Math prep for Chemistry and Physics

[leadsquid]

Also posted this in the nontrad forum.

I’m a couple of years removed from any sort of math courses. I’m also not very good at math. Would going through the Khan Academy Algebra 1 and 2 courses be enough to set me up for success for General Chem 1 and Physics 1? My chemistry background is limited and I have no experience with physics. I have about four months until courses start.

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[Deltasidearm]

Be comfortable solving for a particular variable given an equation (this is algebra, something like: if 8xy^2 = 3z/b then you should be able to quickly solve for x, y, z, or b). Honestly, unless your classes are calculus based, then that should largely be sufficient and you can pick up the rest of things that are required in the class (I.e. dimensional analysis, quadratic equation, ratio reasoning…).

What’s nice about science classes is that the math is applied and so is typically less dense to get through than a pure mathematics course.

Edit: I would also recommend being comfortable with logs and exponents. I taught several undergrad chemistry labs and tutored for chemistry and physics. These are things that people struggle with and get hung up on sometimes.

A big tip for future you: learn dimensional analysis down cold when it comes up in lecture. It’s the most useful tool you’ll have in your science tool box by far. It literally gives you the answers if you know how to do it and can even be used in medical school (I literally used it on an exam today to calculate cardiac work).

 

[JimKimSlim]

Also posted this in the nontrad forum.

I’m a couple of years removed from any sort of math courses. I’m also not very good at math. Would going through the Khan Academy Algebra 1 and 2 courses be enough to set me up for success for General Chem 1 and Physics 1? My chemistry background is limited and I have no experience with physics. I have about four months until courses start.

You need to know basic trigonometry and maybe the basics of calculus.

 

[leadsquid]

You need to know basic trigonometry and maybe the basics of calculus.

For both Chem and Physics? Or would those two be primarily related to Physics?

 

[JimKimSlim]

For both Chem and Physics? Or would those two be primarily related to Physics?

Mainly for physics but knowing the basics of calculus, though not required, will help you understand chemical reaction rates much better than using algebra alone.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

All you need for chemistry is how to multiple fractions and some basic algebra like solving for a variable or maybe two. Being familiar with exponents and logs will help too, as said above.

For physics, it depends on if you’re taking real physics or algebra based. For algebra based, you’ll need algebra and trig. For calc based you’ll obviously need basic calc, but it actually makes the physics easier to actually understand since doing algebra based physics requires a fudging of the physics.

On another note, please don’t cross post.

 

[leadsquid]

Be comfortable solving for a particular variable given an equation (this is algebra, something like: if 8xy^2 = 3z/b then you should be able to quickly solve for x, y, z, or b). Honestly, unless your classes are calculus based, then that should largely be sufficient and you can pick up the rest of things that are required in the class (I.e. dimensional analysis, quadratic equation, ratio reasoning…).

What’s nice about science classes is that the math is applied and so is typically less dense to get through than a pure mathematics course.

Edit: I would also recommend being comfortable with logs and exponents. I taught several undergrad chemistry labs and tutored for chemistry and physics. These are things that people struggle with and get hung up on sometimes.

A big tip for future you: learn dimensional analysis down cold when it comes up in lecture. It’s the most useful tool you’ll have in your science tool box by far. It literally gives you the answers if you know how to do it and can even be used in medical school (I literally used it on an exam today to calculate cardiac work).

Thanks for the response! It’s kinda crazy how many different answers I get on this.

 

[GreenDuck12]

You’ll want to check which version of physics you’re taking. A lot of programs have two tracks with physics: one for majors and engineers and another for other science majors. If you really want to get to a deeper level of understanding physics I highly recommend calculus based physics. That being said, for the mcat you really just have to be comfortable with manipulating equations so algebra based physics is more than fine. I agree with the comment above about being comfortable isolating variables, working with fractions, understanding logarithms and orders of magnitude as they will consistently come up in class and on the mcat. For the mcat in particular keep in mind that you only have 90 seconds per question which includes the time needed to read the passage so really it’s quite less. One of the ways the test writers can easily achieve a bell curve is to have answer choices rooted in the skills listed above (fractions, exponents, logs, etc) so the more comfortable you are the better off you’ll be.

If I were in your shoes, I would go through the algebra 2 / precalc videos they have and then get started with some of the calculations you will be doing in physics and chemistry - it doesn’t hurt to get some practice early on.