i've regretfully picked general maths over 2u/extension 1&2 and am thinking of including physics and stat for my majors for uni. I'm trying to catch up on at least 2u and got hold of the cambridge prelim and hsc textbooks. I just want to know, how hard would physics and stat be with only general maths or a moderate understanding of 2u. I also don't do HSC Physics
Hey Musa! Welcome to the forums!
So I'll start by saying, having done first year Physics courses, you don't need HSC Physics. Like, sure it helps, and doing some light reading of some material from the course may very well be extremely beneficial. But it's definitely not mandatory, with some wider reading, you can make that work for sure!
I'll agree with Rui though, in that the mathematical jump will be intense. A Bachelor of Science with a Physics major will assume you know calculus and algebra like you know your times tables; you'll receive no instruction in those areas. General Math won't prepare you well for either of those. I won't lie; it is a big challenge.
That said, you can totally do it.
It won't be easy by any means; the stuff you will need to know
extremely well is arguably much harder/more complex than anything you have learned in General Mathematics 2. But, if you are willing to spend your big break hitting the books, doing lots of practice, essentially self teaching a solid amount of a 2 year course, then it is definitely possible. It is up to you to ask yourself: How willing am I to catch up? How badly do I want this?
All of that said, you don't necessarily need to stick to the 2U/3U courses to learn this stuff (although it provides a good guide). If you can become skilled with the following concepts:
- Function Theory
- Logarithms and Exponentials
- Trigonometric Functions
- Algebraic Manipulation
- Differentiation
- Integration
- Probability (although this is retaught in stats courses, for the most part)
Then to a lesser extent, Sequences and Series, but those seven concepts are central to a solid mathematical skill set at university
You can do it. But accept that it will be exceedingly difficult. Up for it?