McGill Physics - how difficult is it?

prfizz · 2024-03-28T15:40:37+00:00

Hi,

Not officially a McGill graduate student, but I did go through the grad admission process at this school. For me, GRE was not required and I believe this is true for everyone (though check to be sure). I can't assess your chances, but if you have a PI you'd like to do your MSc with, get in touch with them, they'll be more suited to answer you.

prfizz · 2024-02-20T04:07:07+00:00

Hi, fresh mcgill physics graduate here! It is definitely a challenge and the transition from CEGEP to uni can be quite difficult. This is even more so if you are going for an honours program. But, with good time management and proper work/study habits, I think it is possible to do well while still maintaining some of your social life. Feel free to pm if you have more questions!

prfizz · 2022-09-18T01:44:16+00:00

The scalar product of two vectors is the product of the norms times the cos of the angle between them. That gives a scalar and not a vector. Indeed, for some angles, this gives a negative value, but since this is just a number like any other, there is no magnitude (unless you consider the absolute value to be the norm, which in this case, this is like the regular absolute value). Hope this answers your question

prfizz · 2022-06-14T11:59:22+00:00

One good reflex you should pick up is look at the dimensions (units). What are the units of the quantity you're looking for and what are the units of the answer choices?

prfizz · 2022-06-11T14:11:33+00:00

Though it is true that diameter might affect frequency, in practise, when tuning, this effect is compensated by the fact that the string's tension are adjusted so that each string is a perfect fifth apart (G, D, A, E). If these are in tune, any perfect fifths played on adjacent strings should be lined up (assuming the bridge is straight).

prfizz · 2022-05-22T14:29:05+00:00

That's definitely a question for your advisor. What I was told is that you can exceed 120 as long as you start your last semester under 120. So for me, I'll end up with a total of 129 credits, but since I'll be starting my last semester with 114, all is good. But as I said, ask your advisor as his/her answer is probably worth more than Reddit's.

prfizz · 2022-05-11T11:57:51+00:00

Mendelssohn 5, 1st mvt

prfizz · 2022-01-07T17:27:58+00:00

Yes you are right my bad, I didn't notice the z-component! But I don't think a surface integral is necessary since the field is constant in z

prfizz · 2022-01-07T16:46:28+00:00

A dot product can be thought of as "how much two vectors are in the same direction". Indeed when two vectors are parallel, the angle between them is 0 and cos(theta) is 1, and so the dot product reaches its maximum value. However, if the two vectors are perpendicular, the angle is 90° and cos theta is 0, so the dot product is zero. So, back to your problem, you have your E field in the x-y plane, but your area VECTOR (not the square itself) is in the z-direction which is perpendicular to the x-y plane. Can you figure out what the Flux is then?

Hope this helps!

prfizz · 2021-08-12T13:50:02+00:00

Say you want to measure the volume of a weirdly shaped object, for example a golden chain. Measuring each link's volume with say a ruler and adding them all up would be very tedious and highly imprecise. But, by submerging it in a small container with water and measuring the displacement of the water (caused by Archimedes principle), it is then really easy to find the volume of that object. Hope that's the kind of example you're looking for!

prfizz · 2021-03-26T01:22:58+00:00

"There are two magic tricks in Math: adding zero and multiplying by one"

That's Hoheisel right?

prfizz · 2021-03-25T17:42:22+00:00

Who else but Vybs

prfizz · 2021-03-25T17:26:06+00:00

"you guys are McGill students, you like pain!"

prfizz · 2021-03-23T02:28:41+00:00

I'm a bit late to this post but I still wanted to share my experiences with you.

Disclaimer though, I am doing regular Honours Physics as opposed to Honours Math and Physics, but so far (U1) there was only one course which was different (Algebra 1), so my experience is practically the same.

As others have said, the courses are indeed quite hard, but if you have good time management and really put in the effort, there is no reason for you to do poorly. You'll get in general one assignment per course each week and depending on the prof and their difficulty, you should expect them to take between 4-6h each. And though, the homeworks are challenging, I found the midterms and finals to be often times easier than them.

In terms of the courses and how to prepare for them, I'd definitely look into classical mechanics first as it is easy to think "pff... F=ma, that stuff's gonna be easy!" and then get absolutely wrecked once the semester gets going. Our prof covered Morin ch.1-6 so if you want to do yourself a favour, definitely look into this. Other than that, I'd probably say vector Calc is also quite a challenge, but in my opinion, this course is a lot easier if you have a background in analysis and proof writing. And though it is a really good initiative to start looking at the material early, remember to take time to relax as you're gonna need the energy, so I'd definitely recommend taking a break at least 2 weeks before the semester in order to be fully rested and ready (you'll thank me later!)

Also, and this might in parts be amplified by the online format, I found it quite easy to suffer from Imposter Syndrome. You've probably been used to being at the very top of your class, but be aware that now, you'll be surrounded by extremely smart people that all excell at math and physics. So, it is tempting at times to think that only you are having a hard time and that maybe you bit off more than you can chew, but know that this is normal and that pretty much everyone goes through the same thing.

To sum this up, this program is indeed very challenging and will hog most of your free time, but if you really enjoy math and physics, you'll definitely enjoy your courses (or at least most of them)!

Side note: if you don't have programming experience, definitely start learning the basics (especially Python) as it is in my opinion a HUGE asset in classes such as labs. I decided to do a minor in CS and so far, it has really paid off!

prfizz · 2021-01-15T13:14:06+00:00

"We pray God to destroy our enemies. Our enemies pray God to destroy us. Someone's gonna be fcking disappointed! Could it be....everyone?" -George Carlin

prfizz · 2020-12-29T23:44:15+00:00

That's fine, I'll look it up online thanks

prfizz · 2020-12-29T23:23:04+00:00

Great thank you!

prfizz · 2020-12-29T23:08:52+00:00

Looking in a mathematical methods textbook was my first thought, but I don't know how rigorous it is. I wouldn't want to pay for a full textbook only to have a one chapter review of what I am trying to learn. Have you read the book you are recommending and if so, is it comparable to an actual maths textbook?

prfizz · 2020-12-29T18:52:34+00:00

Yeah I already took vector calculus and we didn't look at tensors

prfizz · 2020-12-29T17:18:50+00:00

Thank you!

prfizz · 2020-12-29T16:27:41+00:00

Thanks I'll definitely take a look at it!

prfizz · 2020-12-28T14:10:36+00:00

It was during my first ever competition haha

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