Online AP Physics Tutoring at JC-PD LLC

AP Physics Tutoring, AP Exam Prep, and AP physics homework help

AP Physics Expert Help (PhD and postdoc in physics)

$40/hr for students    Tutoring Policies

$65/hr for businesses (industry, research labs, and private businesses for software engineering consulting/training/scientific programming/tutoring.)

In sessions, concepts are explained clearly if there is a need. Otherwise, practice is the focus. Active learning is best in any subject. Material and concepts are presented after a relevant practical problem is chosen. Then the required knowledge and problem solving approach and methods are presented. Teaching strategy in test taking is beneficial to many students. Teaching error-free programming techniques is valuable in CS. The approach to physics and math problems should also be an error-free one. In all technical subjects, problem solving should be accomplished in small steps, checking the consequences of each before proceeding.

I want to help students learn problematic material. Beating fear of success is possible through sustained small successes. The only real teaching/tutoring goal is to teach a student everything the teacher/tutor knows so that the teacher/tutor is no longer necessary.

AP Physics Help

I have taught college physics 1 several times. That course is essentially AP Physics 1. In college, the problems assigned are sometimes more difficult. As a teaching assistant, I have run problem sessions in college physics and university physics. University physics 1 and 2 is the same as AP Physics C (1 - mechanics, 2 - electromagnetism). In addition, I have tutored college and university physics many times over the past 5 years. I have also tutored AP physics 1 many times. The AP Physics 1 test prep book that I have used was not very good. There were irrelevant problems and some mistakes. These publishers do not hire top physicists to create problems for these texts. The presentations of subject matter in these texts were also poor. It would be good to teach HS students a methodical way to approach problem solving in physics. That includes writing down what is known and specifying what is unknown. Then the unknown required can be seen clearly. Finally, taking small logical steps, the solution can be obtained more easily, than otherwise.

Physics problems are not quite math problems, but the dependency of physics on math is significant. Solving such problems can be facilitated with a methodical approach. One first writes down the information and applicable equations for the problem. Then one sets the goal of finding the solution to the problem by analyzing what to extract or determine from the known information and how to accomplish that. Diagrams are almost always helpful, and in beginning physics courses, they are essential. Those should be also provided in the first step of the problem solving process. After a solution is obtained, usually by carrying out some mathematical methods, one must at least validate the units of the solution. All variables in physics have units, and the algebra of the units must be completed along with the algebra of the variables. This is of course extra work, but it is very educational in physics. The physical behavior of the solution should also be examined as a check of correctness. If physical laws are violated, then there is a problem with the solution, of course.

Becoming good at solving physics problems of course requires significant practice. It is also true that the more mathematics you know, the easier physics will be. It is very rewarding to increase your mathematical background to a level beyond the level of the math used in the physics you are learning. That way, the mathematics won't distract you from learning new physics. It is not always possible to have this situation, but it is a good goal to try to attain.

Note that High School physics teachers with a B.Ed. have the weakest background in physics courses. A High School teacher with a B.S. in physics is much better prepared to teach physics. An M.Ed. high school teacher does not take as many physics courses as a M.S. physics teacher, and could still know less physics than a B.S. in physics teacher. A Ph.D. in education teacher is similar to a M.Ed. in physics teacher in terms of physics courses. A Ph.D. in physics has the most experience in physics courses, and a Ph.D. in theoretical physics is even better prepared. Postdocs also add to a Ph.D.'s preparedness to teach.

AP Physics 1 and 2 Tutoring without calculus

AP Physics C Tutoring with calculus Options