AP Physics. Trying to understand Kinematics - General

Wtf is wrong with OP I took Trig as a freshman

You want vectors. Which can be calculated as triangles. Which needs trig. Just get a basic understanding of trig and you'll be golden.

I love all the people taking AP's because it looks good for college, despite being not smart enough to take them. If you manage to work hard and pull it off that is pretty impressive though. My PA Physics class had the five or some people who had no idea what was going on and failed terribly, it was saddening.

What are AP's? What year do you guys have to be in to take it? I know he said he was a high school senior, but do you have to be to take it?

It's better to know calculus. Just saying. The real thing is just memorizing the equations your teacher gives you and learn where to apply them. That's like 95% of your Physics class right there. When I took AP Physics it didn't require calculus for the first semester, but afterwards you needed it. Luckily I was already taking Calc II/III.

[QUOTE=redonkulous;25350511]I love all the people taking AP's because it looks good for college, despite being not smart enough to take them. If you manage to work hard and pull it off that is pretty impressive though. My PA Physics class had the five or some people who had no idea what was going on and failed terribly, it was saddening.[/QUOTE] That's kind of what I did but hey B+ that's not too bad.

That's what my friends say when I did AP English Comp and AP US History. I got a 5 on APUSH and 4 on APENG

[QUOTE=GunsNRoses2;25350612]What are AP's? What year do you guys have to be in to take it? I know he said he was a high school senior, but do you have to be to take it?[/QUOTE] you can take them as long as you are in high school that's about the only requirement [editline]07:36PM[/editline] [QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;25351064]That's kind of what I did but hey B+ that's not too bad.[/QUOTE] That's 4.0 in an AP class [editline]07:36PM[/editline] [QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;25351064]That's kind of what I did but hey B+ that's not too bad.[/QUOTE] That's 4.0 in an AP class [editline]07:37PM[/editline] [QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;25351064]That's kind of what I did but hey B+ that's not too bad.[/QUOTE] That's 4.0 in an AP class [editline]07:37PM[/editline] [QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;25351064]That's kind of what I did but hey B+ that's not too bad.[/QUOTE] That's 4.0 in an AP class

[QUOTE=SomeRandomGuy18;25351301]you can take them as long as you are in high school that's about the only requirement [editline]07:36PM[/editline] That's 4.0 in an AP class [editline]07:36PM[/editline] That's 4.0 in an AP class [editline]07:37PM[/editline] That's 4.0 in an AP class [editline]07:37PM[/editline] That's 4.0 in an AP class[/QUOTE] Together he has a 16. He's a genius.

If calculus is involved you should probably learn derivatives. They're pretty easy and are used in a lot of subjects.

AP is a class that you can get college credits for. It stands for Advanced Placement. I'm not in AP U.S. History this year. I'm pretty sure I'm in the retarded class. At least it makes me feel smrt :3:

Retarded? I'm pretty sure those people don't care about school but they can do good if they apply themselves.

AP is only there to make you hate college at an earlier time in your life. Oh, and I guess to let you get a college credit without paying too much for it. I forgot about that part. Fuck AP classes, I just took college classes in High school.

[QUOTE=Greenen72;25365767]AP is only there to make you hate college at an earlier time in your life. Oh, and I guess to let you get a college credit without paying too much for it. I forgot about that part. Fuck AP classes, I just took college classes in High school.[/QUOTE] AP's are college classes. At the end, you take the college level test, and get college credits at most colleges for taking it. I know the AP Physics C class I'm taking gets 10 credits at a couple universities in my state. Also, OP, if you are having trouble solving that easy of a problem, then you're going to fail once you get into the legit stuff. Actually, the stuff that you are doing right now, I was expected to teach myself, as part of a summer packet. Got tested the first day. Aced that shit.

It's funny, I'm taking Physics right now (I'm only a Junior though, and in Canada so I have the 3U course for university Grade 11), doing kinematics. Here's the four equations we use: [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/0/f/4/0f4c4ab591cb2056d28ffb7328100b0f.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/3/0/f/30fb2177720aadbd32ef942603af26aa.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/f/9/9/f99104f6fbb908a8b6bff59068fce56f.png[/IMG] [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/4/7/f/47f9b222b5c53d00ec9583d3d8032877.png[/IMG] Just copied it from wikipedia, but that's what we use.. (Sorry if this has already been posted or isn't what's needed!)

[QUOTE=tyler3497;25366491]AP's are college classes. At the end, you take the college level test, and get college credits at most colleges for taking it. I know the AP Physics C class I'm taking gets 10 credits at a couple universities in my state. Also, OP, if you are having trouble solving that easy of a problem, then you're going to fail once you get into the legit stuff. Actually, the stuff that you are doing right now, I was expected to teach myself, as part of a summer packet. Got tested the first day. Aced that shit.[/QUOTE] APs aren't college classes where I am. There's a difference between a professor teaching stuff and a high-school teacher teaching stuff

[QUOTE=Shadowstone;25366812]It's funny, I'm taking Physics right now (I'm only a Junior though, and in Canada so I have the 3U course for university Grade 11), doing kinematics. Here's the four equations we use: [img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/0/f/4/0f4c4ab591cb2056d28ffb7328100b0f.png[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/3/0/f/30fb2177720aadbd32ef942603af26aa.png[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/f/9/9/f99104f6fbb908a8b6bff59068fce56f.png[/img_thumb] [img_thumb]http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/4/7/f/47f9b222b5c53d00ec9583d3d8032877.png[/img_thumb] Just copied it from wikipedia, but that's what we use.. (Sorry if this has already been posted or isn't what's needed!)[/QUOTE] The second equation looks quite similar to the formula to find the distance: d = Vi(t) + (1/2)at^2

That's because it is.

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;25347277]I'm a senior at a High School and in my AP Physics, we are having a chapter test regarding motion. We are using this textbook pictured below [img_thumb]http://filesmelt.com/dl/physics.jpg[/img_thumb] The special thing about our AP Physics class is that [b]it does not have calculus as a pre-requisite in joining the class[/b]. The major problem I have is that I am only taking Trigonometry this year. I know that Newton invented Calculus solely for Physics, but my teacher says that we will only be able to get up to precal [b]at most[/b] so there. I'm still trying to understand how you understand acceleration, the differences between velocity, speed, displacement etc. My teacher also told us about the four basic equations of kinematics/motion. My huge problem is trying to decipher word problems. I do not know how to plug in the variables and figure out which velocity is the initial or final. Are there any 'Eureka' videos or guides that involve understanding these equations in a more easier way?[/QUOTE] With word problems, my teacher taught us to simply pull out the numbers in the problem, find out which equation has variable for the values given and the answer, and plug in your values and solve. Maybe I could demonstrate this more clearly if you gave an example problem

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;25349353]My book has the equations set to X. That's just same as distance right, graph-wise? [img_thumb]http://filesmelt.com/dl/kinematics.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] Oh my...You should probably just drop the class right now. [editline]13th October 2010[/editline] [QUOTE=Greenen72;25365767]AP is only there to make you hate college at an earlier time in your life. Oh, and I guess to let you get a college credit without paying too much for it. I forgot about that part. Fuck AP classes, I just took college classes in High school.[/QUOTE] AP classes in high school are still a walk in the park compared to actual college courses, at least for my engineering courses.

Kinematic equations are intermediate algebra problems. You only really need calc to define displacement vs time (first derivative is velocity, second is acceleration) and know how to preform integral calculus for finding work (given a function of time). Now that I think of it, I've only had to use the equation W=integral(F(x),xi,xf) as far as calculus problems go. Simply put: Calculus is the EXACT SAME THING AS ALGEBRA OR TRIG. It's just a object that has certain rules applied to it. It's not that hard to do once you know the rules. Derivative (dx/dt) represents the instantaneous velocity (the slope of the graph at any given point). The formal definition is the limit as h approaches zero of (F(x+h)-F(x))/h for a given function F(x) (but h, which is delta x never equals zero. We look at this a lot in higher math to deal with the concept of infinity and series and whatnot) Integral is the inverse function of derivative. Just how like e^(ln(x))=x undoes eachother. It represents the area below the graph. Just look at some of the rules of calculus operations and some example problems.

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;25347277]We are using this textbook pictured below [img_thumb]http://filesmelt.com/dl/physics.jpg[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] I fucking love science textbook covers. Just a slew of vaguely related colorful images against a colorless background. As for OP's problem, talk to your teacher. Facepunch can't teach you all this stuff over your computer, not to mention that your teacher knows where you should be in the course.

[QUOTE=fenwick;25374109]I fucking love science textbook covers. Just a slew of vaguely related colorful images against a colorless background.[/QUOTE] Nice insight. Made me stop to think and smile.

[QUOTE=W00tbeer1;25347579]Half of Facepunch isn't even in 12th grade yet.[/QUOTE] Or even 12 years old yet.

Damn... Kinematics with imperial units must suck.

[QUOTE=Edthefirst;25371081]That's because it is.[/QUOTE] No, it's to find displacement.

[QUOTE=rieda1589;25374595]Damn... Kinematics with imperial units must suck.[/QUOTE] true.