Physical Science is so frustrating!

[Ahsan]

Hey! Guys I NEED HELP IN PHYSICAL SCIENCES!! what did you guys do to increase your scores?! I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING LIKE A MAD DOG!!
any help?!!

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[ManOnTheMoon115]

Hey! Guys I NEED HELP IN PHYSICAL SCIENCES!! what did you guys do to increase your scores?! I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING LIKE A MAD DOG!!
any help?!!

I second this! any strategies specific to PS would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BennieBlanco]

Deeply understand the concepts and why on previous passages before attempting new passages. Don't memorize equations for chem/physics, understand them. I see people making mnemonics for equations and shake my head, they likely are skipping understanding to move on to new material.

More often than not, if you deeply understand all the equations/concepts then you won't need mnemonics (except for lists of things that aren't conceptually rooted).

 

[IndianVercetti]

So far in my practice, I'm surprisingly doing consistently well in the PS section. I've never been great at physics, and only so-so in chem, but I might be able to offer some insight. I respectfully disagree with BennieBlanco. Although it is true, for a vivid and clear understanding of the subject, you should internalize the connections between variables, and let the relations fit the problem, for many people, myself included, it is very tough to to have this 'mind for physics.' As a result, I chose to memorize a few of the important equations, so that these relations became imprinted in my brain as I did practice problems. Over time, this memorization lends itself to second nature, so there is no longer that concerted effort that is needed to recall a formula.

What I did was make a sheet full of equations, and memorize all of them. Then, do problems, and try to recall formulas from memory. Formulas are the basis of physics, and many relationships between variables are succinctly contained within a simple formula. Over time, you'll see how this memorization evolves into a true understanding between variables.

I struggled with that initial stage of getting the formulas in my head, so I made some tricks to memorize some of the more complicated ones - I posted an example in the 1/30/2010 thread for the electrostatics equations. With that being said, I do agree with Bennie that simply walking into the test with a brain full of memorized formulas is not at all the way to go; you have to reach a stage where the memorization starts to become second nature.

 

[Insulinshock]

Well aside from memorizing equations and things that are more specific, I have my own little way of memorizing more conceptual stuff:

A lot of the MCAT is conceptual. So when I correct myself on passages or practice tests or whatever I go through every answer and first figure out if I got it right or wrong. If I got it right I figure out if it was cause of solid logic and intuition or a lucky guess after narrowing it down. If I got it wrong I figure out why I got it wrong and the logic behind the right answer.

If I got it right because I had good logic, I leave the question alone. If I got lucky or got it wrong then I write down the concept and the logic behind the question in a notebook. I have a notebook completely devoted to this with questions about biology, chemistry, and physics all intertwined that I had previously gotten wrong. I intertwine it so that the questions don't "run in sequence" and I have to think about them seperately without just flying through it.

Before I study each day I read through this notebook for repitition so that it becomes intuition and I'll just "know" it without having to try to figure it out. My notebook has about twenty pages of information, growing each day of course, that I hope to have nailed down come test day.

The MCAT is very conceptual, and so my theory is that by the time I take it I will be able to rely on my intuition and logic to answer the questions, rather than memorization. My scores have steadily improved since I started studying and using this method.

This is just my way of doing it, mostly for physics and gen chem and less so for biology and verbal. Everyone has their own style and way of doing things; you just have to find which way works best for you.

Best of luck!

 

[BestDoctorEver]

Hey! Guys I NEED HELP IN PHYSICAL SCIENCES!! what did you guys do to increase your scores?! I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING LIKE A MAD DOG!!
any help?!!

Welcome to my world... Doing ok in chemistry; however, physics is a pain in my b..tt

 

[ManOnTheMoon115]

Well aside from memorizing equations and things that are more specific, I have my own little way of memorizing more conceptual stuff:

A lot of the MCAT is conceptual. So when I correct myself on passages or practice tests or whatever I go through every answer and first figure out if I got it right or wrong. If I got it right I figure out if it was cause of solid logic and intuition or a lucky guess after narrowing it down. If I got it wrong I figure out why I got it wrong and the logic behind the right answer.

If I got it right because I had good logic, I leave the question alone. If I got lucky or got it wrong then I write down the concept and the logic behind the question in a notebook. I have a notebook completely devoted to this with questions about biology, chemistry, and physics all intertwined that I had previously gotten wrong. I intertwine it so that the questions don't "run in sequence" and I have to think about them seperately without just flying through it.

Before I study each day I read through this notebook for repitition so that it becomes intuition and I'll just "know" it without having to try to figure it out. My notebook has about twenty pages of information, growing each day of course, that I hope to have nailed down come test day.

The MCAT is very conceptual, and so my theory is that by the time I take it I will be able to rely on my intuition and logic to answer the questions, rather than memorization. My scores have steadily improved since I started studying and using this method.

This is just my way of doing it, mostly for physics and gen chem and less so for biology and verbal. Everyone has their own style and way of doing things; you just have to find which way works best for you.

Best of luck!

That actually sounds like a good idea, i'm going to try that starting tomorrow, thanks for that

Welcome to my world... Doing ok in chemistry; however, physics is a pain in my b..tt

i feel u man- physics sucks.

 

[BennieBlanco]

What I did was make a sheet full of equations, and memorize all of them. Then, do problems, and try to recall formulas from memory. Formulas are the basis of physics, and many relationships between variables are succinctly contained within a simple formula. Over time, you'll see how this memorization evolves into a true understanding between variables.

This is backwards learning. First you understand. Then you memorize.

Memory is a shortcut taken by those who don't want to take the time to think.

 

[Seraph 84]

Hey! Guys I NEED HELP IN PHYSICAL SCIENCES!! what did you guys do to increase your scores?! I HAVE BEEN PRACTICING LIKE A MAD DOG!!
any help?!!

Are you foaming at the mouth?

Physics and chemistry emphasize understanding, not memorizing. Work on understanding physical systems before memorizing little things like equations for kinetic and potential energy. For instance, you should be able to qualitatively understand and extrapolate periodic trends from the concept of effective nuclear charge; what many people do is memorize the trends - don't do this.

 

[BennieBlanco]

Are you foaming at the mouth?

Physics and chemistry emphasize understanding, not memorizing. Work on understanding physical systems before memorizing little things like equations for kinetic and potential energy. For instance, you should be able to qualitatively understand and extrapolate periodic trends from the concept of effective nuclear charge; what many people do is memorize the trends - don't do this.

👍👍

Exactly what I attempted to say. If you are thinking, as Examkrackers teaches, "If it starts with an E the periodic trend increases up and to the right." (EK has a bunch of this type of stuff). You have skipped the learning stage in favor of quickly memorizing what you need to know.

EK = worst for conceptual learning (but if you know the concepts, then EK is a good summary).

Good news: this can get you extremely high grades.
Bad news: this really slows you down when you have to know 400 concepts and use them interchangeably at any given moment.

I had to cross this path when I began my MCAT studying. I attempted to memorize a bunch and learn very little. Memory still plays a huge role, but no longer the primary one.

 

[Insulinshock]

I agree with Bennie about using EK to teach you the methods; however, if you have a solid foundation, and you already have EK material it can be great for reinforcing the concepts. I have audio osmosis and I love it because while I don't learn anything new they go over all the important stuff and if I don't understand every single word they're saying then I know I need to go back and reread something.

 

[BennieBlanco]

I agree with Bennie about using EK to teach you the methods; however, if you have a solid foundation, and you already have EK material it can be great for reinforcing the concepts. I have audio osmosis and I love it because while I don't learn anything new they go over all the important stuff and if I don't understand every single word they're saying then I know I need to go back and reread something.

I agree. If you KNOW what they cover, it does a good job of allowing you to THINK about what they cover.

My point was EK constantly advocates not thinking.