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Differential equations

#21
ChadonBass said:
I'm having a rough time...I'll pass, but even after studying right, I forget everything at test time. This is quite unusual for me. I got finals coming up and I guess this could fit into any class...
I've never had problems like this before. Never needed mnemonic devices and such and I'm mostly a good test taker.

So what kind of advice is out there to help someone dancing on a C get the a or b they're used to?
Click to expand...

You learn best when you explain it to other people. Get involved in a study group and actively participate in explaining what to do to others who need help. The step from solving a problem to helping others be able to solve a problem is huge. You don't even need someone who needs the help. You just need to do the problem, and with each step, explain what you're doing and why you're doing it. If you can't clearly explain the problem, you don't really understand it.
 
#22
I have no idea what your course uses as a textbook but look for one that has lots, and I mean lots of exercises as well as an answer key, and burn the midnight oil going through those exercises over and over. That's how I "survived" calculus and higher math courses back in the day. As someone said earlier, most calc problems have an underlying pattern of thought/reasoning. Once you strip away the fluff and arrive at the basic structure it should be easy to apply the right solution and approach. Good luck!
 
#23
Just gotta grind through it, sorry. Although you will have some comfort that as an engineer, you won't use 90% of the math you learn in your non-engineering courses. The biggest math skill that you will need once you are in industry is the ability to build amazing spreadsheets. I save so much time in the long run by taking the time to build a spreadsheet that will do the work for you.

lowsound
 
#24
I'm mostly done with an applied physics degree that focused on electro-optics (lasers, semiconductors, etc). After next week, I'm hoping to find a job in the field. I'll only be one class away from the degree at that point.

Is it true that in physics you need an advanced degree to be hired? Or should I be alright was a specific study in my bachelors?
 
#25
ChadonBass said:
I'm mostly done with an applied physics degree that focused on electro-optics (lasers, semiconductors, etc). After next week, I'm hoping to find a job in the field. I'll only be one class away from the degree at that point.

Is it true that in physics you need an advanced degree to be hired? Or should I be alright was a specific study in my bachelors?
Click to expand...

You can get a job with just a BS in physics, but you won't be doing research. You'll likely be a programmer or technician in a lab. You might work at a large telescope as an operator or junior engineer, that kind of thing.
 
#26
ChadonBass said:
I'm mostly done with an applied physics degree that focused on electro-optics (lasers, semiconductors, etc). After next week, I'm hoping to find a job in the field. I'll only be one class away from the degree at that point.

Is it true that in physics you need an advanced degree to be hired? Or should I be alright was a specific study in my bachelors?
Click to expand...

I know some people who have worked up within companies using their optoelectronics degrees, but not many.

Doing proper research? You'd need a PhD. Though you can get some tech work without it.

Many of the folks I studied with during my PhD (still need to write the beast) are working as senior laser engineers at big companies, planning, designing and building new systems. Folks with just the undergraduate degree are the folks on the assembly line putting them together. (The uni where I did my MSc & PhD is pretty heavy on the photonics and laser engineering).

A friend of mine who went back to study as a mature student and completed his BSc (Physics) earlier this year is now working for a large bank on a graduate scheme, making pretty decent money with pretty awesome sounding promotions year on year for the first 3 years.
 
#31
Jaco D said:
I have no idea what your course uses as a textbook but look for one that has lots, and I mean lots of exercises as well as an answer key, and burn the midnight oil going through those exercises over and over. That's how I "survived" calculus and higher math courses back in the day. As someone said earlier, most calc problems have an underlying pattern of thought/reasoning. Once you strip away the fluff and arrive at the basic structure it should be easy to apply the right solution and approach. Good luck!
Click to expand...

If the text doesn't have lots of exercises, "Schaum's Outlines" are still a good source of practice problems.
 
#32
fdeck said:
If the text doesn't have lots of exercises, "Schaum's Outlines" are still a good source of practice problems.
Click to expand...
+1000 !!!!

Went back for EE degree in 1985 at age 30 competing with brainiac 18 year olds(Tulane). The ONLY way I got thru was by
1) Buying the Schuams books and doing EVERY example
2) Buying The Calculus Problem Solver
http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Problem-Solver-Solvers-Solution/dp/0878915052
& Diff Eq Problem Solver
http://www.amazon.com/The-Differential-Equations-Problem-Solver/dp/0878915133/ref=pd_sim_b_5
and doing the examples in them that I had difficulty with
3) Getting "Calculus Made Easy" by SP Thompson, reading it and doing examples. This was suggested by THE BEST teacher I ever had, Dr. David Derbes(teaching Physics at the time, now in Chicago still inspiring the love of learning stuff: http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/07/070314.derbes.shtml ).
E-book here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33283

4) Getting a yellow legal pad and writing method and formula summaries for doing the problems we were exposed to. This amounted to 2 to 6 pages of hand-written notes that I would write OVER and OVER about 3 or 4 times. I learned that during a test, if stumped, I could mentally flip thru those pages in my mind to find the method needed to tackle a test problem.

Good luck and be sure to read S.P. Thompson's intro concerning the "terrors of math". :D
 
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#33
I am an engineer working in real-time control systems, but mostly that involves nonnumerical (logic) applications.

So all I really know about differentials is that I prefer clutchpack lockers to torque-biasing.
Open diffs are just lame.

(There has to be one in every crowd, OK - this time, it's me...)
 
#34
Also be sure to pick up one or more books about or by Oliver Heaviside.
Although he was not "formally" educated, he turned a lot of complex math into algebra. The puffed up professors at the time were not impressed and possibly upset because he pulled away the curtain exposing OZ.
 
#35
Well, I was a glutton for punishment way back when, got my EE degree and then took a bunch more math courses - what was i thinking? This was over 40 years ago.
My butt buster was Real Analysis - man that was tough. Got an A, but only barely. I remember the prof saying when students were complaining about the homework load "Being good at this stuff is just hard work. You have to do all of the work, and then some more to get good at it". And I think he was right. After that I took my life back.
I couldn't do any of this stuff today. lol
 
#36
+1 to putting in some serious practice time.

If you are solving the equations by hand (on an exam), be careful with your algebra. In the tense moments of an exam, a simple change of a + or - can change the answer significantly.

Another exam tip - your solution MUST satisfy the ODE / PDE. You can check your answer by merely differentiating & plugging into the equation (if time / complexity allows).
 
#39
It sure looks like there are sure some mathematical bass players here! I was a math major in college long ago. I don't recall differential equations being the class that kicked my bootie. It was Foundations of Analysis and Non Euclidean Geometry.
Working with a tutor helped me a lot.
 
#40
The advice helped a lot. The final was much easier for me to complete than that other tests. The only issue was saving enough time to get to the end of the semester content. While that one problem didn't go well, it was only one and wasn't worth all that much. I know I got at least partial for it anyway.

Thanks again for the (maybe obvious) advice.
 

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