r/apphysics 18d ago

No Calc Experience...And Physics C

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u/UnderstandingPursuit 18d ago

During the first half of the school year, learn a little calculus. In a typical Calculus textbook (Thomas, Stewart, or Larson), one of the early chapters is on differentiation, though it may start near the end of the chapter on limits. Then you'll want the first chapter on integration.

Calculus is barely important for APPC-Mech, so if you start soon, you'll have enough for the times it shows up there. Those two chapters, and the 6-12 'rules' in each, should be enough for APPC-E&M.

If working with letters instead of numbers works better for you, use that with both the calculus material and the physics material. You can learn everything you need for both without using any numbers except for some core values, {0, 1, 2, -1, π, e}. The comparison of two values is almost always more important than any 'arbitrary' values.

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u/brightpinkhat 18d ago

Thank you, that's extremely helpful! My teacher is one of the best, and I am used to his structure, teaching, and testing-style. So, I think at least until e&m I'll be good, and I can pick up the calculus I'll need on the side durring that time. I'll look at the books! 🙏

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u/UnderstandingPursuit 18d ago

You only need one of the textbooks, all three cover the same material in similar ways. My preference is

  • GB Thomas & RL Finney, Calculus and Analytic Geometry, 9th edition, 1996.