Forum: 336K – Topic: Math!

The past week studying for this midterm and the midterm itself have made me realize that most of us don’t struggle with “physics” per se, we struggle with math. I know the distinction can get very fuzzy at times, but I’ve noticed that the students who are “smart” or get good grades are just those that are strongest in math.

While this is obvious, it makes me think that much of what we struggle with is not a lack of “smartness” but just an incomplete or poor knowledge of the needed math. I think it would benefit us all to share what resources we have for filling in serious gaps in our knowledge. (Perhaps Dr. Distler could share some tips and resources as well!)

Keep in mind that a book is only as good the amount of time you spend working with it… Furthermore, I don’t think a long book list is particularly useful here. Working through one good problem set or chapter that explains a nuance of Differential Equations well is far better than a whole book of poorly explained material. What I really would like is to exchange insight, not even more information we don’t really understand!

Nevertheless, some resources really are helpful. Here are the useful resources I’ve come across:

An entire book called “Mathematical Tools for Physicists” that is available online for free, geared towards undergraduates: http://www.physics.miami.edu/~nearing/mathmethods/

This is a website with information and graphics pertaining to Vector Calculus, run by professors at the University of Minnesota: http://mathinsight.org/thread/multivar