The Indian Thread (TiT) # 15

International Students
3801

<p>Physics god? Me? Har har, Kriti. I just love the subject, I’m not superb at it.</p>

<p>Anyway, naidu90 – what level physics is this, might I ask? I’ve finished roughly until the approximate equivalent of AP Physics C in school, and a bit more of that because of dorky independent study – all hail special relativity! and quantum mechanics! – so I can only really help till that sort of level.</p>

<p>Best thing to do, since you’re still a junior, is to find yourself a very, very good comprehensive sort of physics book, and work at it a bit. Personally, I use Halliday & Resnick’s Fundamentals, and another book by Cutnell & Johnson, but they might not be at your level (and they’re really bloody expensive!); having a good, well-written book is the most helpful thing possible. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Then: practice, practice, practice, and practice some more. I know that sounds horrid, especially if you don’t like physics all that much, but working a little extra for the subject is the only way to get things straight, really. (I assume you know all the underlying math involved; if you don’t, learning the math is the way to go.) Trying practice problems is a great idea, especially if you have some good solved examples (the books I’ve mentioned are great with that, but again, I don’t know what level you work at – those are really college-introductory level at the very least.).</p>

<p>Keep in mind that this isn’t from an American perspective, so I don’t know exactly what you’ll need to be competent with (all I’ve seen are AP papers, and they look like they just need really firm theory – which means books – and a little bit of smart problem solving.).</p>

<p>ajayc – I might stay on CC if I get in somewhere decent, because heaven knows I’ve wanted an MIT/Caltech student to rail at when the going was tough. :wink: Realistically, though, I won’t get in and I won’t have the time (planning to spend the summer doing math. All hail linear analysis.). </p>

<p>(And yes, I am self-funded. My stats aren’t the best, though – they’re good, but there are people better than me.)</p>

3802

<p>its Physics B <- going to take the damn exam in May :(. I know the basics and I have taken practice exams for Physics B and I am quite certain I can get a 5. It’s just this teacher’s tests which are killing me (literally).</p>

<p>His questions are so convulated. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!</p>

3803

<p>I watched 17 episodes of ‘Heroes’. In 2 days.</p>

<p>I’m going crazy.</p>

3804

<p>I will not stay on CC after I go to college. I’ll take everyone’s IMs (I have almost everyopne on IM - except the twins, fuzzy, naidu and you - I think)</p>

<p>Lakshya, I hope “Kirti” was a typo. (Or else, you’re in danger.) Way too many people call me Kiriti because they apparently seem to think I don’t know my own name >.<. They can’t say “Kriti”.</p>

3805

<p>in 2 days??? why?</p>

<p>I am off…stupid final exams…physics tommorow! :D</p>

3806

<p>I don’t have an IM <- my dad won’t let me :(</p>

3807

<p>It was a typo. Really.</p>

<p>Anyway, it’s been corrected. :D</p>

<p>@ajayc: I don’t know, you tell me.</p>

<p>And I’m watching the 18th one as we speak.</p>

3808

<p>She did independent study in physics, and she’s going to do math in the summer, and she’s not a god. Wow.</p>

<p>Plus she actually had some advice.</p>

<p><em>shakes head in disbelief</em> Independent Study?!</p>

3809

<p>@Noldo… just curious… wat does “Har har” mean… it seems an alien expression to me… haven’t encountered it before…</p>

3810

<p>AH! my 900th post just went by and I didn’t even realize it !</p>

<p>BTW I’m doing independent study for Physics (and 3 other things) too</p>

3811

<p>Um, how does your dad know whether you have IM?</p>

<p>I’ll take your email then :).</p>

3812

<p>naidu – try the Cutnell and Johnson text, if you can find it. Marvellous book, and should help a lot. (Really, convoluted problems are the only way to properly understand physics. Don’t let your teacher demotivate you too much – a 5 on the AP will validate your grade, firstly, and if you fool around with the problems, you might begin to enjoy things a little bit. :))</p>

<p>Lakshya – I wholly approve of such activities. :smiley: Heroes is awesome, isn’t it? (waiting for the 18th ep.)</p>

<p>Kriti – Really, I’m not all that great. :wink: I just go a bit crazy when I’m reading interesting stuff. And I have a nerd!uncle (er, double IIT graduate, does that say anything?) who bought me about six physics texts, so. Yeah. (Also, granddad’s a former math professor. I’m too surrounded by this stuff to stay disinterested! :D)</p>

<p>bas007 – It’s like ‘ha ha’, only more sarcastic. :)</p>

3813

<p>Har har = haha = hehe = hee hee = lol = rofl. Among others.</p>

3814

<p>I can sympathize with Heroes. Same from us really with regard to Physics. I find AP Physics pretty easy, frankly, an Indian Physics course will do that to you. Especially if like me you’re mad and decide that you must know all about leptons, and up quarks and down quarks and baryons and muons and pions and the like. Special Relativity? :smiley: I think I first fell in love with it after reading about the twin paradox about 3 years back.</p>

<p>I’ll probably stay on CC after I get in somewhere. Be one of those people with over 3000 posts who post a sort of blog on CC about their college experience. :slight_smile: “You can’t ever leave” :)</p>

<p>@ naidu, any specific questions, we’ll be glad to help though.</p>

3815

<p>I don’t have an email either. I made one and then my dad found out and got really, really mad :mad: mad as in MAD</p>

<p>thanks for the offer, Shrivats :)</p>

3816

<p>goodness… Har Har… I prefer LOL and ROTFL</p>

3817

<p>Heroes is awesome. </p>

<p>I was going through AP Physics C papers and I guess it’s not a really difficult test to ace. If I’d learnt calculus in 11th I think I could’ve done it last year itself.</p>

3818

<p>If, if, if I get into one of my dream colleges, I’m probably going to live on OCW for the next few months, finish of all my courses, and then be the most infuriating person in college for that whole semester. :D</p>

<p>This summer I’ll probably be doing a lot of debating, helping my school team on a consultant basis for a number of all India debates they’ll be heading for (that we won last year :)). I’ll also be doing some college level stuff in all seriousness. All this talk of research and all seems to have ignited something in me. :)</p>

3819

<p>Yeah, it’s kinda self explanatory why I called them Physics gods. :). </p>

<p>naidu, why would your dad care about you talking to people privately? Sorry if this sounds rude.</p>

<p>You can ask me specific things too, but I’m not sure I can answer, besides you have them :)</p>

<p>I hate netspeak. LOL and ROFL are overused.</p>

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<p>As for K, he’s got plans of starting up a National Debating Society here. As you can probably figure out, we’re Debaters in a very major way :)</p>