How do you guys study for Science and Math classes?

[Gl4di4tor]

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This is how I've been studying;
1. Read as much of the chapter before the lecture.
2. Go to lecture and take good thorough notes
3. Re-read notes ASAP and add more notes from the text to your notes [especially parts that weren't so clear during the lecture].
4. Do the problems [this is what will take most of the time]
5. Make flashcards of important vocab and equations.
6. Rinse and repeat for every chapter. All work and no play makes johnny a dull boy. lol.
So how do you study for Sciences and Math what worked for you, please try to be as specific as possible. Thanks.

BTW. I know alot of us don't have that much time to devout for each subject, so please share any time saving tips you may know about.

Helpful Links:
1. How to study Chemistry [Dartmouth video]
2. MIT lecture videos
3. BYU study tips

 

[fancymylotus]

Rewrite notes onto unlined computer paper.
Add notes from book as necessary.
Memorize.

Once notes are memorized, go back and memorize book chapters.

Do every last HW problem at the end of every chapter.

Re-read notes day before test.

the end

 

[PDizzle]

Damn, I'm start'n to look like an under achiever!!

I go to class (most of the time) and try to take good notes. The day before the test I read the chapter and go over my notes. If it's math, I do some problems. That's about it.

 

[Gl4di4tor]

Rewrite notes onto unlined computer paper.
Add notes from book as necessary.
Memorize.

Once notes are memorized, go back and memorize book chapters.

Do every last HW problem at the end of every chapter.

Re-read notes day before test.

the end

Good technique of rewriting your notes. Do you use flashcards for math and science classes at all?

 

[Gl4di4tor]

Damn, I'm start'n to look like an under achiever!!

I go to class (most of the time) and try to take good notes. The day before the test I read the chapter and go over my notes. If it's math, I do some problems. That's about it.

Are you kidding me. No way anyone could pull that off and do well on the exams unless your a genious ofcourse. I would like to see someone use your method for physics and still manage to get a good grade on the test.

 

[polarnut]

i lie on my bed and just read whats on the textbook over and over. i just end up memorizing them.

 

[Fat_Man]

Date a girl in the class who only puts out after your homework is done and you have gotten them all right. Trust me, you'll get a 4.0.

 

[Gl4di4tor]

i lie on my bed and just read whats on the textbook over and over. i just end up memorizing them.

Even for math and physics, or do you memorize first then do problems? How do you keep yourself from falling asleep while studying on your bed?

 

[Gl4di4tor]

Date a girl in the class who only puts out after your homework is done and you have gotten them all right. Trust me, you'll get a 4.0.

Lol. Yeah that would make me work faster and harder. Too bad, I ain't getting any. 🙁

 

[Dutchboy]

I've always been a crammer. I show up to class but other than that I don't even look at my notes or the book untill a day or two before the test. I usually get up between 4 or 5 in the morining the day of the test to get even more cramming in (I try to get to bed early the night before).

 

[Sk8aBull]

^ Yeah.

I basically do everything the night before. A few days before the test I'll start looking at the chapters but I won't really start studying until the night before. As time decreases, effort increases.

I'm a busy person and I don't have that much time to study, so I make it work. I always work best under pressure.

 

[Gl4di4tor]

Wow, alot of crammers. I can see cramming for bio or maybe even chem, but how do you cram for Physics or Calculus? For physics you need to do alot of problems to get fast and accurate at solving problems, so how do you cram for that test?

 

[fancymylotus]

Wow, alot of crammers. I can see cramming for bio or maybe even chem, but how do you cram for Physics or Calculus? For physics you need to do alot of problems to get fast and accurate at solving problems, so how do you cram for that test?

You have to prioritize your workload. So say youre taking a math class and two bio classes. You obviously cant cram for a math test, because you have to do problems to be able to get the concepts since teachers like to make up their own f'ed up ones to give you on the test. Therefore, I'd start about two or three days prior to the test by doing all the problems assigned, and then all the ones in between(usually the ones who dont have answers in the back of the book)
However, if you have a bio test the same day as aforementioned math test,and youve been rewriting notes all along,you can generally lie in bed and reread them a few times and be good to go.

Minimal work for maximum grade.
I think I figured this one out junior year of HS when I decided that I never wanted to be awake all night studying for a test when I had better things to do.

 

[golfmontpoker]

Minimal work for maximum grade.
I think I figured this one out junior year of HS when I decided that I never wanted to be awake all night studying for a test when I had better things to do.

Amen to that! Minimal work for maximum grade. If you spent some time analyzing the professor, you can figure out what he or she is going to ask on tests. I partied way to much my sophmore year and did this in organic chemistry. I would just cram 3 hours prior to the test and I ended up making a C+ in the class, i could of done alot better if i would of actually studied... Its hard to just cram for math and chemistry classes. But i will quote from the movie Gross Anatomy "I just memorize the stuff thats in bold." This works wonders in biology classes.

 

[polarnut]

Even for math and physics, or do you memorize first then do problems? How do you keep yourself from falling asleep while studying on your bed?

as for math and physics, this is what i do. after every lecture, you do couple problems and get it down while its still fresh in your head. then i dont look at em till exam time and then i lie on my bed and go over the problems in my head.

as for falling asleep, well, i cant really help you there. that's pretty much concentration and motivation factor more than anything.

 

[fancymylotus]

as for math and physics, this is what i do. after every lecture, you do couple problems and get it down while its still fresh in your head. then i dont look at em till exam time and then i lie on my bed and go over the problems in my head.

as for falling asleep, well, i cant really help you there. that's pretty much concentration and motivation factor more than anything.

i thought i was the only one who lay in bed and read my notes.my friends think im crazy, theyre convinced that im going to fall asleep or something.

 

[coral2005]

^ Yeah.

I basically do everything the night before. A few days before the test I'll start looking at the chapters but I won't really start studying until the night before. As time decreases, effort increases.

I'm a busy person and I don't have that much time to study, so I make it work. I always work best under pressure.

Same here. I never studied before hand. If there was homework, I'd only look through the book to find answers quickly. I hardly ever studied from my class notes...and only a few days before the test did I start reading the chapters and making outlines of key points in the text. Sometimes I'd be reading the material for the first time only hours before the exam.

For Math and Physics..I don't know how I did it. I suck at math and had a hard time with physics, too. I might have done better if I had changed my study habits. The OP's methods sound OK...but way too much work for me. I'm just glad I'll never have to take one of those courses again.

 

[colt]

I just do the homework and ask the teacher about any areas I'm weak in. I also need time to study before the test--maybe an hour or so to refresh my memory. A decent amount of sleep is also good. On our first test I made a low grade because I only got 5 hrs sleep in 3 nights. I got 5.5hrs last night and made 90+ on todays test.

 

[EyeAmCommi]

Damn, I'm start'n to look like an under achiever!!

I go to class (most of the time) and try to take good notes. The day before the test I read the chapter and go over my notes. If it's math, I do some problems. That's about it.

This was the method I used. I consider myself a procrastinator.

 

[Gl4di4tor]

Same here. I never studied before hand. If there was homework, I'd only look through the book to find answers quickly. I hardly ever studied from my class notes...and only a few days before the test did I start reading the chapters and making outlines of key points in the text. Sometimes I'd be reading the material for the first time only hours before the exam.

For Math and Physics..I don't know how I did it. I suck at math and had a hard time with physics, too. I might have done better if I had changed my study habits. The OP's methods sound OK...but way too much work for me. I'm just glad I'll never have to take one of those courses again.

I suck at math also, in the sense that I don't easily absorb mathematical procedures becasue they seem so dry to me, thus i spend more time on that subject rather than Bio, which was extremely interesting to me [most of the time] and thus didn't have to spend too much time on it compared to Pre-cal or physics. How bout you guys?

 

[Doogie Howser]

for me, if i go to class and pay attention, there really isn't all that much studying to do. I'll do the practice problems that are assigned and make sure i understand the overarching concepts.

math, physics, and ochem i find extremely easy because i have found that there really is not all that much memorization in these courses, rather you need to be able to understand multiple concepts and be able to apply them in many different areas.

just my 2 cents

 

[drengineer]

I just realized I have an anatomy midterm tomorrow at 9:00 AM. Maybe i should start studying.

Heck i really need to finish F.E.A.R. (yes i've been procrastinating finishing this game, it's so effing scary).

Alright i'll play F.E.A.R. for the next three hours and then go to bed and then wake up at 5:00 AM tomorrow and study for the test. Talk about self-confidence.

Math comes naturally to me.

 

[colt]

I draw the line at flash cards! I refuse to do those and people that have them kinda annoy me.

 

[INFNITE]

i normally start preparing for exams half a week before the exam. Skim through relevant readings and catch up on stuff I haven't read yet. Make connections and try to visualize the ideas mentally (or put it down on paper, whatever you prefer). Go through notes and refer to textbooks if something isn't very clear. Got questions? go to office hours. If there are practice exams posted online, look over them and note what kind of questions the professor asks and focus on the more commonly asked areas.

If it's a math or engineering type course....the amount of reading is normally much ligher and you won't have to focus on details. Instead, focus on methods of solving different kinds of questions. Understand why certain formulas are used under certain situations, and think analytically when you study. Go over p-sets and develop a thorough understanding of solving the question. Once again, go to office hours if you're stuck. Normally, I don't do that many practice questions because the actual math in engineering courses are usually pretty light (simple calculus, solving values algebraically). The key point is to develop that analytical thinking skill required to develop solution strategies.

 

[americanpierg]

You dont need to be a genious to cram. I go to like 2 lectures out of 12, then two nights before the exam i start cramming out of the book, since learning by myself is always better than listening to some teacher try to teach me things that i can just easily read out of the book. In thos two days i can usually get in 24 hours of good studying, which is way more than enough to get all the information down cold. Never failed. Only problem is when finals comes along and u gotta start craming earlier.

 

[speedy3816]

Good technique of rewriting your notes. Do you use flashcards for math and science classes at all?

yea, this is what i do. actually i have a recorder that i use during lectures, b/c as i'm furiously writing down notes (very sloppy) from an overhead, i miss much of what the teacher is saying. then i go back and listen to the recorder and rewrite my notes. this allows me to stop the recorder and write down things that the teacher said that i missed the first time. also, rewriting them allows me to make my notes neater and more legible. this has worked wonder for me.

flashcards 👎

 

[Gl4di4tor]

i normally start preparing for exams half a week before the exam. Skim through relevant readings and catch up on stuff I haven't read yet. Make connections and try to visualize the ideas mentally (or put it down on paper, whatever you prefer). Go through notes and refer to textbooks if something isn't very clear. Got questions? go to office hours. If there are practice exams posted online, look over them and note what kind of questions the professor asks and focus on the more commonly asked areas.

If it's a math or engineering type course....the amount of reading is normally much ligher and you won't have to focus on details. Instead, focus on methods of solving different kinds of questions. Understand why certain formulas are used under certain situations, and think analytically when you study. Go over p-sets and develop a thorough understanding of solving the question. Once again, go to office hours if you're stuck. Normally, I don't do that many practice questions because the actual math in engineering courses are usually pretty light (simple calculus, solving values algebraically). The key point is to develop that analytical thinking skill required to develop solution strategies.

Thanks for sharing infnte! I have one question, how do you take notes in class? Do you write everything the that the prof writes or only what you thinks is important? I ask because during my Precal and Physic classes my prof just writes so much on the board that i can hardly keep up with what he's trying to teach while I'm writing everything he's trying to say. Does anyone else have this problem? I usually end up learnig mostly from the book.

 

[Gl4di4tor]

yea, this is what i do. actually i have a recorder that i use during lectures, b/c as i'm furiously writing down notes (very sloppy) from an overhead, i miss much of what the teacher is saying. then i go back and listen to the recorder and rewrite my notes. this allows me to stop the recorder and write down things that the teacher said that i missed the first time. also, rewriting them allows me to make my notes neater and more legible. this has worked wonder for me.

flashcards 👎

When i was taking bio I used my Iriver Ihp 120 20 gig Mp3 player to record the lectures as well, it was great. But sometimes i got too lazy and didn't bother listening to the recording. 😛 Anyways, the recording thing doesn't really work too well with math and phyiscs, IMO atleast.

 

[INFNITE]

for note taking, it differs from class to class. For some classes, the professor writes everything down on the board. If that's the case, I just try to copy everything down. I don't normally write everything the professor says, but I do annotate major points not on the board. For example, if the prof writes an equation and explains what it means verbally, I will note underneath the figure that this equation means this or this equation is used when you try to solve this type of problems.

Even if the lecture is on powerpoint slides, i won't try to write everything down if its an analytical thinking type of course (math, engineering, physics). Once again, make annotations that I can understand. If it's a class like bio or lets say history course, I will write alot more because these courses are more factual. In these type of courses, I would just bring a voice recorder while taking down as much as possible on paper.

 

[Gl4di4tor]

You dont need to be a genious to cram. I go to like 2 lectures out of 12, then two nights before the exam i start cramming out of the book, since learning by myself is always better than listening to some teacher try to teach me things that i can just easily read out of the book. In thos two days i can usually get in 24 hours of good studying, which is way more than enough to get all the information down cold. Never failed. Only problem is when finals comes along and u gotta start craming earlier.

wow. Do you use that method for every class, even math and sciences. That's really tough. When I cram to the last minute for math or science classes I usually panic and think that I don't have enough time and then end up not being able to concentrate while cramming. Thats why I try to avoid cramming.