Physics practice problems...I get them all wrong first time through

[csx]

Is this normal? I'll be reading through physics, for example, TPR and when it comes to the practice problems, I generally have no idea how to solve them. When I look at the answer I'm like oh, that makes sense. Usually then it'll take a few times to get that question right though. Obviously, there are problems that I do get right because they are painfully easy though like what is the momentum of a 10 kg object traveling at 10 m/s.

is this normal?? I'm worried my physics 'skills' will only be applicable to TPR.
When I did NOVA (did most of it), I felt what I learned was only applicable to that. For the small section of TBR I did, I felt the same way.

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[HCHopeful]

To me, Physics, more than any subject, is one that requires repetition. The first time I looked at a circuit problem, I had no idea how to calculate anything related to it. After my teacher lectured about it, I had the basic concepts of what it can be used to find, how to differentiate between parallel and series, and also voltage drops, etc. I still couldn't solve a problem if it was presented to me; however, if I went through two or three and saw the solutions I eventually got the hang of it.

Now, while studying for the MCAT has this happened to me? No. I can generally work my way through to get either the correct answer or the answer that is wrong because I missed a step (generally the latter, haha). There are always a couple of questions that you look at and think, "What the heck?" If you don't know how to do them, go through and look at solutions. Then go and do passages. If you're getting them right in passages, then it's fine. But if you're still missing the same concepts, then you need to change something.

 

[Vans42]

I bought the 1001 Physics problems from Exam Krackers and it worked wonders. Like the PP said, repetition for Physics is a great way to go, soon all of the problems will start to look the same for a given subject (magnetism, forces, electricity, etc), they just find new ways to ask the same question.

 

[csx]

So far doing TPR, most of the practice questions are calc heavy...is this representative? A lot of SDNers are saying the last few MCATs have been calc heavy

 

[HCHopeful]

I have no clue if it's representative. Generally to understand concepts you have to understand the calc side anyway, so it won't hurt to learn both.

 

[Jason12]

So far doing TPR, most of the practice questions are calc heavy...is this representative? A lot of SDNers are saying the last few MCATs have been calc heavy

You're prob the first person to say TPR physics is hard, do you mean TPR workbook?
I think you don't spend much time on post analysis, as much as its important to do practice, its also crusial to do a good post analysis, what generaly helps me is that before I look at the answer, I try my best to solve it on my own, then I look at the answer and try my best to absorb it, then at the end I write a short summary of the explanation on the side

 

[csx]

You're prob the first person to say TPR physics is hard, do you mean TPR workbook?
I think you don't spend much time on post analysis, as much as its important to do practice, its also crusial to do a good post analysis, what generaly helps me is that before I look at the answer, I try my best to solve it on my own, then I look at the answer and try my best to absorb it, then at the end I write a short summary of the explanation on the side

TPR physics. Not the TPRSW (idk about that). The inchapter problems whoop me, outside the stupid easy ones like v=10 m=10 whats momentum.

 

[Jason12]

TPR physics. Not the TPRSW (idk about that). The inchapter problems whoop me, outside the stupid easy ones like v=10 m=10 whats momentum.

if the in chapter problems are similar to TBR I wouldnt worry too much about them, like TBR would throw problems in chapter that requires you to make ICE table, which is impossible to do so on the real thing... try to understand their concept instead! Ive heard kaplan section tests are good for PS since theyre calculation heavy, you might wanna try those

 

[csx]

if the in chapter problems are similar to TBR I wouldnt worry too much about them, like TBR would throw problems in chapter that requires you to make ICE table, which is impossible to do so on the real thing... try to understand their concept instead! Ive heard kaplan section tests are good for PS since theyre calculation heavy, you might wanna try those

Nothing like TBR physics problems. These are def more 'doable' but I'm still getting wrecked. Partly cuz its not multiple choice like TBR but still.

 

[IslandStyle808]

I actually think TPR hyperlearning has a good amount of calculations. I did the Official Guide to the MCAT passages and found that it was like a mixture of both the TPR hyperlearning and TBR. Both were definitely helpful.

I too got worked by TPR hyper learning (some of which were not advanced passages). However, I realize that the one's I did badly on, were actually passages TBR had not much on.

 

[Gauss44]

Response to title: If you are at that stage, you need to quit focusing on your score, and just focus on learning for now. Also, make a point to become familiar with styles of questions like those that give a bunch of complicated unnecessary information and those that come near being trick questions.