how do you study for physics+gen chem+ english elective?

[qualityhealth]

I"m making up my schedule for the fall and I'm scared of taking two sciences together , as I've never done that before. I'm going to be a sophmore, and last year, I took bio 1and2 and have gotten a B- both semesters.

I guess what I"m asking is how do i study for both chem and physics and an english elective (I"m an English major)???

i'm looking for the nitty gritty details, as in how many hours a day you would study/how many problems/ read before or after class/

another thing i need help with is how to set up my schedule. I'm thinking of taking chem every morning and then taking a 2-3 hour break (spent studying what I had just learnt in chem) and then taking a physics class (and then spending the 2 hours after the class studying). I"m not really concerned about my English elective since I know i'm going to get an A in it already. do you think this is a good idea?

thanks for any and all imput!

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[Dayfed]

I"m making up my schedule for the fall and I'm scared of taking two sciences together , as I've never done that before. I'm going to be a sophmore, and last year, I took bio 1and2 and have gotten a B- both semesters.

I guess what I"m asking is how do i study for both chem and physics and an english elective (I"m an English major)???

i'm looking for the nitty gritty details, as in how many hours a day you would study/how many problems/ read before or after class/

another thing i need help with is how to set up my schedule. I'm thinking of taking chem every morning and then taking a 2-3 hour break (spent studying what I had just learnt in chem) and then taking a physics class (and then spending the 2 hours after the class studying). I"m not really concerned about my English elective since I know i'm going to get an A in it already. do you think this is a good idea?

thanks for any and all imput!

I really wouldn't sweat it, but it comes down to how well you can manage your time, you know that answer the best. Generally, all science majors have Gen Chem and Bio together freshman year. That's what I did, and it wasn't too bad. Physics may be considered harder for some than Bio, so maybe your schedule is a little more difficult than that. I'm taking Physics and Organic together next year as a sophomore, but for me, I'm a science major and I need to take more than one science based class per semester. Being a liberal arts major is different, and you may only take one science a semester, but someone else can help you there. It all depends on how confident you are with your problem solving skills. Both Physics and Chemistry take up a ton of time doing problems, understanding concepts, whereas a Biology is more memorization, reading more material.

As far as tips or how I study:
Read the material ahead of time, before your prof lectures on it. This is a big factor for me, and changed me from a B+ student to an A student.

For every hour in lecture/lab/discussion you should spend 2 hours studying on your own.

Go to office hours whenever you have a question, but always work the problems out ahead of time. Going to office hours just to go is a waste of time.

As far as problems, I do most if not all the problems that there are solutions to in the back, which is usually all the odd problems.

Take an hour right after having a class and sit down and look at what you just went over in lecture. This is if time permits, but if you have another class, then do it whenever you can next. I wouldn't base my schedule over this though.

For me, I can never cram, never want to cram, for exams. It just doesn't work for me. Getting a good night's sleep restores the memory of the day before, and actually makes you remember and problem solve faster than you could the previous day.

Also, one last piece of advice, get some sort of exercise on a daily basis. You will get mentally drained from your courses, and may want to fall asleep, but it's better if you take a quick break and do something physical, to make your body tired, and brain restored. Also, many college students develop insomnia because of lack of exercise and from caffiene.

 

[MahSpoon]

TWO science classes in ONCE?! unheard of, your mind will surely implode

 

[emttim]

Going to office hours just to go is a waste of time.

I agree, but then how do you get around the LOR problem?

 

[smeagol]

Time management is everything.

For instance, that 5 mins you spend on the john? Bring a physics/chem problem with you, or hang up formula sheets on your bathroom wall.

 

[souslepont]

I think you'll be fine as long as you recognize that you have to study for chem and physics in different ways...you can get by in physics mostly by doing the problems, but chem is much more conceptual and you will have to do more reading to understand it. I don't know what kind of exams you take and how easy it is to cram successfully at your undergrad, but try to understand every concept in chem the first time around so that you don't have to re-learn the major ideas later for the MCAT. Read the chapter and take notes, go to lecture and review your lecture notes/your professor's powerpoint, and then try to do as many problems (both quantitative and qualitative) as you can...what textbook will you be using?

There's nothing wrong with having 2-3 hour "study" breaks between classes, but usually only the most disciplined people actually devote all of that time to studying...the rest of us (or maybe it's just me) usually end up going on facebook, chatting, procrastinating, etc. I've always found it easier to just have classes as close together as possible.

You're taking labs, right?

 

[bluesTank]

TWO science courses...are you mad?!?!

No, but seriously...think about where you are right now...pre-med.

You will be taking the equivalent of like 6-8 science courses with labs in medical school.

Not trying mean to be mean or anything, but you better get used to it.

Good luck.

 

[sjhalverson]

i'm looking for the nitty gritty details, as in how many hours a day you would study/how many problems/ read before or after class/

Heres the formula:
Hours Study = (number of credit hours the class is) X (% of students that are smarter than you in the class ) / (your score on the first quiz) ^ k, where k =1 if the professor is from America and 4.2 if they are not.


Not trying to be a jerk, but did you honestly think someone would have these answers for you? For every kid that doesn't have to study at all there is one that has to study 24/7, and most likely both are going to be giving you advice on SDN.

BEST ANSWER -----> You have to study as many hours, as many problems, and read as much so that you don't get another B-. Halfway through the semester you may realize this is a lot more than you are doing, or a lot less.