Hey! I'm taking Physics 1B03 during the upcoming Spring session & I was wondering if anyone else who has taken this course in the summer could give me a head's up on what I should expect? In terms of how much prep is needed for labs and midterms, how are the three-hour lectures, etc. I'm guessing that since it's compressed into two months it's going to be pretty intense and fast-paced. How many hours a day does a person need to spend working through the problems/CAPA/reading the textbook to keep up and do well in this course?

Really I'm not a physics person AT ALL so I'm kinda worried, lol. Is physics generally easier or harder during the summer?

Also for the weekly labs... are there going to be less of them, since there's only 2 months?

Thanks!!

refer to physics 1bo3 reviews..
i think sills is teaching it, he's awesome

Actually, I'd like some first hand expertise too, Physics is devil spawn.

Originally Posted by marcie

How many hours a day does a person need to spend working through the problems/CAPA/reading the textbook to keep up and do well in this course?

Really I'm not a physics person AT ALL so I'm kinda worried, lol. Is physics generally easier or harder during the summer?

There's an advantage to not being a 'physics person' - you can easily get a good mark in this class if you do your work. So, you shouldn't have the problem of underestimating the material and not doing work (*cough*).

Originally Posted by marcie

Hey! I'm taking Physics 1B03 during the upcoming Spring session & I was wondering if anyone else who has taken this course in the summer could give me a head's up on what I should expect? In terms of how much prep is needed for labs and midterms, how are the three-hour lectures, etc. I'm guessing that since it's compressed into two months it's going to be pretty intense and fast-paced. How many hours a day does a person need to spend working through the problems/CAPA/reading the textbook to keep up and do well in this course?

Really I'm not a physics person AT ALL so I'm kinda worried, lol. Is physics generally easier or harder during the summer?

Also for the weekly labs... are there going to be less of them, since there's only 2 months?

Thanks!!

I didn’t take physics during the summer, but I know a few people who did, and you definitely have to invest a lot of time if you want to do well. Every 3 hour lecture will comprise of approximately a week's worth of material, so you will be covering 2 weeks in just 2 days. It is very fast-paced, and you should be prepared to spend a significant time on studying/CAPA/lab preparation/reading the textbook/practise problems.

There will be less weekly labs. I believe you will complete 5 labs in total, whereas during the school year, 11 or 12 labs are done.

if you follow up with the material after each lecture, it will be fine. Sills is an awesome prof, so it will be fine

Just a note: last time Sills made a test.. which was the very first midterm of this semester's 1b03, the average was ~80 with half the curve missing (there was the most number of people in the "100" section lol).

I heard that the second midterm and the final were pretty brutal. Is there any particular reason for that?

2nd midterm had a bunch of conceptual questions, and i think the material was harder too

If Sills is teaching no one has anything to worry about.

The only hard questions are given by Hughes.

I know I will get bashed but I will share my personal perspective. I just want to let you know that I am not posting this to brag or anything.
I don't feel the second midterm and the exam were significantly harder than the first midterm. It's just the material. The first one contained a lot of concepts that most people encountered in high school whereas the second midterm and the exam were composed of things that were not normally taught in high school.

If you keep up with the course material and TRY TO UNDERSTAND concepts instead of MEMORIZING them, it will be fine.
Doing recommended questions should be "a way" to solidify your understanding. There are numerous ways, which you should figure out yourself because everyone has different ways of learning.

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

If Sills is teaching no one has anything to worry about.

The only hard questions are given by Hughes.

Yeah. The two midterms were really straightforward, the final was a bit tricky. It seems that Hughes' questions are only hard because they're usually pretty ambiguous and poorly worded, though.

hey i dont know if anyone would be able to help me with this, but im taking physics 1B03 in the summer as well but im taking it to upgrade my past mark. I read something about getting an excemption from labs if you've already done them? So does this apply for people in my situation? Because I read this off the summer physics page from last summer, so I dont know if it still applies for this year

Originally Posted by mtristani

hey i dont know if anyone would be able to help me with this, but im taking physics 1B03 in the summer as well but im taking it to upgrade my past mark. I read something about getting an excemption from labs if you've already done them? So does this apply for people in my situation? Because I read this off the summer physics page from last summer, so I dont know if it still applies for this year

It is kinda misleading. Your past marks don't really transfer over but those lab percentage is added into your exam. So your exam is worth more!

haha ok, knew there was some catch. thanks

i am in the same situation..i emailed the prof and he said there is no exemption from labs this summer hope this helps