Physics Tutoring New York

Physics is often considered the most intimidating of the sciences, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A good physics education can generally be broken down into two parts: a conceptual understanding of physical principles and the ability to use math to investigate those principles with precision. Our physics tutors can help students excel in both areas because our tutors are experienced educators and great communicators who have a detailed knowledge of both physics and mathematics.

Our goal is to help students achieve a real understanding of conceptual physics and a strong ability to work with the mathematics involved. This leads to improved grades in school and on tests such as the New York State Physics Regents, the SAT Subject Test in Physics, and the AP Physics Exam (both the B and C versions).

New York State Physics Regents

The New York State Physics Regents Exam is meant to be taken after a one year survey course of high school physics. It assumes competence with algebra, but no knowledge of calculus. Major topics include mechanics, electricity, magnetism, energy, and waves. It also touches on a few topics in modern physics and a small amount of physics history. It is often considered one of the more difficult Regents Exams.

The New York State Physics Regents is designed to test students’ knowledge of physics rather than reasoning skills. In other words, it’s not a “tricky” test where learning test taking techniques can get a student a lot of points. Instead, the way to do well on the Physics Regents is to have a solid understanding of physics concepts and algebra. For this reason, our approach to tutoring students for this test centers on making sure that they understand physics and algebra well. We carefully evaluate each of our students and work with them in any areas where we find a weakness. Of course, we also make sure our students have plenty of experience taking practice tests so that they know exactly what to expect on the test day.

SAT Subject Test in Physics

The SAT Subject Test in Physics is meant for students who have completed one year of high school physics. It does not assume knowledge of calculus. It’s less difficult than the AP Physics Exams but more difficult than the New York State Physics Regents. Major topics include mechanics, electricity, magnetism, waves, and optics. The SAT Subject Test in Physics is a multiple choice test, and while certain test-taking techniques are useful, it is not “tricky” the way the regular SAT is. Instead, it is a content exam that tests students’ knowledge of physics.

The primary way we help our students prepare for the SAT Subject Test in Physics is straightforward: we make sure their knowledge of physics is very strong. We carefully evaluate the understanding of each one of our students and then tutor them in any areas of weakness and review topics in which they may be a little rusty. We also make sure that our students get plenty of experience with practice tests so that they know exactly what to expect on test day. Of course, even on a content test such as the SAT Subject Test in Physics, test-taking savvy can help a little and we do cover topics such as knowing when to guess and using the process of elimination to the greatest advantage possible.

AP Physics

AP Physics is equivalent to introductory college physics. AP Physics B involves very little calculus while AP Physics C expects students to be fluent in calculus as well as physics. Both tests are challenging and are great opportunities for students who wish to stretch themselves intellectually and explore the subject in detail.

Our AP Physics tutors are experts in physics, mathematics, and education and are thoroughly familiar with the specific material found on the AP Physics Exams. We prepare our students by carefully evaluating their level of understanding and tailoring our instruction to their specific needs. This way, our students get the knowledge they need to get scores they can be proud of.

College Physics

Our physics tutors are experts in physics who are able to clearly and effectively explain both basic and advanced college physics. Whether you are seeking help understanding essential concepts, applying mathematical concepts, or effectively solving problems, our physics tutors are able to help you achieve a high level of success.

We can help if you are looking for tutoring in:

Classical Mechanics
(Including topics such as: Newton's Laws, system of particles, rotations, oscillations, gravity, thermodynamics, central force problems, Fourier and Green's functions, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation of mechanics, normal mode theory, and rigid body dynamics.

Electricity and Magnetism
(Including topics such as: Coulomb's Law, Maxwell's equations, electrostatics, electrical potential, capacitors, electric fields in matter, magnetostatics, magnetic fields in matter, induction, A.C. circuits, and electromagnetic waves.)

Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics
(Including topics such as: Multiplicity of physical states, equilibrium entropy and temperature, Boltzmann factor and partition function, statistical approach to free energy, chemical potential, distribution functions for ideal classical and quantum gases, applications to chemical reactions, thermal engines, equations of state, and phase transitions.)

Quantum Mechanics
(Including topics such as: Wave motion, physical optics, special relativity, photoelectric effect, Compton Effect, wave properties of particles. Schrodinger's equation, the uncertainty principle, Rutherford scattering, postulates of Quantum Mechanics, function spaces, Hermitian operators, super-position, compatible observables, conservation theorems, operations in abstract vector space, spin and angular momentum matrices, addition of angular momentum, perturbation theory, and simple scattering theory.)