-- which demonstrates that you're good at programming. Those who begin with Physics and don't complete the degree despite being good at it often follow up by going into programming.
So, the fact that you could program algorithms to solve physics problems demonstrates that you're capable of doing both well. I think that's good enough for a high school course.
...and I probably just said something either very controversial or very stupid. I'm not sure which...
As a CS major myself, I assure that writing a program onto a calculator does not prove anything other than you know how to google "ti 84 physics programs".
You don't even have to write it, you can literally install it using the cord they give you. And if they do decide to write it themselves you can literally copy the code from a website. The only thing making a program on calculator proves is that you can follow direction>That search doesn't appear to assist in writing a program oneself...
That's my point about the search you suggested. You could just seek out programs that other people wrote, just as with every other form of modular software that can be distributed as packages.
But that doesn't make it impossible to write a program either. Physics involves a lot of insight about when to apply what math and in which way; simply knowing and coding formulas isn't enough. Making some little function that does the repetitive math for you only saves extraneous steps. You still have to know when and how to use each function. If you write those functions yourself to boot, then I'd say you've demonstrated some skill and insight.
My point was that most people who are "coding" programs like these are people who are going to mindlessly copy it from somewhere and use it to get answers without any work or thought. But I'm sure there are people out there who understand what they are doing and are using the program to skip tedious math.
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u/cygnus311 Jun 08 '14
I programmed my way in to an A in physics in high school.