I was never good at math because I wasn't really interested in it but physics I like and I was good at it so any advice...sure there are some things with physics I find utterly boring but still generally speaking it fascinates me; mother nature gave me talent for languages and incredible body movement but I don't know about physics...
2006-12-19 21:17:14 · 12 answers · asked by Tina M 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
As someone WITH a physics degree, I'll sell it to you straight: it's not easy. You're getting (and going to get) a lot of answers that are going to give you touchy-feely "you can do anything you put your mind to" kind of advice. The reality is half of all attempts at physics majors will end up changing their degree.
Physics is a VERY demanding course load which cannot be simply judged by taking an AP class in High School. In fact, AP Physics/Intro Physics was the easiest Physics class I took in my entire education (and I got a 4 on the AP, btw). These are the questions you should be asking yourself:
1) However hard of a time i've had dealing with physics so far, can i deal with classes that make these look like a cake walk?
2) I don't like math. Can I handle seven semesters of math STARTING at the calculus level?
3) Do I want to put up with a study schedule that means less socializing than others? can I handle passing on parties and events because of studying?
As to being a physics major, here are some of the major things I've been through:
Quantum Mechanics, Classical Mechanics (take-home final that took 40 hours and 80 calculation pages to complete), Electromagnetism, Math methods for Physics Majors (think five upper division math classes combined into one semester), 7 semesters of math, 8 semesters of Compsci (my minor) and countless hours of homework i chose to neglect.
I'm not saying you shouldn't try it, just that you should think about it seriously before you do. At the very worst, however, all you have to do is change your major if you decide it's not for you.
2006-12-20 07:46:05 · answer #1 · answered by promethius9594 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There's the old story about Einstein: he wasn't very good at math, but he was obviously a great physicist.
You should go for it. You won't really know if you have an aptitude unless you try it. And, like some people, you might be able to do it with just a bit of hard work.
I find physics fascinating, and have taken many courses and became a mechanical engineer because of it.
2006-12-19 21:22:12 · answer #2 · answered by TimmyD 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hear, hear!! This last guy (Promethius?) is the only one who is even remotely close to what it's like to study physics. He is dead on, and if you don't LOVE it, you'll never get through it. I wasn't technically a physics major, but 80 percent of my grad school course work was in physics. That last guy is absolutely right when he tells you what's in store for you.
Yes it's very demanding, but if I might wax poetic, learning physics is the closest thing we humans have to looking into the secrets of the universe (at least the physical part). It's not for everybody, and certainly beyond most of the people who are posting here, but nobody can predict who will catch fire when they first get introduced to it.
I became a teacher specifically to look for kids from a lower class school who have the desire and talent and to turn them on to the "real thang". Kinduva high school Arnold Sommerfeld, if I may be so boastful...
2006-12-20 09:14:51 · answer #3 · answered by willismg1959 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you're being a sprint troublesome on your self. i replaced into vulnerable in technological awareness matters which includes arithmetic during my intense college years. My strengths have been in the humanities, languages or perhaps historic previous became out to be a project that i excelled. the factor i'm making is which you will desire to pay interest on the place your inclination lies. you have made the suitable step in figuring out weaknesses; now all you opt on do is discover matters which you have accomplished nicely by the years. The sciences are not each thing - it in basic terms capacity you will possibly no longer make it as a fighter pilot yet you would be stable as an intelligence analyst or a linguist as an occasion. Bon risk!
2016-12-15 04:48:56 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Physics at university level is very mathematical, so you at least need to be comfortable with maths. You can take a general interest in physics without a lot of maths, but to study it you will need heaps.
And it would be very misleading to say that Einstein was not great at maths - his general theory is couched in maths well beyond most graduate physicists. He just didn;t peak early, at school.
2006-12-19 21:40:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
In my opinion anyone can be a physicist (with different results of course :)). Math is just the language of physics and therefore not strictly essential although it answers quantitative questions. I'm sure everyone has been a physicist at least once in life: physics is about asking questions (the correct and essential ones hopefully) and devising experiments to answer those questions. Curiosity for what surrounds you is what should drive a physicist.
2006-12-20 01:20:59 · answer #6 · answered by Mr. X 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Lol, young lady, interest in physics is something you bear inside yourself. Tell you what, I knew next to nothing about math when I decided quite a while ago to go physics side. I felt a burning desire to get closer to what I felt in my guts. You know what happened? Math followed miraculously. I never had an opportunity to disparage my choice 40 years-odd afterwards, God forbid! Either your were born a physicist or you weren't. That's up to you to decide upon what you feel within yourself. Go, lass, go. A beautiful world awaits for you out there.
2006-12-19 21:30:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
you have to take this matter very sensitively. If you think that you have no capacity to do math or physics, then you will have to get rid of this thought that you cannot do it. you should have guts to do things that you haven't done in your life. If you find physics fascinating then try it, because NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.
so, be positive and opt for studying physics. God has given us everything equal whether it is brain or memory. so, think that you have brain equal to that of Einstein.
So, do physics.......might be that you become a physicist one day!
2006-12-19 21:25:55 · answer #8 · answered by § mǎddy § 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
lol...you are just too sweet...I had to answer! :) At any rate, there is only one option: Go for it! You are already gifted with languages and I assume you are an active person. Imagine you succeed at what you like...the world would be yours! All you need to understand physics is to like it, really. Most of the things are rather logical. Boring stuff will prove to be demanding (that was electricity in my case) but you don´t need to specialize in them...choose something else! There are many options in the field and many applications: engineering, R&D, meteorology, geophysics....the list is neverending. Wouldn´t you like to use your language skills working in something that you like at a global/ international scale? I would think so... :) As Nike used to say...JUST DO IT! It is much better to regret having done something than not having tried. Good luck!
2006-12-19 21:41:12 · answer #9 · answered by kokiwebs 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
sure you do short explanation get in your car and have a person on the hood you dislike step on the gas you have acceleration when you pick up speed you gain momentum before you hit the wall jam on the breaks hard and he flys of that is called conservation of the momentum when he hits the wall it is a classic example of kinetic energy ! like I said simple now you need to learn the math to go with it thats not as hard as it sounds
2006-12-19 21:29:09 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋