Physics??

CrashBandicoot Girl

I'm thinking of doing LC physics but I would like to know more about it so I would like to know

What's on the course
What advantages and disadvantages there is
Do I need to be really good at maths
Examples of what kind of experiments you do
Is it boring?
And is there loads of writing, what kind of Qs in paper

I'd appreciate any answers you could give

niamhallen

CrashBandicoot Girl wrote: »

I'm thinking of doing LC physics but I would like to know more about it so I would like to know

What's on the course
What advantages and disadvantages there is
Do I need to be really good at maths
Examples of what kind of experiments you do
Is it boring?
And is there loads of writing, what kind of Qs in paper

I'd appreciate any answers you could give

What's on the course http://www.curriculumonline.ie/uploadedfiles/PDF/lc_physics_sy.pdf

What advantages and disadvantages there is
Advantages
Endless It gives you a logical way of solving problems and a greater knowledge of how the world works.

Disadvantages
Can be a little boring until you get your teeth stuck into a topic.

Do I need to be really good at maths
Nope. You just need to be able to manipulate formula.

Examples of what kind of experiments you do
Find the focal length of a concave lens
Find the wavelength of monochromatic light.
Find the frequency of a stretched string
Verify Ohms Law etc


Is it boring?
It can be sometimes, but all subjects have their boring parts.

And is there loads of writing, what kind of Qs in paper
Not as much as other subjects, rarely more than a paragraph.
Paper is divided into two sections. Section A you do 3 out of 4 experiments and Section B You do 5 questions.

Hope I helped

stealinhorses

The course covers many basic concepts of physics, starting with linear motion and ending with radioactive decay. You'd learn about gravity, how planets move around the Solar System, how a pendulum moves, how to calculate the speed/acceleration of a falling object in a given situation, or to calculate the distance covered by a sprinter, etc. You will study the properties of waves, i.e. light, sound, x-rays. Electricity comes into the course quite a bit, so current, resistance, electric charge and all that jazz. Temperature, heat, optic fibres, lasers, particle physics, electric fields, resonance, it's all pretty much there.

When you're asking about advantages, you're asking what is the point in knowing how the universe in which we live works. That's a good enough reason in itself :cool:.

I wouldn't say you need to be very good at maths. A reasonable amount of mathematical skill is required at higher level, but at most you're dealing with rearranging some formulae and simple trigonometry. Getting your head around some problems will take time, but practice makes perfect. I wouldn't worry too much about the mathematical side of it, it's definitely manageable.

Some experiments include measuring the value of acceleration due to gravity using a pendulum, finding out the relationship between the frequency and tension of a stretched string, measuring the acceleration of a wooden trolley on a ramp, measuring the wavelength of monochromatic light using a laser and seeing how the resistance of a thermistor changes with temperature. Overall you'd be doing around 25 experiments, I think.

Some of them are boring, but most are cool enough, surely much better than watching stuff boil in chemistry or seeing water change colour in biology.

Whether the subject becomes boring will mostly depend on your attitude and the level of involvement from your teacher. If he/she is passionate and willing to help with problems, or able to answer questions about the physical world in class without the use of a book then you'd be grand.

The exam is easy enough to prepare for. Big emphasis is placed on experiments, their procedure, using results to plot a graph, etc. Mechanics and waves usually come up every year, then there's other stuff like particle stuff and electricity. Nothing too eccentric, you could definitely manage an A with enough study and some intelligence.

I'd recommend it highly, especially if you're into science. It gives you great prospects for the future, trains your brain to think in a logical manner and uncovers the mysteries of the universe .

Chuchoter

What's on the course
So far we have done mechanics and optics, but then theres nuclear stuff, electronics, nuclear things. I'm only in 5th so we haven't covered much of the other stuff
What advantages and disadvantages there is
Disadvantages: There are an awful lot of graphs and you must understand whats going on.
Advantages:Very few definitions in comparison to the other sciences, in fact very little learning off by heart in general, most of it is practice and remembering it because it is interesting. Your class will almost definitely be small, so thats a plus.
Do I need to be really good at maths
No, however there is a lot of maths. In my own opinion you need to be getting As and Bs in OL or Cs and Bs in HL to manage it, purely because you need to be in a maths frame of mind for it, but in reality most of the maths going on is very basic.
Examples of what kind of experiments you do
Experiments aren't quite as exciting as Biology or Chemistry, theres lots of rolling things down ramps/weights/lenses/blocks of glass (so far, as I've said, I'm in 5th year). HOWEVER! Physics has the best toys of all three sciences, like fibre optic lamps.
Is it boring?
Not at all, its the most interesting one going, because it is so practical. I don't regularly see recrystallization or the cortex of the kidney on a day to day basis, but I do wear glasses, see water and do sports. You find out loads of weird and wonderful facts that are really applicable to real life.
And is there loads of writing, what kind of Qs in paper
No, theres very little writing in comparison to other questions. Most questions seem to be 50/50 maths to writing.

I take all three sciences, physics is definitely worth doing

CrashBandicoot Girl

Hey guys thanks for all your replies Im having alot of difficulty in regards to subject choices. Ive always been interested in Physics but my careers teacher said I shouldnt do physics ( probably made me want to do it more:D) and I was worried about the maths aspect of it . Im probably going to do it now though.

Now to choose between Biology, Chemistry, Music, History, Religion and Accountancy for my next 2 choices .

jumpguy

CrashBandicoot Girl wrote: »

Hey guys thanks for all your replies Im having alot of difficulty in regards to subject choices. Ive always been interested in Physics but my careers teacher said I shouldnt do physics ( probably made me want to do it more:D) and I was worried about the maths aspect of it . Im probably going to do it now though.

What were his reasons? The course is (forgive me if I've left anything out): Light & Optics, Mechanics, Temperature & Thermometers, Waves, Electricity, Magnetism, Nuclear Physics, and then finally you have the optional part of the course: Particle Physics (most common) or Applied Electricity.

Physics was, admittedly, for most of 5th year, my least favourite of the 3 sciences. While some of the (rather applied) maths could be interesting (yes, I'm a loser), the first few sections we covered in the course were fairly dull. That includes light and mechanics. But it was reasonably easy to do well in, and thanks to the new Formulae and Tables book, there's very little rote definition learning.

This year I'm finding it much better, I find electricity, particle physics, magnetism, nuclar physics and waves more interesting that light, mechanics and temperature + thermometers. However, I'd still prefer chemistry and biology to it overall.

Soooo, advantages: Short enough course (compared to biology, for example, but not shorter than chemistry I think), maths in it can be interesting (if you like maths), can be very interesting in some sections.

Disadvantages: TONNES of annoying non-mandatory practical experiments. Describe an experiment to show this and show that, very annoying when you know the concept and then have to go learn off a load of small little experiments to prove this and that. As I said, there are some sections I found rather dull, but they're usually the easiest ones too (most of light, and mechanics, although the mechanics exam question that comes up every year can be very challenging).

Do you need good maths? I'd say a B at pass (LC level) would see you through easily, but the better you are the merrier. Most of the questions are just manipulating formulae, and the more challenging maths questions are usually avoidable in the exam which affords you plenty of choice on the day. If you're doing pass Junior Cert maths, then tbh I wouldn't recommend physics.

CrashBandicoot Girl

CrashBandicoot Girl wrote: »

Ive always been interested in Physics but my careers teacher said I shouldnt do physics ( probably made me want to do it more:D) and I was worried about the maths aspect of it . Im probably going to do it now though.

Now to choose between Biology, Chemistry, Music, History, Religion and Accountancy for my next 2 choices .

I wouldn't mind what the careers teacher reckons to be honest, if you like physics from the Junior Cert and are not too bad at it it's definitely worth doing for the leaving. I loved JC physics, found the LC not too bad and did it in college and got a degree in Applied Physics. Liking a subject is half the battle

Don't worry about the maths, it's not a huge part of it, the theory and experiments etc are more than able to carry you through if you are interested.

Also being honest there was lots of physics that I didn't like, all the mirrors and lenses etc I was never interested in or the nuclear / radioactive stuff. Didn't like that stuff in LC or in college

HxGH

Since everyone else has provided great responses to your question I'll just make a few points:

Most importantly-
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE GOOD AT MATHS.

Many of my friends decided not to do physics because they don't like maths. (FOOLS)
The maths is easy and realistic (ie- you know what your doing and why you're doing it, unlike a lot of content on HL Maths Course for the LC)

Experiments are fun, class atmosphere is joyful and Physics is the ONE AND ONLY CLASS I say to myself
"What's the next class..? Oh yeah... Physics... YAY!" :P

MagicIRL

Unfortunetly I disagree. I do Pass Maths myself and I find the Maths in Physics to be a nightmare. But then again, I have a teacher who is not qualified to tie her own shoelaces let alone teach.

HxGH

MagicIRL wrote: »

Unfortunetly I disagree. I do Pass Maths myself and I find the Maths in Physics to be a nightmare. But then again, I have a teacher who is not qualified to tie her own shoelaces let alone teach.

Sorry to hear pal
Hope you do well!

trellheim

this is the major trouble with a lot of physics teaching, a lot of it is bad because poorer teachers think its maths ( its not ), maths is only the language.

if you don't like fiddling and finding out why stuff moves from the very smallest to the very largest - physics prob. isn't for you.



experimental physics is a lot of fun if someone good is teaching it.

Google up some stories about Richard Feynman or any MIT physics pranks.

MagicIRL

My avergae physics class will involve my teach skipping over most of the content in the book, attempting to summerise it verbally, while stuttering and contradicting herself all the time.

For example; Snells law is Sin i/Sin r or wait, Its R/i, No wait, yes its i/r. Now, I have that for literally every topic in Physics. When it comes to the problems, its just use this forumla. No explanation as to who/what/why/when.