Taking Calculus I and Calc based Physics at the same time?
Bad idea. I don't know what school you go to, but first year math and science classes are pretty uniform. Like the other poster said, you won't use much calculus in the physics course. However, the calculus you will use most likely won't be covered in a Calc I course. One of the first things you'll cover in a first physics course is motion and changes in motion. This will involve both differentiation and integration, topics you won't have covered in a Calc I class yet. About a third of the way into Physics I, you'll probably start working with vectors, a topic not covered until Calc II. All that said, if you put in an insane amount of work, you may come out ok. The real problem will be in a Physics II course. I'm assuming you have to take one, since people who take Calc based Physics usually have to take both levels. Phys II will usually cover electricity and magnetism. You can think of this class as vectors, vectors, charges, circuits, magnets, mirrors, and more vectors. You won't make it through Physics II if you don't know how to work with vectors, and Physics I will just give you the basics. You'll need the experience of a Calc II course. Also, if you're the type of person who likes to know how the formulas are derived, or if you end up with a teacher who like you to know how they're derived, taking these courses together is a particularly bad idea. You won't be able to follow the math if you haven't learned it yet. A physics prof might teach you basics vector operations like the cross product, but he probably won't get into the details of line integrals. Everything I've written so far has assumed that you won't have any trouble with Calc I. But most people do, especially if they haven't taken a high school calc course. If I had to guess, I'd say you need the Physics I course as a prerequisite for a course next fall. And you need that course for another one the following spring and so on. So if you don't get Physics done this semester, you won't graduate in 4 years. Here's the kicker... most students don't. You should take Calc I as you plan in the spring, then take Phys I in the summer or next fall. Give yourself a chance to actually learn the material, don't go into the class having to play catch-up.
Should I take Calculus-based Physics while taking Calculus 1?
That relies upon. do you desire to do electromagnetism? Or do you desire to do classical mechanics? If that's the former, then i'm afraid there is not any way you may get by without a extra stepped forward know-how of calculus (assuming Calc a million is stuff like Taylor polynomials, limits, elementary integration and differentiation, and so on). you will desire issues like integration by aspects, trigonometric substitution, and distinctive integrals (floor integrals, quantity integrals, cylindrical coordinates, polar coordinates, around coordinates) for calculating issues like E/M fields interior a modern coil, and so on. Doing without intense college physics would make concerns even worse, in view that they had probably anticipate you be responsive to issues like elementary electromagnetism. If that's the latter, you have a extra proper probability at doing properly, provided that the calculus based parts of the direction does no longer be too demanding, probably basically elementary differentiation and integration. yet they probably will require you to be responsive to issues like E=a million/2mv^2 and d=vit+a million/2at^2, so the theoretical element does no longer be ordinary at keen on you. nonetheless, that is viable once you're keen to artwork demanding sufficient. Your classes would properly be much less confusing than mines however, provided that my classes are Engineering physics classes and are probably extra sturdy than what you will get in different colleges.
Much of physics depends on calculus. Take an introductory physics class for engineers (that is, the hard stuff). You will get your fill of calculus. With luck, you will find that physics gives you the physical insight into basic calculus that was missing from your math class.Kinematics & CalculusThe link is to an ad for simplified discussion of physics and calculus.
Do I need to learn calculus before taking physics?
Generally speaking, if you are majoring in physics, you should take freshman calculus prior to or concurrently with freshman physics and before sophomore physics. Each year, your math courses should be at or above the level as your physics courses. You will find physics easier if your math stays one year ahead of the physics. Don't think that you have to graduate in four years; save those 400 level physics courses until you have completed some 400 level math. Physics classes for non-physics majors go easier on the math. Read the course descriptions in the catalog and consult your faculty adviser; also ask more advanced students who took the same course with the same professor.
Where online can I learn calculus based physics?
I'm going to assume you mean the normal first course in physics, which is usually Newtonian mechanics. I have to say that Newton invented calculus in part to create mechanics, so any first course in physics which does not include calculus is at best high school level. Try MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) 8.012: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-012... This course is a freshman classical mechanics course intended for physics majors and anyone interested in a more rigorous treatment of the material, such as yourself. It assumes knowledge of calculus. There is probably a class similar to this one at many different colleges, but this one is convenient due to the website. It contains assignments and exams, so it contains all the content necessary for self study. The standard textbook for this class is Kleppner and Kolenkow, as referenced below. You can also watch the entire normal sequence 8.01 (which is very similar to 8.012 but less mathematically rigorous) lectures as taught by Walter Lewin on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmJV8CHIq... As for textbooks, consider the standard ones: Feynman, Leighton, Sands, "The Feynman Lectures on Physics: Volume I" D. Kleppner, R. Kolenkow, "An Introduction To Mechanics" You should be able to find these at any good library. If you'd like to keep studying physics, here are the next courses in the sequence that you can look for on OCW: 8.022 (Electromagnetics I), 8.03 (Waves), 8.04 (Wave Quantum), 8.05 (Formal Quantum I), 8.06 (Formal Quantum II), 8.044 (Statistical I), 8.033 (Special Relativity).
How much calculus should I take before taking calculus based physics?
I didn't take Physics in HS and only took it in my second year of college after I took calc I and II. I got an A in both Physics I and II. It is my understanding that it is actually easier with calculus than without. The only warning is that it was hard, the grades were low, I think I averaged in the 50s but that was an A because everyone else did worse. (This was in NYU, but it was a while ago)
Calculus is necessary to understand physics and to solve virtually any realistic physics problem. Let's take Newton's second law, the famous F = ma.What's a? It's acceleration, a concept that can only be defined via calculus except when it is constant — which is not realistic.What's F? Force is an undefined concept in basic physics until you learn that it's the negative gradient of potential energy. Gradient is another calculus concept, and it can only be computed without calculus when the force is constant: the same unrealistic situation.What about the second law the way Newton actually stated it: F = dp/dt? There's a derivative right in there, and it's not the kind that can be easily guesstimated based on everyday intuition like constant acceleration.What about Newton's law of gravity? It gives the force between two massive objects. What's its potential energy function? Calculus has the answer; without it, you aren't going to be able to compute anything so basic as the escape velocity of Earth.And forget about electromagnetism. Even if you ignore Maxwell's equations, just doing simple problems with closed circuits and all the formulas fed to you leads immediately to second-order differential equations.Sure, you can take a survey course that gives you some idea what the concepts of physics are without getting into the math. You'll end up memorizing a lot of formulas with no apparent origin and never gain insight into their meaning.
Calculus investigates the behavior of functions in the limit of infinitesimal change. When applied to physics it opens up a whole new understanding. For instance without calculus you learn about displacement, velocity, and acceleration as though they are independent quantities. With calculus you learn that these are all beautifully related through their derivatives. Give me the displacement as a function of time and I know, through calculus, the velocity and acceleration as a function of time.As a theoretical physicist I may have some prejudice here but I would say that it is virtually impossible to master modern physics without a solid foundation in calculus. I just spent a year assisting a high school student through AP physics (physics without calculus) and, in truth, I think taking physics at the high school level is a waste of time. The time would be much better spent laying the ground-work for calculus so that physics can be taught as it should be taught...with calculus.
Taking calc based physics vs algebra based?
I am a now a biomed major, after switching from chemistry as the calculus has kind of scared me away. I am still completing my final prereqs for biomed hoping to pursue a DPT (doctor of physical therapy) I just finished up the semester taking intro to physics (having no physics background from HS) did pretty well, but never really understood the "theory". I also finished Calc 1 feeling quite confident at least with taking derivatives and integration my weak point probably was the complex algebra equations we had to simplify, but I did work my butt off to get an A on the final. To the question, I need at least algebra based physics for my major and DPT, but I have heard from a number of people and online resources that the calculus based physics can be better understood if you understand basic differentiation and integration which I believe I do. I would also need to take Calc 2 which is not required for my major or DPT and wasn't planning on taking it until I realized I would need it for Physics 2 w/ Calc. Do you think Calculus based physics is usually better understood with algebra based? I am also striving for A's in these classes I know the majority of the students taking physics calc are engineers and physics majors which have a much stronger interest and probably better at math/ physics than me. Most people say algebra based isn't any easier so I was thinking maybe the calculus will clear some of the confusion up for me or do you think it will just complicate things for me and just stick with the algebra. Any help or input is greatly appreciated! Thanks
I don’t care what you are learning :DCalculus is used in Business, Finance, Economics to deal with profit and loss functions. Differential Equations is used to make financial models, to do that you must first be strong with calculus.Physics??? Are you kidding? This is applied science, I don’t care if you’re learning theoretical physics or experimental, you need to come up with a formula, then you would either need to take derivative or the integral, or use a Taylor series, or binomial series approximation. All these are covered in calculus. You struggle with that, then the doors of applied science will close for you. So you need 3 years of calculus (at least) before beginning the harder physics.Calculus? Okay, let’s say you’re a math major. Now I’ve got you :D you can’t escape. You need 3 years (4 years in some colleges, yes I mean years not semesters, 3 semesters of calculus is nothing for me) of calculus, to even get started with the pure math or the applied math track.Last but not least, since I have given you so much explanation as to why we need calculus, why not start loving it? Just do it for fun.Here’s a little fun :D