#physics 1

I plan to go back to school next fall, so I have a little ovet fourteen months to master all seven subjects. I won't need two full months for algebra 1; cracking open the first chapter, it's all stuff like "here's what a plus sign means" and "variables look like letters, but they really stand for numbers!"

It won't hurt to brush up on factorization, but I think I can bang this one out in a week or two. All the better, because calculus kicked my ass in high school and it's not gonna be any easier now that I'm my own teacher. I passed it once (by the skin of my teeth), but have forgotten almost everything about it in the last decade, so I'll need the extra time to really get it down pat. I have to be able to derive and integrate in my sleep if I'm to stand half a chance at earning an astrophysics major. Astronomy would be slightly easier, but not by much, so I may as well go for gusto. The very first class astrophysics requires is calc 2, so I can't enroll until I'm 100% sure I know calc 1 forwards and backwards. Physics too, but physics and calc feel like two sides of the same coin, so I'll try to work on them at the same time (again, I managed to pull it off once, I'm sure I can do it again).

Chances are these Dummies books will be insufficient for me to grok all this math in one year, so I'll end up buying more textbooks, workbooks, study guides, SAT and AP prep, etc. I had plenty of cram sessions in my first go around at college, but nothing quite like this. This will be a herculean undertaking compared to the easy-A humanities program I coasted through originally. I had no motivation back then, no drive, no goal for "the real world" upon graduating. I went to college because it was expected of me, and I was told I needed it to get a good job. What I wasn't told is that not all majors are created equal; there's not a lot you can do with an English degree besides, well, teaching English. I just hope 14 months is enough time, because I would really prefer not to take another year off; 2024 is the ten year anniversary of when I started college the first time, so it would mean so much more to me if I started again that August rather than put it off until 2025.

Looking for science books for the holidays for yourself or others? Here are some that I’ve loved that I don’t see often recommended

Basic Optics and Optical Instruments By Naval Education and Training Program Development Center

Might not look like much but this is perhaps the single best book I’ve ever read about optics. If you have even a passing interest in lasers, rainbows, lens, telescopes (or submarine maintenance) I’d highly recommend giving this book a read. It definitely the best written book I’ve encountered for the topic, significantly better than most textbooks on the topics

A lot of books written by and for the navy are some of the most comprehensive and well-written books on a given topic

Get a copy

The Cartoon Guide to Physics by Larry Gonick and Art Huffman

A book for all ages, I read this book when I was in elementary school and again recently and it remains as charming and informative as ever. Great for children or just anyone more inclined to learn visually

Get a copy

A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin

America has landed on the moon not once, but many times with multiple Apollo Missions. Ever wonder what the astronauts were doing up there?

Get a copy

hello! so i know you probably are studying away right now, or are curled up in a blanket scrolling through the tags and trying to forget about the test, but have i got something for you:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gFfL4Ps3DHtqmvafku_L0xCBv8p9wpGgmkMGCTnzkts/edit?usp=sharing

i’m compiling a study guide of definitions, equations, methods, and clarifications for topics on the test. 

these are mainly things i’m just reinforcing as i’m reading through the Crash Course study book. a lot may seem like basic stuff but our teacher taught us jack sh*t on concepts and as if the whole class was a math class (when the guide says this is specifically NOT a math test) so if you too also learned jack sh*t, this might help.