Physics w/o doing maths (1 Viewer)

[Alex2]

Hi, I'm currently in year 10 and we're picking our subjects for next year about now...

Basically I'm considering not doing any maths at all... apart from the fact I'm bad at it, I have no interest in it nor do any desired career paths involve it at all.

The only science I'm at all interested in however is Physics... what I'm basically wondering is would all hope be lost if I did physics and not any maths? (not considering do Earth/environmental, chem or bio at all)

One science teacher says it'd be impossible, then again another says nah the maths you do in physics isn't hard, you don't need any year 11/12 work etc.

I hear alot of the difficult maths in the year 11/12 physics course has been removed in recent years??

I know there's formulas etc F=ma but thats easy subbing in numbers etc... as apposed to actual maths course, factorising etc.

So I guess what i'm saying is, with the level of maths gained up to end of year 10, would this be sufficient, along with what's learnt in physics, to get me through (presumably until end of year 12)? Better yet does anyone here do physics and no maths, and how do you find it?

What I'm considering doing so far is;

English Advanced
Legal Studies
Modern History
Society & Culture
Physics
German

.. and probably if I end up doing 2 Unit maths (not general) i'd probably switch it with german...
Thanks in advance

Alex

 

[Kujah]

You don't need to do maths to do physics.

 

[Forbidden.]

Personally, I think doing maths is an advantage. I don't think it's an accident that the top physics students do maths extension 1 and/or 2.

There are lots of equations you have to use and some topics are enhanced by an understanding of maths, like projectile motion.

Actually, maths is a tool of physics!!

But talk it over more with friends who do physics, teachers and find someone who does physics and doesn't do maths, see what they have to say.

I do MUCH better in Physics than in Maths Ext.1, but the same in Maths comapred to Physics.

 

[vulgarfraction]

You don't need to do maths to do physics.

And that's how and why the physics course now is this screwed up. It's all assessing, analysing, concepts. Physics is meant to be basically maths with more application.

 

[S1M0]

You don't need to do maths to do physics.

But it sure as hell helps.

That being said, its becoming more of a humanities subject than a tied-and-true science subject in the coming years. Which is due to people complaining that Physics is too hard.

 

[cs01001]

The reason why they introduced all these assessing/evaluating things is because too many people are acing the Physics course just by blindly using formulas, numbers and missing the fundemental concepts of Physics. Hence BoS started all these in the new HSC to weed out these type of people.

 

[Alex2]

Thanks for your input guys...

 

[Sparcod]

It is possible to do physics without maths. It is recommended you do at least general maths as physics is a very practical, maths-based subject which involves calculations, learning equations and writing formulae.

 

[SoulSearcher]

It is possible to do physics without maths. It is recommended you do at least general maths as physics is a very practical, maths-based subject which involves calculations, learning equations and writing formulae.

A small part of it is, but the majority of it is not really physics anymore, just as vulgarfraction pointed out.

 

[Mumma]

The reason why they introduced all these assessing/evaluating things is because too many people are acing the Physics course just by blindly using formulas, numbers and missing the fundemental concepts of Physics. Hence BoS started all these in the new HSC to weed out these type of people.

No. What you learn in 'Physics' is not physics, and it defiantly does not provide a fundamental understanding of its basic principles. The mathematics in HSC Physics is practically non-existent. I have looked at previous year HSC Physics exams (pre-2000) and they were far better IMO at testing knowledge of real physics. Watch as anyone who loved physics in high school and hated maths crash and burn in any university physics course.
Here is some good reading about the subject -
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/HSC/WolfeSMH.pdf

To the thread starter, no I don't think you need maths to do HSC physics. Sure, it helps, but IMO its not necessary at all.

 

[cs01001]

Maybe I am wrong, cause I don't do Physics anyway. But I guess Maths isn't necessary