Physics, here I come ...
So, today I posted my final maths test which leaves me with just an exam to sit and I’ll be finished the maths. Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to nominate for the exam till I’ve got the marked test back and then it must be for a date in the following month, so it looks like I won’t get to sit the exam till June – in the meantime, I need to do some revision notes to make the process of studying for an exam easier – not one of my favourite jobs (either the notes or the exam).
But, in the same envelope as the maths test went my enrolment for physics, so some time in the next week or so I should get a nice big parcel of physics notes for my perusal – I’ve just got my fingers crossed that they have fewer typos than the maths notes as this time there is no textbook for any of the course – although I do have a couple of physics textbooks that I can use if I get confused. I’m also hoping the tutor is someone different – I really didn’t find the maths tutor very helpful and I kept getting the feeling that I knew more than he did – maybe there is some residual effect from having done two years of university maths many years ago, after all.
I’ve also started working through old versions of the year 11 and 12 Maths C books – the other half of maths which Queensland high school students do – so far, it’s been fun, and I hope I can keep going with it alongside the physics once it arrives. If I understand correctly, Maths C is aimed more at students who are likely to continue with maths at university level – it introduces groups, matrices and vectors, complex numbers and extends the calculus I’ve (re-) learnt in Maths B.
Also today, I finally took a trip across to the University of Queensland – over an hour’s drive from home even on a fairly quiet traffic day like today was. They had a book sale on which was part of the attraction, plus I’ve been promising myself I’d go have a look around for ages. So, I picked up a few books at the sale – Spivak’s Calculus for three dollars being the highlight but I also picked up Goldstein’s Classical Mechanics (I know, I’m a long way off being able to use that, but it is a classic), Abell’s Exploration of the Universe, an old 1979 Schaum’s Outline of College Physics and the 3rd edition of Zumdahl’s Chemistry complete with solutions guide – not to mention a few popular science books.
I didn’t bother getting any of the early university level physics and maths books since I’m still hoping to be able to enrol in a university course one day – probably by distance education again unless my health improves dramatically – and then I’ll need to buy up-to-date textbooks. There is one university in Australia (Murdoch Uni in Perth) that offers a minor in Physics by distance education with no attendance requirements which I could combine with a major in Philosophy so that’s one possibility. Other than that, I’ll have to see how I go with self-studying Maths C, then try and buy university textbooks and work through them by myself – still, that’s all in the future – for now, high school physics beckons at last.
While I was over at UQ, I had a bit of a wander around – checked out the bookshop, the physical sciences library and walked around the Great Court which is magnificent – it has that really old-fashioned “halls of learning” type feel that I imagine Cambridge or Oxford in England would have. The thing that struck me most is how huge the campus is – I’ve only really spent time at Adelaide Uni before which I used to find large and confusing (I remember having a friend walk me around from building to building in the order of my week’s lectures and tutorials when I first went there) – and later at Canberra Uni which was fairly small. I can only imagine what UQ would be like during the week with a full complement of students in attendance - and dream of maybe one day being one of those students.
But, in the same envelope as the maths test went my enrolment for physics, so some time in the next week or so I should get a nice big parcel of physics notes for my perusal – I’ve just got my fingers crossed that they have fewer typos than the maths notes as this time there is no textbook for any of the course – although I do have a couple of physics textbooks that I can use if I get confused. I’m also hoping the tutor is someone different – I really didn’t find the maths tutor very helpful and I kept getting the feeling that I knew more than he did – maybe there is some residual effect from having done two years of university maths many years ago, after all.
I’ve also started working through old versions of the year 11 and 12 Maths C books – the other half of maths which Queensland high school students do – so far, it’s been fun, and I hope I can keep going with it alongside the physics once it arrives. If I understand correctly, Maths C is aimed more at students who are likely to continue with maths at university level – it introduces groups, matrices and vectors, complex numbers and extends the calculus I’ve (re-) learnt in Maths B.
Also today, I finally took a trip across to the University of Queensland – over an hour’s drive from home even on a fairly quiet traffic day like today was. They had a book sale on which was part of the attraction, plus I’ve been promising myself I’d go have a look around for ages. So, I picked up a few books at the sale – Spivak’s Calculus for three dollars being the highlight but I also picked up Goldstein’s Classical Mechanics (I know, I’m a long way off being able to use that, but it is a classic), Abell’s Exploration of the Universe, an old 1979 Schaum’s Outline of College Physics and the 3rd edition of Zumdahl’s Chemistry complete with solutions guide – not to mention a few popular science books.
I didn’t bother getting any of the early university level physics and maths books since I’m still hoping to be able to enrol in a university course one day – probably by distance education again unless my health improves dramatically – and then I’ll need to buy up-to-date textbooks. There is one university in Australia (Murdoch Uni in Perth) that offers a minor in Physics by distance education with no attendance requirements which I could combine with a major in Philosophy so that’s one possibility. Other than that, I’ll have to see how I go with self-studying Maths C, then try and buy university textbooks and work through them by myself – still, that’s all in the future – for now, high school physics beckons at last.
While I was over at UQ, I had a bit of a wander around – checked out the bookshop, the physical sciences library and walked around the Great Court which is magnificent – it has that really old-fashioned “halls of learning” type feel that I imagine Cambridge or Oxford in England would have. The thing that struck me most is how huge the campus is – I’ve only really spent time at Adelaide Uni before which I used to find large and confusing (I remember having a friend walk me around from building to building in the order of my week’s lectures and tutorials when I first went there) – and later at Canberra Uni which was fairly small. I can only imagine what UQ would be like during the week with a full complement of students in attendance - and dream of maybe one day being one of those students.
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