Physics

If you have a 3kg sled pulled by two snowmobiles going north with the rope on the snowmobile on the right side 30 degrees to the west and the angle on the other rope 45 degrees to the east, what is the force each exerts to pull the sled? Feeling like reading something else? I'm not surprised. I trudged through two semesters of the stuff. But it's not as bad as it sounds. Ok, yes it is, but that's beside the point. It's worth it, even if you never have to use the specific formulas. In fact, that's probably the best part. Once you learn it, you don't have to keep the stuff in your mind, but the basics stick. At least, they do for me. Which is good, because I am the one and only physics tutor at the Anoka Ramsey Cambridge Campus. But oddly enough, though there is a full class of students, I've only had two physics students ask for my help. Why? Why don't most people use the tutors? If they had physics tutor while I was in that class I would have been in the academic support center constantly. I understand why most feel apprehensive about coming in. After all, you're going to ask a complete stranger to help you with something that you feel like you should understand on your own. How humiliating, right? Wrong. No matter how you might feel about the place, a good grade is more important that misplaced pride. The fact of the matter is that good students come here because they know that it will help them get a better grade. What I find is that often we can use our experience from trudging through the classes the hard way, figuring out what works, to help make it easier for others. For example, one student was having a hard time with physics. All it took to help her out was to write the information in a slightly different way and a few pieces of advice for keeping track of formulas. If I had known what I told her before I started my course, I might have managed an A for the first half instead of a C. Knowing how to study a specific subject is almost half the battle. So if you have trouble with a course, come on in! That's why we're here. We won't make fun of you, we don't mind if you don't understand. You're not the only one, and we all worked through this stuff once. If we can help, we will. What's there to loose but a bit of time and your ill-advised aprehension?