy to sit down with you, review your work, and help you identify what is happening and how you might prepare better. Many universities also have tutoring services where the more skilled tutors can do the same thing. Though you may run into some less skilled tutors along the way. If a tutor struggles with solving physics problems from your class, politely try and find a better one.

Dr. Courtney, thanks so much for your reply. I've always felt like math is one of my strong suits, and I've also done every homework assignment in this course, plus the optional suggested problems, so I'm not sure if I fall into either of those categories. I think it is more of the "abstracting the world" idea mentioned by Haborix that I am struggling with. But I think a talk with my professor is necessary, and I will definitely look into some tutoring at my school - thank you for the suggestions.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

Dr. Courtney, thanks so much for your reply. I've always felt like math is one of my strong suits, and I've also done every homework assignment in this course, plus the optional suggested problems, so I'm not sure if I fall into either of those categories. I think it is more of the "abstracting the world" idea mentioned by Haborix that I am struggling with. But I think a talk with my professor is necessary, and I will definitely look into some tutoring at my school - thank you for the suggestions.

Bring some graded tests and homework with you. It will be important data for the professor in providing you with accurate feedback. Most professors can diagnose what the trouble is much more accurately from your written problem solving work than from their grade book.