AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! DYNAMICS IS KILLING ME BRO!!!!!

I bet that you might’ve heard horror stories like that when you were hearing about Dynamics.

After all, for many engineering students like you, it is the hardest class in the curriculum. So hard that students have to take it a second, third, fourth, etc. times over again!

It’s like the end of the world!

But yet, what’s surprising is that there is a secret to making this dreaded class the most bearable class that you can take.

Hence, there is an easy way out of the madness.

And that is exactly what this blog post will be about. How to Pass Dynamics the Easy Way, because let’s be honest, you just want to pass and be done with it and you don’t want it impossibly hard.

Luckily for you, you have come to the right place because I am going to teach you just that.

Now a disclaimer, I will never say that you will not work. Yes, you will work a lot to understand the material. That will not change.

Will this be hard? Yes, 110% it will be.

BUT, will this class be impossible? The answer is NO.

In fact, if you follow everything that I outline in this blog post, I can guarantee that you pass on the first try (and depending on your effort, you might just get an A).

This is the exact guide that I developed myself to get an A in Dynamics and I can tell you that for the common student, it is bulletproof to D’s and F’s and the thought of failing.

So, if you are ready for your life to be saved from the dreaded Dynamics, here is your bulletproof plan for passing Dynamics!

1. Take a Problem Solving Class Before Taking Dynamics

​
​

Now I didn’t “really” do this one, but I did it somehow and I’ll explain how later in this section.

This one might be a surprise to you.

“Another class?! I have too many already! Give me a break will ya?!”

Well yes, as a college student, you already have too much on your plate on top of the bill!

But what if this class gave you the secret sauce to many luxuries that many engineering students will never have like:

A) Not worry about repeating a class

B) Saving your tuition money not just now, but in the future

C) You won’t have to unnecessarily explain yourself later down the road

Wouldn’t you love that?!

And usually, when people fail any class, including Dynamics, this is what usually happens.

You will not have any of those luxuries.

Of course, it just so happens that Dynamics is the class that most people in Engineering fail (at least to my knowledge).

So it’s especially useful here.

You are probably very used to memorizing the information before the test without knowing what everything means.

You are a robot before the test.

Well, in a problem solving class, you will change that for good.

You will switch from being a memorizer into a conceptual thinker.

Now why is that significant?

Because unlike memorizing, when you are a conceptual thinker, you can understand what is going on and its significance with regards to what you are learning.

You’ll learn the “why” in how things work, which is especially important in any engineering course, not just Dynamics, because if you don’t understand why things work and you just memorize, you will be clueless in how to start problems and you will not be able to visualize what is happening.

In fact, memorizing the information from Chegg is the number 1 reason that people fail Dynamics. There’s no true knowledge to build upon.

So once you get that “why,” the “how” things work will follow naturally and you will notice that when you do the problems, it will become effortless for you.

Really.

Now, if you can’t get into a problem solving class for whatever reason, I have a great alternative for you.

If you are taking Calculus or you are going to take Calculus, I can assure your A right now if you go off of this resource that I’m about to tell you about now.

Ready?

For calculus, you will go to YouTube and watch a professor named Professor Leonard.

Now why this professor over all of the others?

Well for starters, click here and read his reviews. They’re CRAZY great!

With Leonard, compared to other YouTube channels on the subject, he actually gets into this “why everything is happening” for every concept that he presents and he doesn’t miss one step with these explanations.

And when you get to the problems, it’s will literally feel like you are a genius.

I can go as far as this with him: If it weren’t for this man, I would never have passed Dynamics.

That’s the truth.

He really gets that conceptual understanding into you and this conceptual understanding that you’ll get from Professor Leonard is transferable to not only to your other classes, but to your professional career as well when you need to solve problems and you have to know why everything is happening and how it works.

If you are taking Calculus or you are going to take Calculus, click right here to begin. You won’t regret it or I will send a $100 Amazon gift card will be sent to your doorstep. Just write to me at evan@jointheisland.com with your address so that I can  send you the gift card.

And even if you are not taking Calculus and, hint, you are going to take Dynamics, just watch him to get that conceptual problem solving nature into you.

You’re welcome.

And now onto step 2!

2. Make Sure That Your Professor Isn’t a Jerk Before You Sign Up

​
​

This will be you in Dynamics if you get this one wrong!

All right, this one is a biggie.

You certainly do not want all of your hard work to go down the drain.

You must make sure that your professor is not a jerk prior to signing up.

Why?

Because chances are that if he or she is not fair in the class, the test is going to reflect that.

And not only that, if the professor is a jerk, when you ask for help, he or she will just not help you at all in many ways like not showing up to his or her office hours, giving you a rude response in class when you ask a question, or giving a test that is not conceptually similar to your homework.

Now why would you want to go through that mess?

So you can get the pop goes the weasel at the end of the semester?

Of course you don’t want to do that!

So, in short, make sure that your professor is at least decent. They don’t have to be the best, but they certainly can’t be the worst.

And if you have any doubts, speak to your academic advisor or other students who took that professor about their thoughts and make the best decision for you.

If in doubt though, run.

He dares ya!

3. The Magic 3 Step Guide for Acing (not just passing) Dynamics

​
​

And now provided that you do the first 2 steps, here is the magic recipe for not just passing Dynamics, but getting an A in it.

Step 1: Read your textbook before going to class

This is the most underutilized resource of this class.

With the time and luxury of getting to know the material before the professor presents it in class, you’ll already have a head start in your understanding and you’ll have a strong foundation to build upon when you go to lecture.

Unlike most students where they just go into lecture without knowing what the heck is going on, you’ll understand where you don’t get something or what you need clarified to truly understand what the material.

So in essence, when most students just sit in lecture and do nothing, you’ll have the opportunity to take control of the lecture on your own terms and have the professor cater the lecture to YOU and to what YOUR weaknesses are.

And professors LOVE it when students ask questions like that (at least the good ones).

And not only that, because you are probably the only one asking questions, your professor will remember you for your effort and he or she may just bump you up if you are at a borderline grade at the end of the semester.

So you are giving yourself an additional shot to improve your grade that you wouldn’t have if you just sat in class and said nothing.

And if you can do some problems beforehand as well, that would be even sweeter since you’ll understand the problem solving aspect on top of the theory and build upon that to!

Step 2: Watch the following YouTube series (especially useful if you hate reading the book!)

Series 1: Dynamics by doughag; click here to go to this playlist.

Series 2: Dynamics (ES 310) by LeAnn Faidley; click here to go to this playlist.

Series 3: Engineering Dynamics by structurefree; click here to go to this playlist.

Now why these three series over other series on YouTube?

For Series 1, Doug’s videos are extremely thorough, but not time consuming. Sure, you’ll have to pause every once in a while to take notes and to comprehend what’s going on, but his explanations of the material are concise, clear, direct, and most importantly, quick.

He dives deep into the concepts and he supplements them with sample problems from the Hibbeler book to demonstrate how the concepts are used to solve the problems. As a bonus, you’ll get step by step into solving any of these Dynamics problems without the hassle of memorizing each problem from Chegg.

The videos are no longer than 30 minutes long and, for the most part, they cover the entire section in that timeframe.

And after those videos, you will have a really strong foundation for solving the book problems, whether you are using Hibbeler’s book or the Beer and Johnston book.

Plus, he presents in a calming tone in which you will not feel intimidated to listen to him.

With that said, I highly recommend his series on Dynamics.

Now unfortunately, Doug doesn’t go up to Chapter 19, which is Impulse and Momentum on Rigid Bodies, or chapters 20-22 (I can’t speak for chapters 20-22 since I didn’t cover them when I took Dynamics).

So I found a new series to fix that problem!

For Series 2, LeAnn does the same thing as Doug does except with her, you’ll get even more problems to solve and you’ll get variations of the problems in your textbook to see how different scenarios will result in different outcomes. This is especially useful for the tests. In fact, I used a variation of one of the problems in the book to understand the very similar test question that show up on the test without practicing it beforehand (Problem 19-6 if you are curious).

Plus, she does work and energy and impulse and momentum for rigid bodies, which Doug doesn’t get into with great detail.

Her videos a longer than Doug’s, but they are definitely worth the time.

Absolutely watch her videos for Dynamics when you take it. You will not be disappointed! The $100 Amazon gift card offer still stands for this as well if it doesn’t work out! So remember what to do if it doesn’t!

For series 3, I would recommend only watching him for the Projectile Motion lesson (Section 12.6 in the Hibbeler book). You don’t need any other source for projectile motion. It’s a simple process that he lays out that will be applicable for every one of those problems.

It’s that powerful.

Other than that lesson, I would strictly advise sticking with doughag and/or LeAnn Faidley for your video component of the class. Simply put, structurefree’s videos are not up to par with the other two on the lessons for the other sections.

Step 3: Visit your Professor’s Office Hours if you have ANY doubts

If I had to give the MVP on this list, it would be this one.

The honest truth is this: Your professor is the most powerful resource in the class above anything else.

Why?

Because not only does he or she have control over your grade, but he or she has the best understanding of the course material over anyone else.

So in essence, this makes him or her the authority on the subject.

Not the YouTube videos nor the book even though they are the foundation of your success in Dynamics.

It is in your best interest to go to office hours and ask the appropriate questions for you to perfect your understanding of the material.

And not only that, the best part about office hours is that you will get to be with the professor one on one with no interruptions and all of the attention on you (most of the time).

So you REALLY get to control your learning experience with the master’s guidance.

And I shall mention further, if you are consistent in showing up to office hours, you will be at the top of his or her mind when it comes down to grading and inputting final grades.

So if you are at the border, you might just get that bump up that you need for that internship or job!

So it pays to go!

And not to mention possible recommendation letters when you need them. Those will be of great use for you in many ways (hint: grad school, scholarships, maybe that job/internship :)).

And there you have it!

That’s the Magic 3 Step Guide for Acing Dynamics!

Now this blog post doesn’t come without free extras, so stay tuned for that!

Handy Tips and Tricks

​
​

Now here’s something very useful for your noggin:

Trick 1: The Powerful Study Buddy

For your study partner, find the classmate that you know who has the best track record of success in prior classes. Or if you are further along in the semester, study with the student that has the best track record of success and make friends with them.

If you do this, you’ll gain insights as to what he or she is doing to do exceptionally well in the class and be able to replicate it for yourself. On top of the fact that you could make a friend that can prove valuable later on down the road post college.

If you are having trouble approaching them, just do this:

Say “Hi, my name is (your name)! (Here, insert a friendly and genuine compliment towards them). Would you mind if I study with you on (whatever day it is) or if I could lookover your notes? I’d greatly appreciate it.”

Chances are, he or she will say yes to that and you are in.

Congratulations, you now have a powerful study buddy!

Now, for this next trick, you might just smash the computer or break your phone or whatever you are using to read this article.

Trick 2: Do the homework again and again

Yep, that’s definitely a rough one!

Luckily though, you are in luck if you do this because the science backs you up. Click here to read more into that and go to point 5.

Doing the homework again after the initial attempt will get your mind comfortable with the material and it will make it second nature to doing the certain steps required of each problem.

Remember the phrase “We are creatures of habit?”

If we have to make it a habit, we will do it.

Also know this quote: “I fear not the man who practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

Let that sink in and go from there.

Trick 3: Utilize the best tutor that the university offers (at the Academic Success Center)

This one is awesome if you can use it.

This person is second only to the professor in terms of mastery of the material and the ability to articulate it to you (probably number 1 on the latter one).

This tutor will assure you the best assistance possible on the problem solving aspect of things and you’ll get to ask your own questions and he or she will explain the material to you in a lot of cases like you are a two year old.

Provided that it’s a good tutor, you’ll come out of those tutoring sessions like a super ninja ready to attack any Dynamics problem on the planet!

Definitely do this option; your classmates won’t and you’ll come out ahead 🙂

Trick 4: Read this.​

Just do it. You’ll thank me later.

Trick 5: Grab a copy of “Think and Grow Rich” on Amazon here, aka the Bible of Success.

Interview any successful person on this planet and chances are, they will tell they’ve read this book and implemented what it said to do. You’ll definitely pass if you get this book and take action on it.

Please note, that link is an Amazon affiliate link and I will receive a commission if you purchase the book from it, but the price that you pay won’t change.

There You Go

​
​

And that’s it. That is the secret to passing and getting an A in Dynamics.

Keep this post wherever you go throughout the semester so that you can refer to it when need be.

If you do have any questions about this post, please leave them below in the comments section and I will be more than happy to help you out.

And also if you got the results that you desired to get out of this post, please email me at evan@jointheisland.com with the results. That would be greatly appreciated.

And if you enjoyed this post and you want to see more mind-blowing posts sent straight into your inbox, go to the bottom of this webpage and write your email into the box to subscribe to Join the Island, the world’s greatest blog!

Happy studying!

Until next time,

This is Evan signing off.