Question for anyone that has completed College Physics

[kcrmyz]

Going for Pharmacy: Requires Physics 1 and 2

Situation

Now: I didn't take Physics in High School Yet because I took Physical Science in Florida and thus it was accredited for Physics.

I passed the Physics portion of the GHGT "Graduation test, wasn't hard".

Question

But, having no prior knowledge to Physics entering college will this be a major setback?

OR: Does anyone really remember what they learned in 11th grade and do you have to relearn everything over again

Possible Resolution : I can drop a elective to replace AP Physics.

THANKS~

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[Vicviper]

It really depends on the school. There are often two types of college physics, life science physics and engineering physics, you'll most likely only need to take life science physics.

Depending on the school and the program, physics may have a pre-req of "taken high school physics," which definitely does give you a good foundation, and I do remember much of what I learned in high school (Honors Physics), because it was a more basic version of what you learn in college physics.

If you don't take it in high school and they do have a pre-req, they also often have an intro to physics class that you can take, and it's more or less a high school physics class. Or they might not even have a pre-req at all, and in that case you just sign right up.

College physics will always start with the assumption that you only have a very loose understanding of physics, and so they start over at the beginning with simple newtonian mechanics - but can be at a much faster pace since you're at the college level now.

So don't stress, and from what I hear AP Physics is a total pain, and my physics teacher refused to teach it because he said that they only really teach to the test, and don't always promote a solid and true understanding of physics.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

dont worry about it, it should come back to you. In highschool i took a algebra based physics course at a community college. This year i took a calculus based physics class, and though it was much harder, some of the old concepts were very familiar to me. I think you will be fine.

 

[bunnity]

My high school physics class was way way over my head (I liked to think my teacher was so old that he had forgotten that a new class came in every year that didn't know anything yet) so suffice to say I remembered very little. In college physics I kept thinking "Oh this is what he was talking about in high school!" but I did well and didn't feel hampered by my lack of prior knowledge.

If you suspect that you might have a hard time with it, it couldn't hurt to take an intro class. Also look into the various support systems - my university had peer led review sessions, a hands-on physics learning center with little mini experiments, and free physics tutoring. They knew people struggle with physics so they had a lot of help available. Look into similar support structures at your own school if you run into trouble.

 

[MilkmanAl]

You'll be fine. All you need to know is algebra and some really basic trig (sin, cos, tan).

 

[sumstorm]

You'll be fine. All you need to know is algebra and some really basic trig (sin, cos, tan).

Depending on the individual. Some people find physics much easier with calc (and taking calc based physics) because there is more 'logic' in the material and less memorization.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Depending on the individual. Some people find physics much easier with calc (and taking calc based physics) because there is more 'logic' in the material and less memorization.

This may be true, but calc physics is not the way to go if your looking for an A+, and taking a full course load.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Depending on the individual. Some people find physics much easier with calc (and taking calc based physics) because there is more 'logic' in the material and less memorization.

I'm one of those people, but most pre-health kids prefer the plug 'n' chug equation memorization technique to the learn and apply technique. For the former, algebra is sufficient.

 

[kcrmyz]

I don't have to take physics as it is accredited.

But, I would like to do well in college but as I remember in Trig we refered back to physics a lot and I recieved a A in Trig.

So....

Should I stress, or sign up for the class? It's going to be a struggle regardless in college should I just wait till then?

My general call if I didn't have advice from you guys is just to study harder and not cram for tests and do the appropriate practice problems in college so I can later grasp it.

 

[sumstorm]

This may be true, but calc physics is not the way to go if your looking for an A+, and taking a full course load.

Actually, that would depend, again, on the student. 4.0 in calc based physics while attending FT and working FT+. Bio major, and physics isn't my favorite subject, but calc made it far easier to understand. Easier to understand = easier to do well on tests = better grades. I realize that isn't true for everyone, part of why I said 'depending on the individual' but your statement above isn't true for everyone.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Actually, that would depend, again, on the student. 4.0 in calc based physics while attending FT and working FT+. Bio major, and physics isn't my favorite subject, but calc made it far easier to understand. Easier to understand = easier to do well on tests = better grades. I realize that isn't true for everyone, part of why I said 'depending on the individual' but your statement above isn't true for everyone.

I agree with "it depends on the person", if you have read most of the other posts i make it borders around that idea.

However, in that case what you said is not true either. It depends on how well someone is with a math background. Calculus in Physics is a bit different than Calculus in Mathematics course. In physics you have to understand the applications, what your doing and why your doing it. This is tough for many people, especially those who dont do well on the mathematics (straight forward answer the given question) calculus course.
So in the end having the calc based physics might not even benefit the student if they have no idea whats going on.

It does depend on the person but one should only go into calc based physics if they are prepared, not because they think it will give them a much better understanding. Actually, someone can understand physics very well without much knowledge of calculus (this is assuming the concept of limits and summations are apart of pre-calculus). I know this because i know people like this, or atleast when they were at that point.

 

[Terpskins99]

Going for Pharmacy: Requires Physics 1 and 2

Situation

Now: I didn't take Physics in High School Yet because I took Physical Science in Florida and thus it was accredited for Physics.

I passed the Physics portion of the GHGT "Graduation test, wasn't hard".

Question

But, having no prior knowledge to Physics entering college will this be a major setback?

OR: Does anyone really remember what they learned in 11th grade and do you have to relearn everything over again

Possible Resolution : I can drop a elective to replace AP Physics.

THANKS~

If you have an opportunity to take physics in high school, I highly recommend it. Even if you end up taking it again in college, I think having some exposure to physics once before will be extremely helpful.

Best case scenario, you do well/ace the AP exam and don't have to take physics in college. Worst case scenario, you stink at it but you find out what specific areas in physics that bother you so you'll be prepared for it the next time in college.

Worst case scenario if you skip physics altogether... you find out you stink while taking it in college and end up tanking the class and hurting your chances at a strong pharm school.

 

[madamebovary]

If you have the opportunity, take physics in highschool. I recommend doing AP physics B and/or C. It really gives you an advantage when you come to college and dont have to struggle understanding the concepts

 

[CoolWhipp]

Going for Pharmacy: Requires Physics 1 and 2

Situation

Now: I didn't take Physics in High School Yet because I took Physical Science in Florida and thus it was accredited for Physics.

I passed the Physics portion of the GHGT "Graduation test, wasn't hard".

Question

But, having no prior knowledge to Physics entering college will this be a major setback?

OR: Does anyone really remember what they learned in 11th grade and do you have to relearn everything over again

Possible Resolution : I can drop a elective to replace AP Physics.

THANKS~

Physics can be difficult for some people. I think it really depends on what type of thinker you are. If you are a very conceptual thinker, I think you will be fine. Physics math is actually simple, its mostly the way students organize their thoughts that lead to the incorrect answer. I rarely see struggling students unable to calculate a derivative or integral properly.

 

[Kickback]

Physics can be difficult for some people. I think it really depends on what type of thinker you are. If you are a very conceptual thinker, I think you will be fine. Physics math is actually simple, its mostly the way students organize their thoughts that lead to the incorrect answer. I rarely see struggling students unable to calculate a derivative or integral properly.

+1

You really have to set up the problems correctly, and know what information you do and don't need. One of my physics teachers specifically put much more information on the quizzes/tests, because people would freak and think they needed to use all of the information to answer the question.

One final piece of advice: read your questions thoroughly. This has saved me an untold number of points this year, and really is one of the major differences between an 'A' student and a 'B' student, from what I can tell so far.

 

[medstar21]

You'll be fine. I took Physics in hs, but honestly did not learn a thing. I actually dont even know how the teacher came up with our grades, they didnt make much sense.

 

[Farmercyst]

I took HS physics in 1994 and Intro to Physics (prereq for physics at my CC) in 2002. I had no problem. Got C/B in HS, A's in CC. Didn't take Physics at my 4 yr. Avoid Physical Chemistry at all costs. If you can't avoid it, take it the same semester as some easier classes. For me that would be intro to psychology and something equally as easy. Maybe analytical chemistry if it's required.

 

[CScull]

I would go ahead and take the AP Physics if you can, but if you can't then I wouldn't sweat it too much... just make sure you sign up for the introductory physics course instead of a higher level.