[nbelu]

This is how it works:
-3 lectures a week, and unless you finish reading and taking notes on the week's chapter in the textbook (~1 to 1.5 hours to do, notes are mostly on formulas, when to use them, example problems..) before the week of lectures, it will be hard to understand anything. This is mostly true for the second half of the course, after the 1st midterm, but the first half isn't that confusing at first glance so procrastination isn't that bad.

-Every week, you have to complete an assignment of questions from that chapter, due the next week in tutorials. It's only 4 problems, and almost all of these are from the textbook questions, so you'll know the answers to them and can be certain you're right after finishing, but 2 to 3 of the questions are more complex require some time to finish. There are office hours weekly, where for an hour you can come to the prof and TA's office room and do your assignment there and they'll help you a lot on setting up work for the complex questions, and hint at right answers.

-There was only 1 midterm, and was just like an assignment, with 4 problems to solve on the spot, also from the textbook. Easy to study for, just do as much of the textbook problems and hopefully get right answers. Each lecture, there's practice multiple choice iclicker questions, and you only get marks for submitting an answer and participating, regardless if you're right or wrong. The final exam is also the same, except with 8 word problems to do (not from the textbook, entirely new ones or past problems only covered in lecture). No multiple choice testing at all in the course (thank goodness).

My thoughts:
There are 2 chapters, forces and kinematics, and most of the waves chapter, that are review of grade 12 physics, but the rest is completely new material. Thus, keeping up with taking textbook notes (usually 1-1.5 page sides in length, not too bad) and going to office hours for support is essential in doing well. Definitely not a bird course, but many interesting phenomena are covered (ex. doppler effect, fluid dynamics, power intensity of bodies, grasshopper jumps and their acceleration, centrifuges, etc). I'd only recommend this course to those who had very good averages in high school chem and physics, since those problem solving skills are needed. Very little memorization, mostly understanding how and when to use equations to solve problems. It is very stressful at times, and is probably going to be the most complex science you've seen thus far fresh out of high school. People did either really well or struggled to try and pass. Don't take unless you manage time well and are willing to actually read the textbook.