help in passing physics 1 !!!!(Noncalc based)

[What's your Rx?]

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I need serious help in regards to studying for physics..bio and chem are my strengths but for some reason physics is totally destroying me! Any tips and suggestions on how to study better and prepare myself for exams and such?
All in all, how did you guys manage to do well in physics and with what methods? thanks 'preciate the help

 

[dgroulx]

I need serious help in regards to studying for physics..bio and chem are my strengths but for some reason physics is totally destroying me! Any tips and suggestions on how to study better and prepare myself for exams and such?
All in all, how did you guys manage to do well in physics and with what methods? thanks 'preciate the help

I bought the study guide that went with the textbook and solved additional problems. It went through the process step by step on how to solve different types of problems. The curve on exams helped most, though.

 

[the_labrat]

The curve on exams helped most, though.

Lucky you :sigh:

Well i guess I should be thankful I only have to do one semester of physics as opposed to two!

 

[George Rivello]

Your school has a learning center or tutor center. If you are luckier, there will a tutor in there that can identify tricky problems and help you solve them. With many physics problems, there is a trick to breaking the problem down. I find that once I set the word problems up correctly, they are easy-peasy to solve.

 

[lozthegreat]

use this site for help

http://www.physicsforums.com/

there is alot of help here. The book i used was by the author serway and had a swimmer on the front cover. If i ever had a problem with homework, i would search this site and it would have a solution and explaination for the answer of the same, or similar problem.

If you need any additional help, and im not too busy, i can help, just private message me, when i took it i ened up getting over a 100%

good luck.

 

[lfc-2086]

you know what they say....'Practice makes perfect'......trust me try and solve the problems at the end of each chapter and understand the method....arriving at an answer without understanding the method makes no sense.....I didn't have the greatest professor and at times felt I was teaching myself Physics👎 :......but i busted my A$$ and did great.....try to look at the questions in a different way.......

 

[Glowwyrm]

I guess I'm one of those weird people that loved physics. There were things I did to help my learning but I think it's pretty common sense. 1. Read the chapter(s) before the lecture so when you go into the lecture it will be review. 2. Do as many practice problems as you can. 3. Complete all of your homework/lab write ups as soon as possible. I did all of mine immediately following class. 4. If you are a visual learner, draw everything out when you're solving a problem. If it's a problem about a ball being shot from a cannon, actually draw a little diagram and label the distances etc. If it's a force problem, draw a diagram and include arrows showing which way the force is being exerted. 5. I also found the book Improving Your Physics Grade by Ronald Aaron to be helpful because it pointed out certain things that people tend to goof up on. I'll try to find my copy and scan a couple of pages of it for you to take a look at in case you might want to buy yourself a copy. I'll have to dig through my closets to find it though. They have very affordable copies at half.com. But I think #4, drawing everything out, was the thing that helped me out the most. Draw, draw, draw. 🙂

 

[twester]

Good suggestions so far. I used my textbook and the study guide. I worked out all of the example problems even though they were already done in the book. It was a lot of work, but paid off in the end.

My big ah-hah moment came when I realized that learning the units meant that I didn't have to memorize the forumla because the formula is already present in the units. It's not enough to know Newtons, you also have to know that a Newton is kgm/sec-squared.

Good luck.

 

[ttran01]

im taking physics too and its soo hard. i cant even understand the question either. i just dont get it.

 

[eddie269]

Wow, the OP sounds like me back in January of this year. I HATED physics.

Anyways, the only tip I have is to do as many problems as you can. If the professor assigns odds only, do the evens! Practice is key. Also, draw pictures (in physics I) and try to know which formular relates to what type of problem. Lastly, go to the tutors. It sucks b/c sometimes, the tutors can't do the problem because it's so hard.

Good luck guys. I survived with B and B+. It make my other class that semester (biochem) a pleasure! (well, not really but you get the idea!)

Remember, physics is a filter class for pharmacy school. You don't need it after you're done, and it's a b*tch! Schools know this and that's why they require it.

 

[afmedic2md]

Understand the concepts first, then be able to apply the correct formula. Often times there is not enough time on a test/quiz to spend time just trying different formulas. I know this sounds like an over simplification but I took Physics taught by the Ph D that wrote the text and that's what he suggested! I got an A but definitely had to earn it. Good Luck😀

 

[meowmeow]

i seem to have the same prob as u! i hate physics...

but what u have to learn is the basics! F=ma!! u will use that 23590250 times! the whole semester of physics 1 (mines was calc-based), we had to somehow use F=ma. u must learn how to visualize things and know when to use constants. the best way to start out is to buy a solutions manual and practice some probs on ur own. the ones that u have problems on, go n ask a tutor for help on them. u could even ask them if u r doing some of the problems right, even tho u know they r right.

and.. dont forget to seperate your x components from your y components... or whatever u call them. do u know what i mean? i hope u have a good professor cuz physics is tough! gluck!

 

[genesis09]

Sometimes it felt like I needed to appeal to a higher power for physics guidance. 😀
Don't worry, everyone has problems with physics. Do you homework and go to office hours for your professor and/or TA. At my university, we had a physics help area in one of the buildings. A whole bunch of us would go and do the problems together. If we had problems, we could ask the TA who was there.

 

[What's your Rx?]

hey yall thanks for all the tips..i really do appreciate... now I have something to work with and a foundation for doing well in physics....appreciate the help and good luck in the future..

payce

 

[sprinkle0420]

don't fret, just go to your lectures, study your ass off and you'll be fine. I felt the same way too when i transferred from a community college to UC Berkeley. I had completed the first semester at my community college and had to take the second semester at Berkeley and I was so scared I was gonna fail! But I stuck it out, got a B and if I did it, you can too dude!