Balancing Work + School

[violet_crown]

If it's not too personal, would you mind explaining what your creative goals are? I'm having a hard time connecting the dots between how your current situation would somehow mix with going into physics, or inspire such a thing. I'd also be a bit wary if you're uncomforable in academic settings. The "academic" aspect is a lot more intense in a stem major.

So it's really weird talking about this publicly as it had been like my little secret dream for years, and I feel like I'm gradually "coming out" to people about it.

What I'd like to do down the line (ironically enough) is policy research. I've had a lot of exposure to data science in my current line of work, and many of the best data scientist that I've worked with have had a hard quant background (like Physics). What I'd really like to be able to marry the modeling and analytical reasoning of physics with my interest in humanitarian aid policy in order to eventually build models that would make the way we approach aid more efficient and impactful.

I mean, if OkCupid can create an algorithm that can get you laid or Facebook can serve up ads that pretty much apply exactly to you at that moment in your life, then why can't we have more efficient systems in place when things like Syria happen? Why are there not more predictive models that help us to know where the next one will take place? Before some INT wanders in and says smart things about why we don't have something like that already, let me just say I get it, I understand it's a lot harder than what I'm grasping from where I'm standing right now--I want to try anyways.

I told you about that ENFP I was dating that did almost EXACTLY that. He started out as a Physics major undergrad, then did his doctorate in sustainability economics and now does work pretty much in the space that I'm talking about. It was kind of a weird thing I had been fantasizing about something like that for years, but had kind of dismissed it as overly convoluted, only to start dating someone who's more or less living out my little secret nerd fantasy.

Either way, I want to be able to think in this way, and if I really come up with something interesting down the line maybe build an organization around it. I know what I want because it's the same thing I've wanted for years now. It's just like that first step towards it is overwhelming, and the transition from something that's comfortable and known to like..."following my heart" or whatever, is a lot. I don't want to fuck it up.

 

[violet_crown]

I think you MIGHT be able to manage part-time work and full time school, or full time work and part time school, but not both.

And physics? Take it from someone with a PhD in it who went through 12 years of higher education in physics: you really need to know what you're getting into.

What is your degree FOR? To find a career in physics? There are no careers in physics except for those who are VERY GOOD at it, or are willing to work at crappy jobs in the hopes that they might find something that eventually fits.

Is it for the STEM degree itself? There are other STEM degrees that are easier that will garner as much respect. But even then, that's no guarantee of anything. I've heard remarks 3rd-hand along the lines of HR types saying, "A PhD in physics? What does that have to do with software development in banking?"

In interviews, the interviewers don't say, "Wow, you got a PhD in physics? That's impressive." No, they say, "Oh, you went to the University of Texas at Austin? Good school!" (I never moved away from Austin, so as often as not, employers recognize their alma mater.)

So ... I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, but I am currently very skeptical of the value of "getting a degree" vs "learning new skills and changing careers". The latter usually doesn't require exorbitant amounts of money.

What is your primary career goal? That's kind of key, here. Why do you need a degree as opposed to training/certification?

As someone with too many degrees, I really suggest that anyone looking to go to back to school after their BA/BS be extremely clear as to the reality of what they are getting into, as isn’t profitable or useful in many cases. They really need an exact understanding of what they want and what the field is like today.....

This is reasonable. I went into my motivations a bit more in the previous post. My goals not to work in the field in and of itself.

 

[1487610420]

So it's really weird talking about this publicly as it had been like my little secret dream for years, and I feel like I'm gradually "coming out" to people about it.

What I'd like to do down the line (ironically enough) is policy research. I've had a lot of exposure to data science in my current line of work, and many of the best data scientist that I've worked with have had a hard quant background (like Physics). What I'd really like to be able to marry the modeling and analytical reasoning of physics with my interest in humanitarian aid policy in order to eventually build models that would make the way we approach aid more efficient and impactful.

I mean, if OkCupid can create an algorithm that can get you laid or Facebook can serve up ads that pretty much apply exactly to you at that moment in your life, then why can't we have more efficient systems in place when things like Syria happen? Why are there not more predictive models that help us to know where the next one will take place? Before some INT wanders in and says smart things about why we don't have something like that already, let me just say I get it, I understand it's a lot harder than what I'm grasping from where I'm standing right now--I want to try anyways.

Ironically, at the bold, we do, just maybe not what you're thinking - or maybe the dark side of it http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/politics-history-and-current-events/81893-nsa-skynet-program-killing-thousands-innocent-people-post2606868.html#post2606868

I told you about that ENFP I was dating that did almost EXACTLY that. He started out as a Physics major undergrad, then did his doctorate in sustainability economics and now does work pretty much in the space that I'm talking about. It was kind of a weird thing I had been fantasizing about something like that for years, but had kind of dismissed it as overly convoluted, only to start dating someone who's more or less living out my little secret nerd fantasy.

Either way, I want to be able to think in this way, and if I really come up with something interesting down the line maybe build an organization around it. I know what I want because it's the same thing I've wanted for years now. It's just like that first step towards it is overwhelming, and the transition from something that's comfortable and known to like..."following my heart" or whatever, is a lot. I don't want to fuck it up.

There's no worse than not trying. Imo, you've got the hardest part down: knowing what you want. The how, management of it, according to mbti stereotypes, should be one of your main strengths. So on paper, it looks like you've got the right ingredients to pull it off. If it feels like there's something else missing, could it be just fear/self doubt?

 

[Luke O]

Quasi related, my wife has recently finished a second bachelor's degree (part time), is also a full time mom, is part of my daughter's school's Parent Teacher Association (organising school events etc, and was Chairperson for a while too), also spends time making and trying to sell art, is now studying a Master's degree (also part time) as well as recently starting a part time job - it's relevant experience for what she wants to do. Free time is at a premium and it has been a stressful several years. I'm supporting her as much as I can, helping to keep the house tidy(ish) and other bits where I'm needed.

What do you have in terms of support from other people? Family, friends etc?

 

[highlander]

This year, I made the decision to take the plunge and go back to school. I have a full-time job that's pretty demanding, and had been hoping that I would be able to manage both at the same time. I'll be in summer school starting in June to knock out a few prereqs before starting the application process and have been making an effort to get back into the habit of studying for at least an hour a night. So far, it has not gone well.

I finish work and I'm just wiped at the end of the day. It makes me really really concerned about how realistic my plan to work while in school actually is. I love my job, and don't want to leave it, so I'm torn about whether school is actually the right choice after all. That said, I'm planning to take my career in a slightly different direction than what I've done up until now, and the trajectory I've charted will take at least 4-5 years to complete. I'm going to be 27 in June, so I feel this is probably my last real window to make a "big move" like this realistically.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

I did get my masters degree while working 55 hours a week. The school had quarters and the most classes I ever took at one time was two and I finished the 20 classes in three years. Classes were in the evening after work a couple of nights a week, lasting about three hours, and I spent about an extra two hours or so of additional commuting time on those days. It was demanding for sure. What I remember is studying a lot on weekends. All I did was work and school. Honestly, it was difficult for me to take more than one class at at time. What made it easier is that I really enjoyed the subject matter of the classes (telecom/computer science). A couple were independent study which allowed me to not have to go to class at all. The worst part were those days when I had to work a full day, then drive an hour and a half in rush hour, go to class, then drive an hour home. Generally, I just tried to pace myself. Caffeine involved. There was another period where I did this as well. I studied for the CPA exam for six months a year or so after graduating. My memory of that was much worse than the masters, in terms of how hard it was. Again, same thing - just studying and work mostly - which was difficult because I was 24 all my friends were having a good time.

 

[uumlau]

OK, then. It looks like you're looking at the more mathematical/logical side of physics, especially statistical physics.

If this is your dream, then the main requirement is that you can finance it, not that it necessarily produces financial rewards greater than you put into it. I'd still stick with saying that either work or school has to be part time. School, for me, was ALWAYS more demanding than any job I've ever had, and the jobs had the bonus of paying me money. Financially, full time work and part time school will be easier, since that gives you your full income so you burn savings a lot more slowly, and it might be better scholastically as it helps to keep the classwork from being overwhelming. The main advantage of part time work and full time school is getting school over with faster.

As for evaluating the overall plan, just how good are you at solving "word problems"? That is the main difference I've observed between those who excel at physics (and "quant reasoning" in general) vs those who go into other sciences or engineering. Chemistry, biology and engineering are based more on memorization and mastery of facts, where details already learned are more important than new things that you might discover. Mathematics is at the other extreme, where there are "word problems" but they tend to be very abstract instead of practical real-world things. Economics is another possibility, but in my opinion economists tend to overestimate the value of math and quantitative reasoning in economic decision making.

In physics, you can pose a problem such as, for example, "A cube of ice is floating in a glass filled up halfway with water. When the ice melts, will the water level be higher, lower or the same? Explain your reasoning." To get an idea how difficult this problem is (even if the answer is obvious to you), a variation of it was posted on INTJf, and even the smartest of INTJs and INTPs who prize their math/logic/science skills were struggling with it. They've taken physics. They know how to do free body diagrams. They know how to do advanced calculus. But give them a word problem like this, and they freeze (pun intended!), or fumble through all sorts of reasoning/guesses without focus. Or they "intuitively know" the answer, but cannot explain it well at all.

This is the level of reasoning you'd need for your dream job, because you want to translate between the quantitative realm of numbers and the real-life realm of real-world problems. Also, as I mention for economics, you'll need to understand the limits of quantitative reasoning in a very humble way: lots of real world topics, especially political/economic policy, do not respond well to quantitative reasoning. Society and laws comprise a very complex network of interactions that we take for granted and we naively think can be easily altered to our preferences without serious and potentially harmful consequences elsewhere in the system. If Syria were a cube of ice floating in a glass half full of water, we'd have solved that problem a long time ago.

 

[violet_crown]

Quasi related, my wife has recently finished a second bachelor's degree (part time), is also a full time mom, is part of my daughter's school's Parent Teacher Association (organising school events etc, and was Chairperson for a while too), also spends time making and trying to sell art, is now studying a Master's degree (also part time) as well as recently starting a part time job - it's relevant experience for what she wants to do. Free time is at a premium and it has been a stressful several years. I'm supporting her as much as I can, helping to keep the house tidy(ish) and other bits where I'm needed.

Your wife sounds like an extraordinary person. It's awesome that you support her in having such a full life.

What do you have in terms of support from other people? Family, friends etc?

Well hm. So, believe it or not, I'm not very good at asking for help lol. It is very hard for me to talk about something when I'm not sure where I'm going. I've only started talking to the people around me recently about this and was kind of surprised at how supportive they've been, both family and friends. Not that they're not supportive generally, but it was just nice I guess. I just don't really know how to talk about some of these things because I feel like I should be able to manage it on my own? I'm not sure where and when it's appropriate to ask for support or even what to ask for, really.

 

[á´…eparted]

Chemistry, biology and engineering are based more on memorization and mastery of facts, where details already learned are more important than new things that you might discover. Mathematics is at the other extreme, where there are "word problems" but they tend to be very abstract instead of practical real-world things. Economics is another possibility, but in my opinion economists tend to overestimate the value of math and quantitative reasoning in economic decision making.

So, I am going to be "that guy" (i.e. the chemist in the room) for a moment. This kiiiiiinda does a disservice to chem bio and enginneering. You're not wrong, you do need to memorize a lot of facts and details. However (in chemistry in particular) there is a HUGE conceptual pattern to the facts. If you can understand the concepts, you don't really need to memorize. I harp this on my students ALL the time. I actually give a lecture on this on the first day of recitation when I am assigned to TA ochem courses (largely because a lot of students try to memorize by blunt force- 90% of them will fail if they do that). My memory is very strong and conceptual thinking is my strong point though, so I'm well fit for what I do. Nevertheless I do get what you're saying.

Then again though, this is apt (and physics beats chemists ):

In physics, you can pose a problem such as, for example, "A cube of ice is floating in a glass filled up halfway with water. When the ice melts, will the water level be higher, lower or the same? Explain your reasoning."

For funsies my answer:

Does the water level rise? My line of reasoning is since ice is less dense than water, a small fraction sticks out. When that melts, that fraction above the water surface spreads evenly over the surface and raises the level. To confirm this, the analogy I draw is if you raise a column of water up in the shape of a cube higher than the fraction, the level drops. Or if you imagine ice having a significantly lower density than water, the level rising is easier to see. To even further confirm this, I imagine a cube more dense than water that sinks to the bottom...

WAIT. I revise my answer!

The level doesn't change. I failed to account for the fact that density plays a much stronger role than simple levels rising and falling. This becomes much easier to visualize if you imagine a substance where the density of the solid is 1/2 or less than that of the liquid. Place the cube in the water, and you get displacement. If you melt the cube you need to remember that the density of the material is changing (in this case increasing) so the amount that is going to spread over the surface is actually less. Placing it in the liquid the level will displace based on the mass of the the cube as it does since displacement is not dependent upon density. Knowing that, chop the cube and half. and force them to stay in place. The 1/2 under the surface melts and the level lowers due to effective density increasing for the total average density of the liquid and material in the liquid. Coversely, the solid outside of the liquid will cause the liquid to rise in the exact same amount the level lower by melting the second half.

Thus, no change: final answer!

Is that right? I think it is but I'm not 100% convinced. I'd have to do math to confirm it, and I hate math! Indeed a deceptively simple problem. I like thinking about this sort of stuff though, it's satisfying.

^that's how mah brain works. I do NOT think in a straight line.

Ok, I need to get to work, I have been procrastinating far too much today (but in my defense I need it). In short though @Wind Up Rex, uumlau has very good advice and insight. Take it with weight.

 

[violet_crown]

OK, then. It looks like you're looking at the more mathematical/logical side of physics, especially statistical physics.

If this is your dream, then the main requirement is that you can finance it, not that it necessarily produces financial rewards greater than you put into it. I'd still stick with saying that either work or school has to be part time. School, for me, was ALWAYS more demanding than any job I've ever had, and the jobs had the bonus of paying me money. Financially, full time work and part time school will be easier, since that gives you your full income so you burn savings a lot more slowly, and it might be better scholastically as it helps to keep the classwork from being overwhelming. The main advantage of part time work and full time school is getting school over with faster.

I'm leaning towards part-time school (no more than 12 hrs for any semester) and staying with work full-time, but managing the amount of projects that I take on. I don't feel comfortable not having a source of income whatsoever at this point in my life.

As for evaluating the overall plan, just how good are you at solving "word problems"? That is the main difference I've observed between those who excel at physics (and "quant reasoning" in general) vs those who go into other sciences or engineering. Chemistry, biology and engineering are based more on memorization and mastery of facts, where details already learned are more important than new things that you might discover. Mathematics is at the other extreme, where there are "word problems" but they tend to be very abstract instead of practical real-world things. Economics is another possibility, but in my opinion economists tend to overestimate the value of math and quantitative reasoning in economic decision making.

In physics, you can pose a problem such as, for example, "A cube of ice is floating in a glass filled up halfway with water. When the ice melts, will the water level be higher, lower or the same? Explain your reasoning." To get an idea how difficult this problem is (even if the answer is obvious to you), a variation of it was posted on INTJf, and even the smartest of INTJs and INTPs who prize their math/logic/science skills were struggling with it. They've taken physics. They know how to do free body diagrams. They know how to do advanced calculus. But give them a word problem like this, and they freeze (pun intended!), or fumble through all sorts of reasoning/guesses without focus. Or they "intuitively know" the answer, but cannot explain it well at all.

Most of what I've done professionally is "word problems" in a sense. I started out my career in consulting. The first step of any consulting job is listening and learning to get to a point where you can define the problem, working backwards to "show your work" on how you'd solve it, and then giving a time table for that plan.

As for the ice cube problem, my guess would be that the water level shouldn't change. The amount of ice is the same as the amount of water that would be left when it melts, so no more or less water in the glass should be displaced.

 

[violet_crown]

Oh no I just saw Hard's answer to the ice cube problem. Oh well. This is why I'm going to school!

 

[Magic Poriferan]

I didn't feel up to it. I've never worked full time and gone to school full time contemporaneously. I've done one or the other, lived like a miser, and have not been above mooching off of people (with a great deal of misgivings, though). If you can do it, kudos to you. I've marveled that anyone can. But I have to say that those who I've known to try it seemed to be incredibly burned out.

Also.

It is very hard for me to talk about something when I'm not sure where I'm going.

I severely have this problem.

Then again though, this is apt (and physics beats chemists ):

If you're going to be that chemist, then let me try at being that sociologist and say that I've always been irked by the left end of this chart. I don't think it's accurate to say sociology is applied psychology. I think they'd be at about the same point on this dimension.

 

[uumlau]

For funsies my answer:

Does the water level rise? My line of reasoning is since ice is less dense than water, a small fraction sticks out. When that melts, that fraction above the water surface spreads evenly over the surface and raises the level. To confirm this, the analogy I draw is if you raise a column of water up in the shape of a cube higher than the fraction, the level drops. Or if you imagine ice having a significantly lower density than water, the level rising is easier to see. To even further confirm this, I imagine a cube more dense than water that sinks to the bottom...

WAIT. I revise my answer!

The level doesn't change. I failed to account for the fact that density plays a much stronger role than simple levels rising and falling. This becomes much easier to visualize if you imagine a substance where the density of the solid is 1/2 or less than that of the liquid. Place the cube in the water, and you get displacement. If you melt the cube you need to remember that the density of the material is changing (in this case increasing) so the amount that is going to spread over the surface is actually less. Placing it in the liquid the level will displace based on the mass of the the cube as it does since displacement is not dependent upon density. Knowing that, chop the cube and half. and force them to stay in place. The 1/2 under the surface melts and the level lowers due to effective density increasing for the total average density of the liquid and material in the liquid. Coversely, the solid outside of the liquid will cause the liquid to rise in the exact same amount the level lower by melting the second half.

Thus, no change: final answer!

Is that right? I think it is but I'm not 100% convinced. I'd have to do math to confirm it, and I hate math! Indeed a deceptively simple problem. I like thinking about this sort of stuff though, it's satisfying.

^that's how mah brain works. I do NOT think in a straight line.

The thread on INTJf that I referenced: Physics: Snow Cones - INTJ Forum

I'm "jndiii" over there. Here is the solution I posted: INTJ Forum - View Single Post - Physics: Snow Cones

Oh no I just saw Hard's answer to the ice cube problem. Oh well. This is why I'm going to school!

Actually, your answer is better. The amount of water displaced is EQUAL TO the amount of water frozen in the ice cube. That's it. There are exceptions for the ice cube NOT floating (held under somehow, melting would cause the water level to go down, and held above water, melting would cause it to go up), but you've got it.

OK, I think you're good to go. You appear to have the right kind of reasoning skills. Just know that mapping math to "human understanding" and vice versa is really really tricky, and all of your confirmation biases will sneak in there each time you translate between the two. Self-honesty will be paramount.

 

[magpie]

Why speculate about the ice cube thing? Why not just put an ice cube in a glass of water and find out? We all have ice cubes and water and glasses.

 

[uumlau]

Why speculate about the ice cube thing? Why not just put an ice cube in a glass of water and find out? We all have ice cubes and water and glasses.

I actually suggested that in that thread. No one tried it.

For the record, that is my usual approach. Fortunately, I need to solve technical/software problems, so I can just write up a quickie prototype to prove that a concept works or not, without having to "prove" anything theoretically.

 

[kyuuei]

This year, I made the decision to take the plunge and go back to school. I have a full-time job that's pretty demanding, and had been hoping that I would be able to manage both at the same time. I'll be in summer school starting in June to knock out a few prereqs before starting the application process and have been making an effort to get back into the habit of studying for at least an hour a night. So far, it has not gone well.

Good luck! I had 2 jobs and went to school full time.. highly not recommended btw. Full time job + school is doable with some preparation and some mental prep work. Especially during the beginning time frame it isn't so bad. Most of my time in school, minus nursing school, was while working.

I finish work and I'm just wiped at the end of the day. It makes me really really concerned about how realistic my plan to work while in school actually is. I love my job, and don't want to leave it, so I'm torn about whether school is actually the right choice after all. That said, I'm planning to take my career in a slightly different direction than what I've done up until now, and the trajectory I've charted will take at least 4-5 years to complete. I'm going to be 27 in June, so I feel this is probably my last real window to make a "big move" like this realistically.

School is a really flexible, and doable, thing. 27 is not your last window.. you can definitely go to school anytime. But I think the earlier you knock it out the better! Because it really will give you an opportunity to see if that's the direction you want to go in.

My two cent advice based on my experience:
- Balance out the semester. See what your end game is: Associate's degree? Bachelor's? Masters? Whatever it is, look at Every class you will take the entire 1-4 years and balance them out so that you have a good mix of 'hard' classes and 'easy' classes. It will get progressively harder as school goes on, but if you can break it up a bit with some gym classes, speech classes, and other requisites that are less demanding it smooths the semesters out a lot more.

- Gauge it with the summer and 1 early semester. See if full time is an option for you. If you're too tired, drop down to part time. Yeah, it drags everything out, but seriously don't sacrifice your health and sanity. You should enjoy both.. overloading yourself will make you hate all of it--your work and school. Maybe you can balance it and be full time one semester, part time one semester, or part time + minimesters and summer semesters to make up for it (I don't know how your college works, but mine had mini semesters in the winter holidays and such). It really IS that flexible. Use those beginnings to figure out what you can handle.. because really, maybe you find out as wiped out as you are from work, it isn't that bad. If it's just the homework and not the course work itself, you'll probably be fine.

- Consider community college for as long as humanly possible. I don't know what your background is, or where you plan to get high educations from, but community college is amazing and its existence alone saved my college career. It is far less pressure, less cost, and more help and opportunities for scholarships to cover the costs. I went to see how many max credits can be used to transfer, found out it was 69 (haha), and went to CC for that many credits exactly. I also researched which colleges I'd potentially go to in my area and what classes they would or would not take from the CC.. sometimes colleges require you take THEIR speech classes, or their writing classes, and they will only accept x type of course work. Nothing sucks more than having to repeat a class you already paid for because of red tape bullshit.

- Consider online classes for some easy courses. If you read some reviews on ratemyprofessor and an 'easy' class and it seems like they're a great distance professor, online classes can really save your ass. I would go to the library and do it, but it was great to be able to do my whole class on a friday night instead of NEEDING to go on tuesday/wednesday. If you don't like online classes, there are many times hybrid classes as well--some online, some in person, to give you some time to yourself.

- Make sure ONE day a week is to yourself each week. Don't put school on your off days.. As wiped out as you think you are, don't book both of your off days. You need that to catch up on yourself and have a life. What I did: I booked my classes during work day nights (as tired as I was, it was better to just be tired and go to class and take notes/record the class), had one day off to clean, catch up on homework, etc. and one day a week to myself. I studied between classes, on lunch breaks, before work, after work, whenever. The slots in my day I had 20-30 minutes, I'd get shit done then, because that one day to myself was miiiiiinnneee.

- Take this time now to research your eligibility for FAFSA, grants, and scholarships, and apply to as many as you can. CC's are usually pretty helpful in this department.. mine definitely was at Lone Star CC. Having extra money in your pocket to help out with school makes it a LOT more doable.

- Blitz through your homework. Do it on lunch breaks, and write papers and bigger projects on your homework day. I spent 8-9 (took 12-14 hours total) hours on homework each week all in one day a week out of 2 I had off, and it was time well spent. I wasn't at work, I wasn't using it for myself (yet), but I knew the next day I could just sit back, relax, and Ahhh...

- Don't neglect your health in the process. Look up some easy slow cooker meals or something, or set up an easy thing like instant oatmeal, sandwiches, and spaghetti for dinner.. whatever you gotta do, keep it going.

- A water bottle and lots of hydration can keep you awake. /armytricks.

- Keep food in your car if you don't already. >.> Wasabi peas and spicy snacks I frequently found were needed to keep me awake and alert in class, so I could just run to my car on a 10 minute break and grab some.. and sometimes a couple breakfast bars were the difference between me blowing $12 at the cafeteria and saving that moolah.

- Make sure you take classes you like too. have something to look forward to.

- Participate in class. Nothing keeps you awake more than being active in class, trying to answer questions, and asking questions.


Anyways. Those are my suggestions. really, the major thing is, find a good balance. If you can only take 2 classes at a time, that's more than you had before. If you can handle 4 at the beginning, but need to drop to 2 when it gets more science heavy or major-related heavy, do it. You'll be fine. Plenty of people power through school, I know you can do it too--and not dread it.

 

[magpie]

I actually suggested that in that thread. No one tried it.

For the record, that is my usual approach. Fortunately, I need to solve technical/software problems, so I can just write up a quickie prototype to prove that a concept works or not, without having to "prove" anything theoretically.

It's what I like to do too. I think it's why I was always really bad at math, possibly.

 

[1487610420]

So, I am going to be "that guy" (i.e. the chemist in the room) for a moment. This kiiiiiinda does a disservice to chem bio and enginneering. You're not wrong, you do need to memorize a lot of facts and details. However (in chemistry in particular) there is a HUGE conceptual pattern to the facts. If you can understand the concepts, you don't really need to memorize. I harp this on my students ALL the time. I actually give a lecture on this on the first day of recitation when I am assigned to TA ochem courses (largely because a lot of students try to memorize by blunt force- 90% of them will fail if they do that). My memory is very strong and conceptual thinking is my strong point though, so I'm well fit for what I do. Nevertheless I do get what you're saying.

Then again though, this is apt (and physics beats chemists ):

For funsies my answer:

Does the water level rise? My line of reasoning is since ice is less dense than water, a small fraction sticks out. When that melts, that fraction above the water surface spreads evenly over the surface and raises the level. To confirm this, the analogy I draw is if you raise a column of water up in the shape of a cube higher than the fraction, the level drops. Or if you imagine ice having a significantly lower density than water, the level rising is easier to see. To even further confirm this, I imagine a cube more dense than water that sinks to the bottom...

WAIT. I revise my answer!

The level doesn't change. I failed to account for the fact that density plays a much stronger role than simple levels rising and falling. This becomes much easier to visualize if you imagine a substance where the density of the solid is 1/2 or less than that of the liquid. Place the cube in the water, and you get displacement. If you melt the cube you need to remember that the density of the material is changing (in this case increasing) so the amount that is going to spread over the surface is actually less. Placing it in the liquid the level will displace based on the mass of the the cube as it does since displacement is not dependent upon density. Knowing that, chop the cube and half. and force them to stay in place. The 1/2 under the surface melts and the level lowers due to effective density increasing for the total average density of the liquid and material in the liquid. Coversely, the solid outside of the liquid will cause the liquid to rise in the exact same amount the level lower by melting the second half.

Thus, no change: final answer!

Is that right? I think it is but I'm not 100% convinced. I'd have to do math to confirm it, and I hate math! Indeed a deceptively simple problem. I like thinking about this sort of stuff though, it's satisfying.

^that's how mah brain works. I do NOT think in a straight line.

Ok, I need to get to work, I have been procrastinating far too much today (but in my defense I need it). In short though @Wind Up Rex, uumlau has very good advice and insight. Take it with weight.

I h8 u!

 

[1487610420]

Why speculate about the ice cube thing? Why not just put an ice cube in a glass of water and find out? We all have ice cubes and water and glasses.

next to the computer? not most. that'd involve getting up for something other than food/toilet.

 

[ReadingRainbows]

I am currently working 40 hours a week, and doing this semester at my university purely online. I think I took on too much, and it's really burning me out quickly. I will definitely do something different next semester. I have other issues on top of this and I just can't balance it all out. However, someone who is more stable and more organized than I am could probably hack it.

 

[kyuuei]

I am currently working 40 hours a week, and doing this semester at my university purely online. I think I took on too much, and it's really burning me out quickly. I will definitely do something different next semester. I have other issues on top of this and I just can't balance it all out. However, someone who is more stable and more organized than I am could probably hack it.

you'll get through it. It's amazing what a breather a half semester will give you vs a whole one.