That Subject That Makes Me All Grouchy

[ase]

Fruits of my frustration: four physics icons. If you like, comment, credit and enjoy.

1.	2.
3.	4.

Warning: that's Baby's First Table up there. If something is broken, please comment on the fact so I can fix it. The lack of border is deliberate, though possibly less aesthetic than I thought. Thanks!

I'm running out of tricks for studying physics. Reading and doing the sample problems (wrong, usually) is taking too long for the return I'm getting. Am I past the equation flashcard stage?

Also, dear Serenity soundtrack, you may now exit my brain. It is time for something - anything - else. Because you aren't even released until tomorrow. Just because that movie's about the only thing I can bank my geek cred on this month doesn't give you the right to inhabit my brain for multiple days running.

Comments

[herewiss13.livejournal.com]

With physics it's all about the equations. They're like a toolbox. If one doesn't work, try applying another.

Identify which variables you have, which you're looking for and, with an established toolbox, you'll soon see which equation will take what you have and spit out what you need.


...and looking back at that advice, it sounds incredibly pretentious...but that still how it worked for me.

*shrug*

[ase.livejournal.com]

...and looking back at that advice, it sounds incredibly pretentious...

Icon material!

It's actually not bad advice. If you throw enough equations at a problem, it will be solved. The goal, though, is not to throw every equation into the mix, but to find the least number needed to solve the problem and move on.

My physics hate is insane. I hate the lecture and lab (but discussion is almost okay - everyone's about equally clueless), but I understand that the material is fundamental to pretty much every other science. So I'm in this weird place where I'm spending something like 12(? 14?) hours a week working with this subject that makes me unlpeasant. I want this course to be over.

[mareklamo.livejournal.com]

Something that might also help is to list everything you know from the problem, as well as what you're trying to solve for. Something like:

Given: F=9.8N, m=10kg, etc.
Find: acceleration in meters/per second squared

That way you'll know what you can plug into your equations, and the units can give you a clue too.

[aoumd.livejournal.com]

LOL I love the icon with the 111s mixed in with the !!!s

I feel the same way with BMGT472, my purchasing class.

All the best with your studying!

[ase.livejournal.com]

Not only do mad people abuse exclamation points, they also have problems with fingers slipping off the appropriate keys. Ah, physics.

Thanks! Good luck to you, too. There's always one course per semester, isn't there?

[kaylarudbek.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Trying to remember my method for physics. First, identify the type of problem, so you know what equation to use. Second, identify what you know and what you don't know....

[ase.livejournal.com]

I think I'm at that classic "make nice and memorize equations" bit. The equations toolbox must be in our heads for the tests. Also, easier to access than rifling through the book.

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the physics! NOT a subject I did well in, so no advice.

When Tom and I were watching Firefly, he kept getting the theme song stuck in his head.

Now we were just watching Coupling, and I kept getting the theme song stuck in my head. I wonder if it was some sort weird retribution on his part. :-)

Good luck losing the Serenity soundtrack!! ;-)

[ase.livejournal.com]

I think the advice here is, "get out with minimal damage."

I think it's almost gone now - when there's less than a week to release day. It's really weird - I know people who aren't fans and are planning to see the movie. How often does that happen?

[toraks.livejournal.com]

It's really weird - I know people who aren't fans and are planning to see the movie. How often does that happen?

Wow!! That's really great! I hope that Serenity is a huge success so Joss can go back and continue it as a TV show. Or even more movies. But can continue it in some way! :-)

[coyotegestalt.livejournal.com]

It's a beautiful table- and I love the spherical cow icon.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[filkferengi]

Much icon love, especially for 1 & 3. You may be frustrated, but at least you've got cool icons to show for it.

Good luck with it, though.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I channel my frustration into icons. It's more productive than throwing things.

[countrycousin.livejournal.com]

Organic is tough.  You have to remember all those details.   And you can learn a lot from a spherical cow.  :<)

Nice icons.

I'm told you're on LMB - I'm Richard Suitor.  Reading and doing sample problems is a pretty good approach.   The text examples sometimes give a number of steps in the solution - they are "intermediate" answers.  Part of the trick is figuring out what questions to ask oneself to come with the intermediate answers.  You're welcome to send me email if I can help.   Good luck!

[ase.livejournal.com]

You have to understand, you're coming in at the epilogue of a two-year organic chem odyssey. When I say organic is easy, it's in the same spirit that people say climbing Mount Everest is a nice afternoon hike.

Spherical cows are the punchline of an engineering joke, IIRC. But the spirit, the flavor of it seems to have come through. :-) Thank you.

Hi back, by the way - I'm lurking a lot these days, the signal/noise ratio is a little off right now. Because I have evil physics homework which sucks my time. (I could have taken cell biology, but no. Had to be responsible and get physics out of the way.) Thanks for the advice - the intermediate answers are usually exactly where I bog down. So I guess it's just more of the same, only with more attention to the in-between steps. Ouch.

[poodlerat.livejournal.com]

I love #3, and I'll be sure to credit you. I don't even take physics now, but I remember my high school courses in it well.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Oh, physics. There's a reason I avoided it until pretty much the last possible second. But the world seriously needs more humorous science icons. The low-brow biology humor alone would be a riot. But also possibly require college bio to understand, so maybe not such a good idea.

[poodlerat.livejournal.com]

Biology and I parted ways after grade nine. I spent three months torturing myself trying to memorize the parts of the cell, and finally decided that my mental block on the subject probably meant biology was not for me...