Physics 51 is one of those courses that everyone takes, and about which there are widely divergent opinions and attitudes. For some of you, this will be the last formal physics class you ever take (don't cheer too loud...) For others it's only the beginning of your physics career. Some of you anticipate that this course will be very hard, while others expect to breeze through it (and at least some of both groups will be right!). I want to try to assure and encourage you that no matter which category you're in, the course is intended to be rewarding for you. If you find physics "naturally easy" it need not be trivial or boring; similarly if you have a tough time with physics, it need not be intimidating or brutal. The following are a few thoughts on getting something out of Physics 51.
Although the best way to learn might be to sit and talk informally one-on-one with a teacher, we're stuck somewhat with the formalities of group learning. As I see it, the three main formal components of the class are (1) the lectures, (2) the homework, and (3) the recitations. (Notice I didn't mention exams. A necessary evil, not a major learning experience.) Sometimes the relative roles and importance of these components is unclear, so I'll give my view.
Lectures might seem on the surface to be a passive exercise in one-way communication, and that they are without the help of the audience. Sometimes a lecture (particularly the more mathematical ones) might seem to be pointless, or at least over your head. However, keep in mind that the lecture material is being presented for a purpose. Sometimes that purpose is blatantly obvious, as when describing a method for solving a particular problem. At other times, the picture might not come together until much later, when some subtle connection is made. In any case, it's rarely as important to follow every single detail and equation of a lecture as it is to get its overall meaning and logical connectedness. Even if it doesn't immediately dawn on you as particularly applicable or relevant, if you make the effort to put it into some kind of context, you will bit by bit build up a kind of "mental roadmap" of the subject. Besides giving you a sense of satisfaction in understanding the foundations of the subject, it also has the practical benefit of making you a much quicker and more intuitive problem solver when those "necessarily evil" exams roll around!
I sometimes think of the homework as the most important of the three components, because it causes you to exercise your reasoning and problem solving skills. It's one thing to have a "roadmap" of the territory, but it's quite another to become skilled at using it out on the road to navigate a complete journey from start to destination. (Sometimes the hardest part is finding "You Are Here" on the map!) Only by repeatedly solving problems on your own terms and in your own way will you build up your intuition and confidence that you can "think like a physicist".
Finally, I think that the recitation component is the one that is most widely perceived as being somewhat superfluous or redundant with the first two. I'd argue that recitation is quite distinct in its aims, and there are good reasons for attending, even if you understood all the homework (or even if you weren't being graded on participation...{smile}). Whether you're one of the people that finds E&M very easy or very hard, the act of discussing and seeing the way others think about a problem from different directions is one of the best ways of filling out the fuzzy parts of your roadmap. If you have a particularly clear or novel understanding of a concept, your discussion of it in class will be a real benefit to your classmates. Likewise, when you listen to another's explanation, it may well "turn on a light bulb" you weren't aware of. I personally have not taught a semester yet in which some student hasn't surprised (and taught) me with a new way of looking at something.
So if there's a punch line to all this, it is just to climb in, buckle up, hang on, and keep an eye on the map and an eye on the road. If we keep it up, we might not run into too many ditches, and who knows, you may even enjoy the ride!
G. Lyzenga