Physics

[aquaman_06]

hey watts,

sorry to hear you failed your physics exam, it's a bugger and I think one area that deters people from pursuing dive master training. It's funny how "easy" the endurance swims and equipment exchange are in comparison to the physics portion of the academics.

I struggle with math already and struggled with Chem 101 and Bio 101 in college and naturally found the dive physics stuff pretty rough. What I found worked was this: I sat down with the instructor at the dive school I was attending and worked with her in class and after class until I understood in then basically had to re-teach myself again and again.

Another approach is fail the physics exam until you have taken all 3 exams then try to memorize the correct answers: sooner or later you should pass.

 

[ClayJar]

sorry to hear you failed your physics exam, it's a bugger and I think one area that deters people from pursuing dive master training. It's funny how "easy" the endurance swims and equipment exchange are in comparison to the physics portion of the academics.

Maybe for *normal* people, but for us nerds, the physics is by far the easier part. (My degree's chemical engineering -- I spent the physics part of the very thorough NAUI Master Scuba Diver course being as quiet and diplomatic as possible. I got battered and bruised in Rescue to make up for it, so we all had a great time. )

I struggle with math already and struggled with Chem 101 and Bio 101 in college and naturally found the dive physics stuff pretty rough. What I found worked was this: I sat down with the instructor at the dive school I was attending and worked with her in class and after class until I understood in then basically had to re-teach myself again and again.

I certainly would never say that the physics part is easy, but if you get someone who's good in physics and also a decent communicator, it's *certainly* not as hard as learning it from a book or anything. Before a buddy of mine took Nitrox, I spent almost an entire 6-hour drive home from a dive site tutoring her and helping her "get" all the little "tricks" that come naturally to science-y people like me. Most people who are good at physics seem to be rather bad at empathy and communication. It takes effort for them to think about how they think in order to actually put into words what they do without thinking -- somewhat like catching a ball, it's a lot easier to do it than to explain all the little movements that actually go into it.

Science is *supposed* to be fun, but if you don't "get" it, it can certainly be quite frustrating. The best way to remedy that is to get with someone who truly enjoys it, as they can point out the elegance of it in ways that make much more sense than equations on paper. (Truth be told, I have very rarely memorized any equations. I just remember how they work, and I reconstitute the equations when I need them. All those pressure, temperature, and volume gas equations from the physics section, plus even more that dive classes don't get to, are all in my head as PV=nRT. Then again, I've been told that I think differently than most people. )

Another approach is fail the physics exam until you have taken all 3 exams then try to memorize the correct answers: sooner or later you should pass.

Unless you've got an eidetic memory, it should be easier to learn the principles to understand the physics. Once you've got the principles, you just have to memorize something like three very simple equations (shorter than a phone number) and a few numbers (maybe long as a phone number), and you've got the physics section licked.

(The biggest problem with physics I see over and over is that people memorize the equations before they learn the principles. The principles are *much* easier to think about, and they even tell you how the equations fit together if you get confused!)


You know, I really need to write a "Dive Physics 101" lesson and make handouts and a video to put online. Maybe as part of our NAUI DM course, I'll see if they'll let me do that, since AI's included in NAUI DM. :biggrin: (Ooooooooh! Maybe I can even blow a few things up as demonstrations! That would be *extra* fun!)

 

[Joe-Diver]

.....Maybe for *normal* people, but for us nerds, the physics is by far the easier part. (My degree's chemical engineering......

 

[ClayJar]

Why am I remembering Fezzik's line from The Princess Bride?

It's not my fault being the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise.

 

[AzAtty]

Science is *supposed* to be fun...

Tell that to Schrodinger's poor cat.

 

[CDNScubaMoose]

If all else fails on physics then I suggest going with Joe-Diver's suggestion:

Don't forget: You can always ask your Instructor for a class session!

I know how much they love to do knowledge elaborations on Divemaster Physics.

If they are going to torture you with the material then the least you can do is return the favour - it can be lots of fun even if you do understand it. Ask them to explain it again and then just stare at them with a blank stare.

The same goes with watermanship/stamina exercises - challenge their ego's by subtly suggesting they are too old or out of shape to complete what they are asking of you. Be careful on this one since it could backfire on you resulting in even bigger egos.

Note - Ontario-diver, you can ignore the above message.

Cheers,
Aaron

 

[aquaman_06]

I got lucky in that my DM instructor was in her upper 60's and had been teaching diving most of her life. I don't know that she was particularly a science person more someone who had taught diving physics so much that she had developed a strategy knowing what worked for most folks.

 

[agwatts]

Hey All,

I aced the test last night. I have only the "Rescue Assessment" (cake walk) this Monday and I'm done.

Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement, problem solving, and personal help. You guys are the greatest.

Greg

 

[Joe-Diver]

YAY!!!

 

[Tortugar]

Hey All,

I aced the test last night.

Congrats!

Diverdowndh and I put off Physics test until next week.
Thanks for starting this thread, Greg.
I'm sure the discussion here will help. :14: