How to Do Well in Physics?

CalDud
Sat, 19 Oct 2013 03:43:14 +0000

Just an approach, I guess. I didn’t do a crazy amount of problems as a freshman or sophomore, I just read the chapter and spent time understanding it as quickly and fast as I could. Then I looked at what looked like interesting and hard problems and did those. Come exam time, there weren’t any surprises. But that’s me, I don’t know how your brain works. Maybe you need to do every single problem in the book to gain the same level of understanding as someone who simply reads the book and chooses interesting problems. Maybe it’s the repetition that will give you an idea of what is to be expected, I don’t know. It’s just when I say quality over quantity is that you do not need to do the same problem in my opinion that’s just reworded slightly or tweaked a minor detail that essentially follows the same process. If you know what to do right away, move on. And when I say quality, maybe you don’t put in enough time? What takes a person an hour could take someone a whole day. I don’t know how fast you learn but a quarter system can be unforgiving, I learned that my first quarter transferring from a semester based college to a quarter based college. I just know the process shouldn’t feel mechanical as if you’re solving integral after integral like in calculus classes. If you need to do all the problems you can, do them, but in my personal experience you do not need to if you understand the material. In my upper-division physics classes right now we are told to do “2/3rds” of what the teacher picks to get a “good feel” for the problems. Skip the ones you know you can do.

If you’re taking lower-division physics, I suggest tutoring. I think it also helps to be able to teach someone the material or talk about it with someone else by forming a study group. I’m not a physics major, just a minor plus a little more, but you benefit from tossing around ideas and getting other people’s perspective on problems you might not otherwise have thought of. They can also help elucidate the concepts so that you “truly” understand over having to slog through hundreds of problems yet not demonstrate that you truly understood the material on the exams. Go to office hours! I’ve only ever done it once, but I know teachers are willing to help you if you’re struggling.