Dear anyone who has taken, currently taking, or will at some point think of taking physics,
As I am writing this, I am in my spring semester of junior year. Which in my case means I am taking PHY122/124 which for anyone not matriculated at the fine establishment we call Stony Brook University, is the second half of the wonderful duo we call physics. Now before I go on, yes, I realize some people enjoy physics - slow claps for them- I am truly envious of those individuals.
I do not hate physics because of the math that comes with it. Honestly, I am fairly good in math. I just don't understand when I am going to need to find the electric force keeping a jar of milk suspended in air (no joke that was a board problem). Ridiculous questions aside, can we get on the topic of mastering physics? This semester my course professors decided it was cool of them to take points off the multiple choice questions if we don't get it right the first time. Now I understand their side in that they don't want people to guess their way to points but sometimes a girl just clicks the wrong choice out of sheer blindness. I cannot tell you how many times that happened.
I also want to throw in the fact that the physics I'm taking is physics for life sciences; in other words, not the calc based physics. Yet the amount of formulas and derivations of said formulas we need to know and understand and just decode in infallible. *eye twitches*
Can we also talk about how our lab grades are basically a gamble depending on which TA you get? Shout outs to my lab TA this semester because he actually responds to my emails in a timely fashion and gives you a straightforward rubric on how he is going to grade said lab reports. Let me tell you I was not so lucky with my TA last semester. (BTW for comparing purposes: my lab partner from last semester is still my lab partner this semester so that's a constant) Last semester my labs' average was about 70-80%. As for my labs this semester; my lowest score was a 94%. I did not wake up and become a completely new person nor did I change my writing style.
Other than those issues (which don't get me wrong are enough), last semester (and for the first midterm this semester) my class' average was about 50%. I don't know about you, but I don't think a class average should be 50%. The midterms are 16 multiple choice questions in which some problems have multiple parts and it takes forever to finish. The practice midterms are nothing like the actual midterms and that just frustrates me. Maybe it would be cool if they make some of the tests in two parts and give some partial credit because I do not believe a Javits 100 size class can only understand half the material.
Anyways, thanks to all y'all for reading my little rant I wrote when I was tired of studying for my midterm and honestly I'm just procrastinating. None of this was written to bash on the course or individual. It's just simply the thoughts of a tired student is all.
Love,
Just Another Humanoid
