Tips and Suggestions for Success in This Course

Here are some suggestions [many of them articulated by Professor Lennart Peterson---much thanks, Len!!] for making progress in a physics course.  If you made a grade of B or higher in Physics 1 you may already be using some of these strategies.  Whatever works --- that's legal/honest! --- and that helps you learn the material, use it!!

BUT FIRST:
There is NO simple formula, technique, fixed method, or set procedure for learning  physics.  If there were, someone (hopefully, me!)  would copyright it and get rich selling it.  Can't been done......everybody learns differently: some have visual memory; others, auditory, etc.;  some of us have to work harder than others.   The one thing that's common to all physics learning approaches is practice, practice, practice [i.e., homework].......which for many is not much fun!   Unfortunately, that's the way it is.  
See item 3, below, especially  the bold print at the end.
 

General

1.  We said this earlier and we say it again:  Summer courses move faster than those of the regular terms and there are more interruptions.  Also, you may be taking other tough courses.....all of which means that you need to be especially careful:  stay on schedule with your homework!!  This material is cumulative:  the behinder you get, the harder it is to catch up.

2.  Make yourself a realistic study schedule and work on the problems [homework] regularly.  A realistic schedule counts only the actual time spent with book open, paper or notebook ready,  and writing implement in hand---NOT the time taken for "getting ready to study";  for coffee/food breaks, etc.!   Assigned problems should be considered the minimum quantity you need to work in order to pass the course.  If you aspire to a higher grade you should do more.  Several students who made A's in this course in previous summers told me that they worked every problem in the assigned chapters! Do you believe this?  I have no reason to doubt it.

3.  Physics does not lend itself to last-minute cramming because a relatively few principles are applied to a wide variety of physical situations (i. e., the problems/excercises).  If you memorize a particular solution [rather than working several different problems that give you practice using the basic concepts] you will probably have difficulty when you encounter a differently-worded exam problem even though the very same physical concepts are used.  Doing physics requires us to be able to analyze a physical situation (the data given) and then apply the principles to it.  Learning how to do this is not unlike developing a physical  [muscular] or artistic skill:  it requires drill/practice.
 Think about it:  How many hours a week does a fairly good golfer or other athlete, or a musician, practice?  How much more do the  really  good ones practice and for how many years?? 

4.  You will get far more out of your recitation class [and do better on the quizzes!] if you work the problem assignment before going to class.  The ideas and techniques involved in solving a particular problem will  more likely 'register' with you if you have already tried the problem, even if you weren't able to finish it.

5.  Several items that may assist you with learning the course concepts and in solving problems are listed near the top of the course syllabus.  Some students find these helpful while others don't [no single system for learning works for everybody!].   We suggest that you give some of these materials a try, especially if your class and test scores are borderline.

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Studying for Tests

NOTE: 'Reading the chapter' for an exam review is a waste of time if you haven't done the homework!

6.  Make a list of the important concepts and be sure that you can work several problems to which these principles apply.  Prepare your exam note sheet carefully.

7.  If you use old exams for study purposes, employ them constructively:  Work these sample exam problems under the same conditions as the actual test:

>> Use the note sheet you will bring to the exam and

>> time yourself on each question.

>> If there are questions you can't answer or that require too much time, you know that these are the areas that require more study.

>> After you've worked through the test, set it aside for a day or two, work some more problems (concentrating on weak areas), and then try the test again under the same conditions.  You may need to add a few things to your note sheet but try to avoid taking space for anything specific to a particular problem.

8.  It's difficult to think a problem through when you are overtired so try to avoid an 'all-nighter' just before the test.  Fatigue also increases the probablity of errors such as coding the wrong answer onto the scan sheet.

Taking Tests

11.  Next, try the questions that you feel less confident about.  In working difficult problems, you'll probably score higher in the long run if you take a little more time to check that the answer you put down is the correct one---if in doubt, take a minute or two to plug the answer back into the formula to see if the original numbers are reproduced.  Are the units of your answer correct??  Ten minutes invested in dimensional analysis, checking anwers, and correcting mistakes may be preferable to attempting one more problem and perhaps getting it wrong as well.  Guessing at answers is unlikely to result in a passing score.

12.  Save questions that you "haven't a clue on" for last.  These consume the most time and if you can't answer them correctly they contribute nothing to your score.  Don't spend lots of time (more than 8-10 minutes) trying formulas at random on a question---unless you are making progress toward a solution it is usually better to move on and attempt another question.