Читать книгу U Can: Physics I For Dummies - Steven Holzner - Страница 16

After teaching physics to college students for many years, we’re very familiar with one of the biggest problems they face – getting lost in, and being intimidated by, the math.

Tip: Always keep in mind that the real world comes first and the math comes later. When you face a physics problem, make sure you don’t get lost in the math; keep a global perspective about what’s going on in the problem, because doing so helps you stay in control.

In physics, the ideas and observations of the physical world are the things that are important. Math operations are really only a simplified language for accurately describing what is going on. For example, here’s a simple equation for speed:

In this equation, v is the speed, s is the distance, and t is the time. You can examine this equation’s terms to see how this equation embodies simple common-sense notions of speed. Say that you travel a larger distance in the same amount of time. In that case, the right side of the equation must be larger, which means that your speed, on the left, is also greater. If you travel the same distance but it takes you more time, then the right side of this equation becomes smaller, which means that your speed is lower. The relationship between all the different components makes sense.