End of first year, what's next?

[Stickybees]

Just finishing my first year of Physics, what topics are most likely to be in year 2 of a usual 'Maths for Physics' module if I wanted to start studying the Maths now? And what do you think would be the most useful topics to become quite fluent with?

 

[micromass]

I highly recommend you get this excellent book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471198269/?tag=pfamazon01-20

It contains close to all the math a physics major should know. And the explanations are wonderful!

 

[Stickybees]

I've been using Stoud's Engineering Mathematics books, they're making everything very easy, I'll have a look for it in the library though, thanks :D

 

[genericusrnme]

I highly recommend you get this excellent book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0471198269/?tag=pfamazon01-20

It contains close to all the math a physics major should know. And the explanations are wonderful!

I second this!
This book is great.
The linear algebra is a little lacking though, I'd supplement it with some light la, like gilbert strangs linear algebra book (or hoffmans if you're feeling particularly mathy)

I'll also add a physics textbook reccomendation!
Landau and Lifgarbagez - A Course of Theoretical Physics - Volume 1, Classical Mechanics

Single best book on basic Action, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms, which you'll be thankful to know about when you start down the odd road that is quantum mechanics.

There's also goldsteins classical mechanics book, it covers more stuff but in my opinion it's just too boring to use as an introduction book, I'd use it as a reference after I'd completed L&L.

 

[micromass]

I second this!
This book is great.
The linear algebra is a little lacking though, I'd supplement it with some light la, like gilbert strangs linear algebra book (or hoffmans if you're feeling particularly mathy)

Yeah, I agree. You'll need to feel comfortable with linear algebra and (single-variable) calculus already.

 

[Stickybees]

Thanks a bunch, looking at the contents page for one of my Maths textbooks, which of these topics would be best to go through do you think?

 

[genericusrnme]

Thanks a bunch, looking at the contents page for one of my Maths textbooks, which of these topics would be best to go through do you think?

All of them!
(M Boas' Mathematical Methods book does all of that and more (and probably will give you a better understanding) in ~300 less pages)

 

[Stickybees]

I've found a copy of Boas and I'll try reading through it, thanks. I've got a module called 'Statistical Physics, Entropy and Heat Engines' next year too, anyone know a book that would cover this kind of thing? Would it be under Statistical Mechanics, I noticed that Stanford has some lecture videos on it which seems to deal with Entropy and heat etc? Thanks!