Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with physics and calculus

What don't I know?

Acari — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:16:48 -0800

Out of my depth in a physics class, what do I need to study to catch up? I was last in school a... while ago, and though I passed an introductory calculus class, it was never my best subject. I'm currently in a physics class which I was told uses 'a bit' of calculus, but that '[you] don't need to worry about it'.

So, for an example of our second assignment, we need to:
Use Wien's Exponential Law to derive:
-Wien's Displacement Law
-Stefan's Law

I will link to a scribd thing that I found which has these equations in it [on page 22]

I won't be able to do this assignment [successfully] for sure, but what sorts of things do questions like these assume I know how to do?
I have a few calculus textbooks and 2 physics books that cover similar subject matter, but I am overwhelmed by my inability to even know what process I don't know how to follow.

I have a few weeks to figure out if I should abandon ship, but I'd really like to just put in some extra effort and catch up. I enjoy [and have no problems with] the concepts discussed in the lectures, but I lack the calculus skills to even understand what to do here.

So... I guess I'm asking for some sort of assessment of what kinds of skills I'd need to do things like this. I hope that's not too vague of a request.

What don't I know here?

Help me teach myself Physics via the Feynman Lectures

Tomorrowful — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:15:09 -0800

I've decided to nerd out by working through the Feynman Lectures. Help me turn that desire into a workable plan. The background: For a while now I've been thinking about the idea of grabbing a copy of the Feynman Lectures and working through them; watching excessive amounts of The Big Bang Theory and some recent chance encounters with math (like this question) have me really missing math and rigorous mathematical problem-solving. My first instinct was to just pick up a copy and a Calc book and get cracking; upon googling around a bit, my understanding is that the Lectures, while Really Cool, are best treated not as a core textbook but as a supplement.

Who I am: A few years out of college. I write and debug code and do related tasks all day, all of it very logical but very little of it rigorously mathematical. In my Freshman year of college I had two semesters of Calc, did reasonably well in it, and enjoyed it, but haven't touched it since graduating; I also had a single-semester non-Calc-based Physics course that I liked a lot, but didn't find particularly challenging. Oh, and a semester of somewhat serious Statistics; at least, it was serious enough to be part of my Math co-requisite for my Comp Sci major alongside the Calc.

What I need: Other than any general advice, I'm looking for specific suggestions on Physics texts to grab as a core to work off of alongside the Lectures; I also definitely need resources to relearn my Calc as I go. Free is ideal, but I'm perfectly willing to pick up a used textbook if it's a good one.

Basically, I want to have fun and get back to mathematical thinking and problem-solving, via Physics, which is A) a topic I've always sort of wanted to know more about and B) a lens that, in that past, has made a lot of math much easier to grasp by providing a grounding for what would otherwise be totally abstract problems. Also, frankly, I really want to be able to say "Yes, I'm working through the Feynman Lectures" and mean it. I recognize that I'll definitely hit a wall at some point, but I want to see how far I can go.

Math basics need be strengthening

JoeXIII007 — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:20:30 -0800

In need of some daily source of random math problems (upto basic calculus) that will reinforce or (if necessary) re-establish some real fundamental concepts in the algebra portions of calculus, unless something else might work. So I got my first exam back from 2nd Semester Calc based physics today and discovered I received a 78/100, which frankly is not bad compared to the average in the class (mid 60s) but still not great.

My problems were rooted in basic algebra that comes with methods of calculus, and even some elementary stuff as well. One example being I forgot to leave some variables alone in doing partial differentiation (w.r.t. z: 3yz^2 I took to 6z instead of 6yz OR w.r.t. y: 2y^2z^2 I took to 4yz instead of 4yz^2).

Another problem I ran into was that I took 10^-5 to be like 10E-5 on a regular calculator, which among a mess of scientific numbers could be a bad habit.

This has been a recurring problem over the years, but thanks to mercy of professors here and there, it has not been a problem as far as grading is concerned. Now that I have a pretty 'traditional' professor in the sense he will not accept such errors or weigh more heavily on concept, and seeing that I will be transferring into the Big Ten pretty soon, I need to correct this sooner rather than later.

So basically, a full daily workout of fundamentals covering a wide range of material would be in order, and preferably something that does not take too much time.

Unless there is some other thing worth looking into...? I mean I could just remind myself not to do that again, but I think I have been there before. Some reconfig is in need. Somehow. Even some simple daily physics probs might do the trick.

(RSS, if possible, is preferred)

Calculus resources for the curious?

perissodactyl — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:02:42 -0800

I would like to relearn some calculus on my own. Please recommend the best book for the purpose. It is embarrassing to me that I presently lack the math required to properly grasp basic Newtonian physics. I would like to regain competency equivalent to what is gained over the course of a year or two of college-level calculus.

Please point me in the direction of a great (text)book that will get me started. Clarity and concision are a must.

Tangentially, I'm also curious as to what topics are usually covered in two years of calculus classes.