PHYS 4B
Class: Physics 4b with Dan Brown (Spring 2022)
Done by tutor Justin Hunziger for November Tutor Prep
What should I be studying? How should I study?
I recommend Khan Academy if you're feeling unsure about any specific topic! They have a lot of great videos on a lot of physics concepts and I urge you to look at the different physics topics. The link to the left is the entire physics library ranging from 1D and 2D motion (kinematics like the start of 4A) to thermodynamics, fluids, circuits, and magnetic forces (like the end of 4B!)
If you can ask Dr. Brown questions, he's usually more than happy to explain the nitty-gritty details about deriving equations and showing you how to do things mathematically and conceptually!
How do you handle physics?
The way that I learned physics is to understand it physically (as cliché as it sounds). I learned physics through the relationships between different phenomena and that is what I learned, not all the math (although learning the equations is important). It is nearly impossible (in my opinion) to memorize every formula or every potential circumstance that you will come across in physics-based class beyond 4A, so I believe that it is very beneficial to learn things a bit deeper and understand the relationships between the things you are learning.
For example: why does work happen when you are accelerating an object? ΔW (the change in work) is equal to ΔKE (the change in kinetic energy) which is directly related to velocity and mass, which you can do kinematics to solve with an acceleration! This is not something that I would want to memorize, but I understand the phenomenon of the conservation of energy and the relationships between kinetic energy and work to be able to tackle some very complicated problems on a time-crunch like in an exam.
How to study for his final?
Practice practice practice practice practice. That is the name of the game. One special thing (and one of the biggest reasons why everyone loves Professor Brown) is that he releases a study guide before big tests. At this point, you probably know this, and if you haven't been studying by completing ALL of the worksheets then you missed out on a big opportunity. Spoiler alert: it is almost exactly like the tests, and the final is nothing different. My recommendation is to not only complete this study guide but thoroughly understand why and how the answers are found. This is essential because even though they are extremely similar to the test, they aren't exactly the same. Sometimes it's different numbers (in this case memorizing formulas would work) but especially for the more conceptual problems, a curveball could be thrown that completely reverses the problem (for example the direction of work done on a gas within a PV graph).
In this case when there's a problem that you just could not figure out how the answer was reached, I recommend searching it up online and using resources like Youtube. Organic Chemistry Tutor always pulls through, and you can use Chegg but I would advise against it because they are usually wrong at this level of physics (especially with electromagnetic) but it does provide some sort of basis to start off when lost.
Right Hand Rule
A quick tip: Brown LOVES the right-hand rule. If you want a quick 20 points on the exam, make sure you thoroughly understand what the right-hand rule is and where/how to apply it. In addition, understand why we use it at all when it comes to the mathematical sense and how it comes from now.