How hard is college physics if you never taken physics in high school?
March 10th, 2010 | 
Author: My college requires me to take Physics 1 with Calculus (prereqs include a grade of C or better in Calculus 1 and a high school physics course) for the computer science major. I’m not entirely sure if physics is more qualitiative than quantitative but that’s the impression I’m getting
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physics 1 in college does not have a prerequisite of high school physics. some of my best friends have taken physics 1 and 2 here and done extremely well although they cut class all the time in high school and didnt learn anything. 1 of them got a 65 in physics in high school because he did absolutely nothing for the class. however, he got to college and declared a major in bio (he wants to go pre-med). he went to every lecture and attended all his discussion classes. he read the textbook, solved suggested problems and did his hw. college physics teaches u everything from the ground up so high school physics doesnt mean anything. however, u MUST read the textbook and learn the material. if u dont understand something, u have to either ask in class, go to the professor or teaching assistant’s office hours and make sure u get it,
no class in college requires anything from high school
It depends on the quality of you’re professor. If you have a good professor who can explain things clearly and has a decent amount of office hours in case of questions you will likely do well. If you’re professor is not so good you will definitely need some help. Higher level science classes like this tend to be fairly difficult. If you have a good grasp on calculus you will be fine, if not get some help as soon as the semester starts. Physics has a lot of calculus based equations and you always need to understand how to use them to get the desired results (so qualitative). Most colleges have some sort of science help hours and if not I would recommend getting together with a study group from you’re class or hiring a tutor if you’re a bit weak in calculus. You should know by the end of the first week if you’ll need extra help or not. Either way, make sure to do all the homework, whether it’s required or optional. Physics takes practice in order to be successful. Good Luck!