<p>I'm taking AP Physics B right now and so far I find it extremely hard to ace a test...I know that I'm not a naturally gifted student at physics and math so I would use an entire day to study for a test or exam while my friend would only use a couple of her hours. Yet, my results do not often meet my expectations and constantly lower than those of my friend's who uses very little of her time to study compared to me. It is unnerving yes because I use so much time and seem to try so hard. So I was wondering how you guys study for physics tests/exams and if there is some good authentic strategies to improving them.</p>
<p>I know how you feel =( </p>
<p>I'm taking AP Physics C and I have never gotten above a B+ on a test. For me though, time and nerves are my enemy. I often panic during a test when I can't recognize or recall a formula/derivation, and things go downhill from there. Time...is everyone's enemy.</p>
<p>Physics C is killing me. Our class average on tests is well below failing on tests, good thing we have a curve.</p>
<p>My studying usually involves praying to Allah. No, I'm kidding. I look at formula sheets, try practice problems, and look up different ways to solve the problems online.</p>
<p>Don't study for tests, just study the material enough that you know it and then once you know the material you're pretty much guaranteed to make a good grade on the test, even if you didn't find out about the test until five minutes ago. (I know that didn't make any sense whatsoever)</p>
<p>So basically the way to study for physics is
--Read the textbook as soon as the unit begins
--Do the problems in the textbook, preferably all the odd problems. This might take a while (1 chapter per weekend day in my experience). Note that textbook problems will probably be somewhat harder than test questions, but (if you're using a good textbook) they'll prepare you very well.
--If you do enough problems the concepts will be ingrained enough into you that you won't even have to bother studying for the tests.
--Keep in mind that physics is a cumulative, integrated subject, so if you start off being bad at kinematics you might have some catching up to do before you start electricity. The catching-up part can make physics quite hard if you're not careful.</p>
<p>Ever read this site? It's really helpful.</p>
<p>Oh, god, I'm taking Physics B next year and I'm really reconsidering it! Not because of this post alone, but it just seems like it's going to crush me!</p>
<p>I'm one of the two students in my class that's getting an A in AP Physics C. The main problem for others is the fact that they have no idea how to start since questions only give you data, conditions, and what you need to find in the most vague phrases. Once they know what to do, they have to recall and apply the right equations. It's almost rare for a test/quiz questions to be answered with one physics equation.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about B level, but in C, another factor that complicates the problem is the use of Calculus- you fail to know the very basics of Calculus, then you fail Physics C.</p>
<p>physics cred: got a 5 on all three ap exams, 800 on the physics sat ii, was a member of the 2006 us physics team (top 24 in usa), did a research project in physics at case western reserve university.</p>
<p>how to be good at physics in three easy steps:</p>
<p>1) don't invest energy memorizing formulas. know the fundamentals (e.g. definitions of quantities, when conservation laws hold, etc.), and then derive everything from there. a few really important things will become second nature after a while (f = ma, gauss's law, etc.), but even then you should understand qualitatively why they are true.
2) do a lot of practice problems. sorry, there really isn't a way around this. even better, do hard problems that force you to think outside the box (usapho, ipho, apho, etc.)
3) experiment. if you don't know where to start on a problem, write stuff that you know for sure is true and then think of what approaches you do know how to do and try to apply them. if you do know how to do a problem, try and think of other solutions you could have used instead. this is helpful because it helps you understand how different concepts in physics are interrelated.</p>
<p>reading good books helps, too. the feynman lectures on physics are pretty much required reading. intro to electrodynamics by griffiths is good times, too. you need to know multivariable calculus to understand everything in those two books, but even if you don't know it, the qualitative explanations are excellent, even if you don't get the rigorous mathematical derivation. the potential literature extends infinitely beyond these two books, but these are the first that come to mind.</p>