Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Good day,
Hope your day is going well. Well, from my subject clearly stated, you would know I write with a dilemma. I love computers. I love the whole idea of programming. I even went so far as to take some university classes online on computer science and I'm only in 11th grade! But, I'm not the best at physics (although I know I will improve eventually). And, most jobs in the area of computer science require that I do physics (and am pretty good at it). I really don't want to do Physics because my scores are really not that good. Is there any career in the computer science department that does not require you to be an expert at physics or economics (I'm not a fan of economics either). And, I want to be as close to computer programming as I can. Please help me. Thank you for your time. I am truly grateful.
Yours faithfully,
Zaniarah

Zaniarah,

Thank you for your question, and welcome to Science Buddies. The use/knowledge of physics is typically important to a computer programmer because in order to accurately simulate something in a computer you need to know how things would move and behave. For example, if you were part of a game programming company and were trying to develop a flying game, you'd need to understand a good deal of aerodynamics and how an airplane flys in order to create a computer simulation of an airplane and give it realistic movements based on user/gamer inputs.

All this being said, the level you'd need to know physics, economics (or any subject) would depend on the kind of programming you are doing. I don't think you'd need to be a "expert" in all these fields, but a good background at the college level would be important. This is normally not a problem, because most lines of study at universities include many different subjects, not just computer programming.

Your posting your question in the Physical Science forum, so most of the experts here have a considerable background in the physical sciences and calculus. There is a strong correlation between physics and calculus. It is almost imposible to understand a lot of physics without being able to do calculus. Conversely, it is hard to understand where calculus comes from without understanding physics. Most high schools don't have calculus programs, so it is fairly common that physics isn't an easy subject.

There are many computer applications that don't require a physics/calculus background; however, there aren't any that don't require a math background. Math just isn't about numbers, there are whole areas devoted to logic, formal languages, and computation theory.