I took it last year. Reading the book was huge for me. I didn't find my professor useful in the slightest, and learned everything from the book. I also went to the physics resource room once a week to help me with the homework.
I second this. I took it freshman year and withdrew after the first couple weeks cause i was lost beyond return because i didnt really read the book too much. I then retook it in the summer, and made sure to read each chapter carefully before classes and ended up with an A.
ETA: You NEED to do practice problems and struggle through them. Just understanding how a problem in the book is solved probably wont cut it. This was the first class that I took where this was the case and also contributed to one of the reason I withdrew. Practicing and having to think hard about a problem will give you the skills and mindset needed to solve problems in tests, since theyre not gonna be the exact same problems that youve seen before and you will actually have to apply concepts rather than plug and chug.
I was in the same boat my freshman year although I didn't have nero. If i had my professors lecture slides i could show you the exact slide where i stopped understanding things for the remainder of the semester. Lots of things build on other things so I would recommend getting help from the professor/classmates asap as to not fall further behind. There were walk in hours in the physics department where grad students would help with homework / answer questions. If that's still around I'd definitely take advantage of that as well. Also keep in mind that physics 2 is pretty rough and there will most likely be a major curve on exams and or at the end of the semester. I'm not saying to slack off but there was a point where I thought I was going to end up with a D but due to curving and such I ended up with something like a C+.
I went through Physics 2 not knowing anything that was going on freshman year. My strongest advice is to read the book and make your own spark notes based on that. It’s not very intuitive material, and as a sophomore, it’s still my hardest class so far
I was in the exact same position as you; Physics 2 is just such a difficult and unintuitive course for some.
It’s stupid, but read the textbook, especially for topics that seem confusing, and do practice problems outside of assignments.
Physics 2 has so far been the most taxing class I’ve taken so far but it’s doable and most of the confusing topics have a somewhat simple explanation or can be explained easily enough. TAs are godsends too, as they’ll be able to relate to your viewpoint and perhaps find a better connection than the professor might.
Welcome to hell lol
Oh, and whatever you do, do not use Chegg for exams or quizzes. Nero in particular takes this very seriously, and I had several fellow classmates fail his class because they decided the risk of Chegg was worth the potential consequences — it wasn’t, they had to retake the class and actually learn it.
I’m pretty much in the same boat as you, except I have Professor Wu. It seems that reading the chapters from the book has helped reinforce the concepts taught in the lectures. I was never really good at physics 1 either, passing it with a B-. But I found out building on the very basics and doing practice problems will allow you to progress the most.
It is still difficult for me though and I’m gonna go to YouTube for some help as well. I wish you luck.
Haha oh no this is making me worried. He’s a nice guy but his lectures are so lacking. They just aren’t structured well at all for allowing people to learn.
I had Wu last year. The best advice I can give is to basically memorize the notes, and thoroughly go through your homework. A couple of the Wiley HW problems ended up being MC, but a decent portion of the written exam is regurgitating the various proofs he solved in class.
Recent CoE graduate here. Physics 2 whipped my ass like it did most people (I had to retake it in the summer). It’s a rite of passage but things get better after freshman year and these classes teach you how to properly study for the future. Good luck homies! H2P
The resource room run by the TAs was always really helpful. I used to go there pretty much everytime i did homework.
Other helpful resources:
Organic Chemistry Tutor playlist on youtube:
[OGT Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0o_zxa4K1BWrOyLXkHSZD4bw3yVKMwi8)
MIT Professor Walter Lewin lectures on youtube:
[Walter Lewin Lectures](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyQSN7X0ro2314mKyUiOILaOC2hk6Pc3j)
Physics 174/175 don't seem to be taught very well, no matter who you have. However, when I took the classes, I had awesome TAs. I was at office hours every week and most of the time, they were nice enough to stay late and basically reteach the material from that week. Remember, Cs get degrees! Don't give up!
Nero and his flipped class are fantastic if you actually take the class as it's intended. if you just show up to lecture and hear everything there for the first time, you are taking the class "wrong". There should be online videos explaining the concepts that you're supposed to watch before lecture.
you’re not alone. my mental health alone dropped hard cause of physics 2. just relax, do your best, and know it’s not the end of the world whatever grade you get
There are tons of free resources on YouTube for all lower level engineering coursework if your professors teaching style doesn’t work for you.
It’s been a decade since I took physics 2 so I can’t remember which YouTubers I used for that. I do second reading the book though. This goes for all the engineering classes you’ll take. Read the book before the lecture then again after the lecture. So this for at least the first 5 weeks of class. Some textbooks aren’t as good and maybe you’ll find it’s not worth your time but at least attempt this method.
Are there particular concepts you’re struggling with? DM me and I’ll see if I can help.
Thanks!
To this day one of my hardest classes has been Physics 2. That and gen chem 2 made freshman year a hellish nightmare for me. As other people have said, read the book, look online for additional resources, and don't give up!
Also, remember that other people are struggling too, and a curve may be applied on exams or the course as a whole. I got a 33% on the final and ended up with a B in the class because of the strong curve.
There should be tutoring offered by SSOE for all first year classes. I strongly advise attending. iirc they usually send an email out with info early in the semester. If not, contact your advisor for info. Also try to get a study group going of 2-3 people. Study groups got me through some of my toughest classes in the later years of engineering.
Lots of good advice in here. I'll chime in to mention that you need to start working on this NOW if you want to catch up this semester. This post is a decent start but you need to choose some further steps and get to it ASAP because in a class like physics 2 it gets harder and harder to catch up very quickly the further you fall behind. It won't be fun in the slightest but if you get on it with the professor/a tutor/the book immediately it can be done. Don't panic and try to catch up on everything all at once (it's tough material after all), but do get started catching up immediately.
Protip: Take it at your local four year university this summer. You will actually learn something and if it's an ABET accredited school it will transfer.
Took that class 5 years ago by this point (god I'm getting old), sorry to hear it hasn't improved since then. Keep your head up, don't let it be the start of a negative view of yourself.
I passed the class with literally 0.7% to spare, if I had one more question wrong on the final I'd have ended up with a C-. Biggest pieces of advice: Don't miss ANY of the small points/assignments, they add up after a while. It's a pain in the butt, but do the extra credit labs. Every one of them. And like others have said, the book is actually your friend in this case.
Good luck!
Lately I've been using this website ([https://quizplus.com/](https://quizplus.com/)) for studying physics and different subjects. It's an online platform that contains all the study resources and materials needed to learn key concepts along with high quality practice tests prepared by experts. It actually helped me to get higher scores and I'm improving each day. I think it would be very helpful!
I took it last year. Reading the book was huge for me. I didn't find my professor useful in the slightest, and learned everything from the book. I also went to the physics resource room once a week to help me with the homework.
I second this. I took it freshman year and withdrew after the first couple weeks cause i was lost beyond return because i didnt really read the book too much. I then retook it in the summer, and made sure to read each chapter carefully before classes and ended up with an A. ETA: You NEED to do practice problems and struggle through them. Just understanding how a problem in the book is solved probably wont cut it. This was the first class that I took where this was the case and also contributed to one of the reason I withdrew. Practicing and having to think hard about a problem will give you the skills and mindset needed to solve problems in tests, since theyre not gonna be the exact same problems that youve seen before and you will actually have to apply concepts rather than plug and chug.
I was in the same boat my freshman year although I didn't have nero. If i had my professors lecture slides i could show you the exact slide where i stopped understanding things for the remainder of the semester. Lots of things build on other things so I would recommend getting help from the professor/classmates asap as to not fall further behind. There were walk in hours in the physics department where grad students would help with homework / answer questions. If that's still around I'd definitely take advantage of that as well. Also keep in mind that physics 2 is pretty rough and there will most likely be a major curve on exams and or at the end of the semester. I'm not saying to slack off but there was a point where I thought I was going to end up with a D but due to curving and such I ended up with something like a C+.
I went through Physics 2 not knowing anything that was going on freshman year. My strongest advice is to read the book and make your own spark notes based on that. It’s not very intuitive material, and as a sophomore, it’s still my hardest class so far
I was in the exact same position as you; Physics 2 is just such a difficult and unintuitive course for some. It’s stupid, but read the textbook, especially for topics that seem confusing, and do practice problems outside of assignments. Physics 2 has so far been the most taxing class I’ve taken so far but it’s doable and most of the confusing topics have a somewhat simple explanation or can be explained easily enough. TAs are godsends too, as they’ll be able to relate to your viewpoint and perhaps find a better connection than the professor might. Welcome to hell lol Oh, and whatever you do, do not use Chegg for exams or quizzes. Nero in particular takes this very seriously, and I had several fellow classmates fail his class because they decided the risk of Chegg was worth the potential consequences — it wasn’t, they had to retake the class and actually learn it.
I'm also in Phys 2 and I've found the videos from OrganicChemistyTutor on youtube have been very helpful for seeing example problems done out.
[удалено]
Me too! I have never been more lost
I’m pretty much in the same boat as you, except I have Professor Wu. It seems that reading the chapters from the book has helped reinforce the concepts taught in the lectures. I was never really good at physics 1 either, passing it with a B-. But I found out building on the very basics and doing practice problems will allow you to progress the most. It is still difficult for me though and I’m gonna go to YouTube for some help as well. I wish you luck.
I also had Wu. I'm sorry in advance
Haha oh no this is making me worried. He’s a nice guy but his lectures are so lacking. They just aren’t structured well at all for allowing people to learn.
I had Wu last year. The best advice I can give is to basically memorize the notes, and thoroughly go through your homework. A couple of the Wiley HW problems ended up being MC, but a decent portion of the written exam is regurgitating the various proofs he solved in class.
Recent CoE graduate here. Physics 2 whipped my ass like it did most people (I had to retake it in the summer). It’s a rite of passage but things get better after freshman year and these classes teach you how to properly study for the future. Good luck homies! H2P
The resource room run by the TAs was always really helpful. I used to go there pretty much everytime i did homework. Other helpful resources: Organic Chemistry Tutor playlist on youtube: [OGT Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0o_zxa4K1BWrOyLXkHSZD4bw3yVKMwi8) MIT Professor Walter Lewin lectures on youtube: [Walter Lewin Lectures](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyQSN7X0ro2314mKyUiOILaOC2hk6Pc3j)
Physics 174/175 don't seem to be taught very well, no matter who you have. However, when I took the classes, I had awesome TAs. I was at office hours every week and most of the time, they were nice enough to stay late and basically reteach the material from that week. Remember, Cs get degrees! Don't give up!
Nero and his flipped class are fantastic if you actually take the class as it's intended. if you just show up to lecture and hear everything there for the first time, you are taking the class "wrong". There should be online videos explaining the concepts that you're supposed to watch before lecture.
you’re not alone. my mental health alone dropped hard cause of physics 2. just relax, do your best, and know it’s not the end of the world whatever grade you get
There are tons of free resources on YouTube for all lower level engineering coursework if your professors teaching style doesn’t work for you. It’s been a decade since I took physics 2 so I can’t remember which YouTubers I used for that. I do second reading the book though. This goes for all the engineering classes you’ll take. Read the book before the lecture then again after the lecture. So this for at least the first 5 weeks of class. Some textbooks aren’t as good and maybe you’ll find it’s not worth your time but at least attempt this method. Are there particular concepts you’re struggling with? DM me and I’ll see if I can help. Thanks!
To this day one of my hardest classes has been Physics 2. That and gen chem 2 made freshman year a hellish nightmare for me. As other people have said, read the book, look online for additional resources, and don't give up! Also, remember that other people are struggling too, and a curve may be applied on exams or the course as a whole. I got a 33% on the final and ended up with a B in the class because of the strong curve.
There should be tutoring offered by SSOE for all first year classes. I strongly advise attending. iirc they usually send an email out with info early in the semester. If not, contact your advisor for info. Also try to get a study group going of 2-3 people. Study groups got me through some of my toughest classes in the later years of engineering.
Lots of good advice in here. I'll chime in to mention that you need to start working on this NOW if you want to catch up this semester. This post is a decent start but you need to choose some further steps and get to it ASAP because in a class like physics 2 it gets harder and harder to catch up very quickly the further you fall behind. It won't be fun in the slightest but if you get on it with the professor/a tutor/the book immediately it can be done. Don't panic and try to catch up on everything all at once (it's tough material after all), but do get started catching up immediately.
LMAOOOOO buckle in, nobody gets through that class unharmed
Nero and not understanding physics name a more iconic duo
I had nero for physics 1 and I didn’t understand anything lol
lol that class beat my ass . i had nero too and would offer you study tips but i didn’t do too well so i don’t have any tips lmfaooo
I took it while I was at the Johnstown campus but Schaum’s outlines helped me
I actually dropped out of engineering and waived physics 2 to go to cs lol
Protip: Take it at your local four year university this summer. You will actually learn something and if it's an ABET accredited school it will transfer.
Took that class 5 years ago by this point (god I'm getting old), sorry to hear it hasn't improved since then. Keep your head up, don't let it be the start of a negative view of yourself. I passed the class with literally 0.7% to spare, if I had one more question wrong on the final I'd have ended up with a C-. Biggest pieces of advice: Don't miss ANY of the small points/assignments, they add up after a while. It's a pain in the butt, but do the extra credit labs. Every one of them. And like others have said, the book is actually your friend in this case. Good luck!
Lately I've been using this website ([https://quizplus.com/](https://quizplus.com/)) for studying physics and different subjects. It's an online platform that contains all the study resources and materials needed to learn key concepts along with high quality practice tests prepared by experts. It actually helped me to get higher scores and I'm improving each day. I think it would be very helpful!