poise during grueling physics test--is it possible?

[2ndave]

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Hey, does anyone have advice about how to stay cool, calm and collected during timed exams where you have to do lots of calculation, like in physics and stuff?

Today I went to class and was all ready to take a test, when this girl sat down right next to me--not two spaces away from me like we normally do during tests, but right there next to me just a couple inches away, really crowding my writing space. She proceeded to spend the entire exam period flipping back and forth very loudly through the pages of the test, and erasing so hard on her paper that the whole row of desks we were sitting at shook. She was also making some noise kind of like grunting every now and then. The distraction was just too much! It was really unnerving. I'm taking calc-based physics and some of the problems are pretty intense, so I've gotta be able to concentrate.

It's not all that often that I really panic during a test, but when it happens, wow, it seems like it's a struggle to even add 2 +2! The most basic concepts in math just seem to escape me. Anyone have ideas or tricks that can help make exams seem like less of an ordeal?

 

[indianboy]

Take copious amounts of Ritalin or an equivalant.

Hope that Helps

P 'Don't worry, I'm PRE-MED' ShankOut

 

[deleted9493]

If I were you, I would time my arrival to class on test day in such a way that I was one of the last people to show up. This way you're sure (or so it sounds) to get your space.
It can be tough to pull things together on physics exams (I remember the feeling). If you've mastered the practice problems quantitatively and qualitatively...and you know the principles being studied...there's not much else you can do. Just pray that you can assimilate them appropriately in those 50 minutes. Do your best and hope it pays off...it generally does.

 

[DarkChild]

ear plugs.

 

[samenewme]

First of all, a very pragmatic tip: If someone sits too close to you and it bothers you, MOVE. It'll take ten seconds. Your concentration is too valuable an asset to give up just to avoid making waves. If you think that's a problem, raise your hand and ask for permission to move. But MOVE. You're not in grade school; you can sit where you want.

If you get a frozen moment of panic where you can't read the problem well enough to figure it out, take a moment to write out the formulas you think are relevant for this test. You'll have them for reference (especially nice if you're visual) and something may ring a bell for you ("Oh, this fits in here and this fits in here and I'm just looking for V now.") Once you get some feeling of familiarity, you may feel calmer. Certainly the feeling of writing something (ANYTHING) down can break that deer-caught-in-headlights logjam in your brain.

I hope this helps. I had a little panic moment on my chem exam a couple of weeks ago myself.