FizziksGuy

Hiya redsox1! TONS of physics in golf... are you good? I get my money's worth -- really, I watch the pros on TV and they always play from the fairway. I like a challenge, and tend to play from the trees, the sand, deep rough -- adds some excitement to my game.

Sounds like a great plan to me... welcome to Regents Physics adv1!!!

Hiya SkiSteph, and welcome to APlusPhysics! I'm glad to hear you're excited about the course -- I'll do my best to make sure you're not disappointed... would love to hear about snowboarding -- I used to wakeboard when I lived in Austin, TX many moons ago, and have wanted to try snowboarding now that I'm in the snowy tundra we call Rochester. Have a great day!

Great to hear from you willorn, and I'm thrilled to hear you're enjoying your professors. Keep us abreast of your adventures, and have a great year! :wave)

Pleased to have you aboard Swagmeister... my head hurts a little from reading that (your poor English teacher!) but I think I got the gist. Looking forward to a fun year! :labmate)

Sounds like a great plan to me. I'm excited to get started on our labs too -- I love seeing how we start slowly with lots of help, and by the end of the year students are doing labs with absolutely no assistance from the instructor!

I want you to have a great experience in this class too... and if you don't like test taking, I'm thinking you'll like our Skills-Based Grading system -- lots of chances to demonstrate your knowledge, even if you don't like tests. Make it a great year!

Welcome crazyskittles -- what type of guitar do you play? Perhaps you can give us a demo when we get to our waves unit! (No one wants to hear me play and sing... trust me!)

A fellow piano player -- welcome! What do you like to play? Billy Joel is my favorite, but it's an ongoing challenge to keep up the skills. Make it a great year!

Thrilled to have you aboard Dexter... I can't wait to get into the fun physics stuff too -- our math review, though important for a good base of skills, isn't as fun as exploring how the world works (which we'll get to really soon!)

Welcome Leekspinnah... philosophy and physics mesh pretty closely as the year goes on, and occasionally even tie into religion. [ATTACH=CONFIG]159[/ATTACH]Mrs. FizziksGuy had me watching Angels and Demons over the weekend, a movie that combines particle physics, philosophy, religion, and history in a very interesting way (even if not always accurately). Make it a great day!

Howdy Skittles! We'll take some time up front to review the math you'll need in physics this year. For our Regents course, basic algebra, the Pythagorean Theorem, and only a tiny amount of trig is required (and you don't even need to memorize it -- it's on the reference table for you!) Make it a great year. :einstein)

Hiya itownlax1, and welcome to APlusPhysics! Tell us a bit about yourself, what you enjoy, what you hope to learn in physics this year, and what you're excited about. Let's make it an amazing year!

Hello SmileyRunner10! What sorts of things do you like to read? I've been an avid reader my whole life, and but it's only been in the last couple years I thought that actually WRITING a book might be fun. Now, book #2 is in the works (another physics book), then I'd LOVE to try writing a novel -- I've been organizing/planning/outlining for months, but am nervous to start (well, not nervous to start, nervous that it might not be any good). But I think the fun part will be in the writing, whether anyone else ever reads it or not. Physics projects and labs can be frustrating when we start, because I try very hard NOT to give too many directions, and allow you to figure it out. But figure it out you will, especially if you don't procrastinate. To give you a feel, check out the comments at the bottom of the page from last year's class with respect to our catapult project: http://www.aplusphysics.com/projects/catapult.html Make it a great day!

Good Morning LilTigger101! Any thoughts on where you might want to go to college for pharmacy? I have a couple friends who are pharmacists and they love their job. Welcome. :egg)

Hiya Toll_Physicist. I bet we can do tons as far as applications of physics to real-world situations, and I'm excited that you've got a head start on basics of electricity... this usually comes into play in late December/early January, and I'd love to leverage your expertise as we dive into electrostatics and circuits!

Welcome to APlusPhysics Mammoth! Did you draw your avatar yourself? I'd love to learn more about your art projects and see some of the work you've done.

Howdy Karpy17, thrilled you're excited about physics. And you're absolutely right, the start you get in physics this year will be invaluable to you in your engineering studies. Even more than the facts themselves, learning how to think logically (i.e. like an engineer) may be the most important skill we work on in the course. I like your plan for success as well, and can tell you in all honesty, if you focus and work hard in class, every day, the amount of out-of-class studying and homework will actually be fairly light. Each year I'm amazed to find the students who dive in during class have the most free time after class, and are the most successful. Be one of those students!!! :wave)

Pretty tricky... fieldhockeygoal plays field hockey and is a goalie! :egg) Tons of physics in physical therapy, and, of course, in teaching (especially if you want to become a physics teacher!!!) Your plan for success sounds like a good one, and make sure to avail yourself of all the terrific resources on APlusPhysics.com. On the website you'll find the ENTIRE Regents Physics curriculum, interactive practice quizzes, videos, the forums, projects, physics news, even course notes! Have a great Labor Day.

Sounds like a plan... I think you'll find the pace of the class somewhat relaxed -- although it looks like we'll cover a ton of material this year, most topics we only cover at a very high level, and then we may pick and choose a few of interest to the class (and the teacher) to explore more deeply. Reviewing notes and studying as you go is a great idea -- and don't forget, we even keep all of our class notes online! Class Notes Web Page Make it a great day! :einstein)

Sounds like you're a busy guy! You're right, I think physics is a very interesting class (with a few topics that we'll just have to get through), but very applicable to things you see outside the classroom every day. And of course, it's all about using math to model the world -- but fairly basic math, and after a couple weeks, it actually starts to make sense! Great strategy on the projects -- students who dive in and get them done in advance are SOOO much happier than those who wait until the last minute. Same thing with our homework -- I'll do my best to never give you busy work, so staying on top of the homework I do assign is important. Good luck this year, and make it a great day!

Hiya Soccer17, welcome to APlusPhysics! So thrilled to have you in class... you're right, physics is involved in SOOO many things, from soccer, to baseball, to music, even to sleeping. Once you get started, it's addictive. If SATs have you anxious, stop by sometime and perhaps I can give you a bit of advice or a few resources to get you started on the right path. I have an acquaintance who helps students prepare for the SATs, and even wrote a book as a guide to doing well on the math portion of the SAT. I think it's a great resource, and I'd be happy to discuss it with you and see if it's anything you might have an interest in. And I have no doubt whatsoever that if you pay attention and give me your best each and every day, you'll have an amazing year in physics. We can work together to make certain that comes true! :wave)

Hi LemonLime! You're right, physics does relate to TONS of things in life... everything from cooking (thermodynamics) to trombone (waves) to forensics (blood spatter --> projectile motion --> bullet tracing, etc.). Thrilled to hear you love learning, because it never ends (but in my opinion it does get more fun the older you get, especially as you get to pick and choose what you learn about!) Getting good grades is certainly a reasonable goal, but I'd recommend focusing on learning and understanding... if you do that, the grades will just fall into place. Homework in Regents Physics is pretty reasonable, and you're off to a good start. If I could give students advice for success, I'd tell them: 1) do the work as soon as it's assigned; 2) read the book (either our textbook OR I highly recommend the APlusPhysics: Your Guide to Regents Physics Essentials book -- not just because I wrote it, but because it focuses on the baseline knowledge you'll need, with worked out sample problems and solutions, in exactly the same way I teach it; and 3) have fun. That last one, having fun, sometimes sounds like it's outside of your control, but if you come in with a positive attitude each day and work to MAKE each day a good one, it's amazing how often you'll succeed. Ask all the questions you want -- but be forewarned, I'll ask just as many back (if not more!). Thanks for a great post, and make it a great day!

Welcome, Strawberry! TONS of physics in dancing, violin, cars, AND dentistry. One of the nice things about physics is that there is very little to memorize... once we understand the basic concepts, and logical problem solving, most of physics actually makes sense! Thanks for the introduction!

Welcome, Aperture422! Thrilled to have you in Regents Physics this year... and you're absolutely right, there is a TON of physics in photography (I actually started out as a newspaper photographer before heading off to college!). Would love to see some of your work, and I imagine we'll be able to throw in some 'physics of photography' in the course along the way. Sounds like you've got a great recipe for success -- good luck, and make it a great day! :fight)