<p>I've been studying for 2 HOURS STRAIGHT on applications of Newton's Laws, and i'm still not getting it!! I KNOW the formulas and concepts but I just can't figure out how to solve these word problems, My professor is confusing, my book is even MORE confusing, and I feel like crying right now, I tried youtube videos but they don't cover the same material as my book (university physics 13e) which my homework comes from... How do you guys solve these problems, PLEASE any tips would be much appreciated, these problems are killing me and I need to ace this quiz on Wednesday =[</p>
<p>Buy a chegg account or acquire a solutions manual to your textbook. Both of those will give you solutions on how to solve your problems. I actually do both and I find them to be invaluable. I’m someone who needs to see many problems worked out so I can get those “aha!” moments. Just please please please don’t just copy the problems down, stare at them until you understand why they did what they did. </p>
<p>Also never underestimate the power of using visual aids. I remember there was a problem on a quiz that had to do with a ball being thrown at a wall and I had to solve for a few things. I was sitting in the back row so I turned around and threw my eraser at the wall to see how it worked. It suddenly clicked in my head how it worked and I got it right. I also would always use visual aids when studying, the beauty of these problems is you can test what would happen yourself most of the time. </p>
<p>Also MIT posts their lectures online and they tend to be VERY good. I used to go to lecture for multivariable calculus, come home confused, then watch an MIT lecture on the material my professor just covered. I would understand it instantly because of just how clear the MIT professor would present it. It’s a truly wonderful resource. </p>
<p>You don’t give any clues as to the specific kind of problems that are frustrating you. However, just studying formulas isn’t the best way to learn the material. Draw pictures. Draw in arrows for forces, etc. Figure out the “why” and the “how” issues first. Once you can visualize what is happening, the math becomes easier to understand.</p>
<p>Lastly, understand that everyone around you is also probably struggling. You are not dumb, you just are being challenged, and with that comes a feeling of hopelessness sometimes. To overcome that it is very helpful to study in a group. If everyone is struggling it kind of helps reassure you that it’s not just you. When I took physics I got the highest grade out of everyone taking physics at my college for that particular semester, and I was just like you, struggling and feeling screwed most the time. I’m not trying to brag, I’m just trying to say that if I can do it, you can do it too.</p>
<p>@civilmechanical “Also MIT posts their lectures online and they tend to be VERY good. I used to go to lecture for multivariable calculus, come home confused, then watch an MIT lecture on the material my professor just covered. I would understand it instantly because of just how clear the MIT professor would present it. It’s a truly wonderful resource.” </p>
<p>Do I look like I would understand MIT material ? Lol. Doesn’t MIT tend to skip steps assuming their students are already smart enough to even be going there ? Im not that smart or else i wouldn’t be having trouble with these Lol.</p>
<p>First of all, 2 hours isn’t that long… Second of all, have you looked into tutoring or any supplementary instruction for your class? Does your class have a TA that has office hours? </p>
<p>My high school Honors Physics and AP Physics C class used Walter Lewin’s (sp?) MIT videos to explain things. They were very helpful and we loved him (he’s the guy with a huge banana clip in his shirt pocket sometimes). He is a great lecturer. If he can help a bunch of 16 year olds, he can help you.</p>
<p>As Seirsly said, MIT lectures are very helpful to pretty much anyone. If you are serious about doing better then just try it. </p>
<p>As a quick note, check your department/class rules prior to ever touching a solution manual - if not allowed, you can get in BIG trouble!!</p>
<p>Seek out tutor sessions (many schools hold them in the freshman dorms, free). Also look for study group partners. Really… it will help! Good luck. </p>
<p>@civilmechanical I took your advice and started search for some MIT lectures on my topic, which is applications of Newton’s Laws, I didn’t really find any lectures of that on youtube, do you know where I can find any or if possible you can link me to one ? Lol</p>
<p><a href=“Search | MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials”>http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/</a>
Is the website you’re looking for.</p>
<p>“First of all, 2 hours isn’t that long…”
@seirsly um…with all due respect, to you 2 hours may not seem long but when you are sitting there for 2 hours figuring out a topic and then realizing you still didn’t learn anything and just wasted those 2 hours, it will seem like a while… #Justsaying… And plus if it were 2 hours used wisely I wouldn’t be complaining but they were just 2 hours of me just staring at the book feeling lost and confused…Oh and physics isn’t the only course im taking this semester so i could have used that time up working on something else rather than being stuck on something for 2 hours straight of continuous studying… So yeah 2 hours is long…
I haven’t really looked into study groups or the professor’s office hours which would be absolutely useless since it is hard to understand things from her, but im planning on joining a study group in my school so hopefully that will work out although im hoping I could find one before the quiz on wednesday… Thanks so much for your suggestion, as always its appreciated for this time of matter lol.</p>
<p>What about TA’s? Do you have any? Are there any other professors teaching the class and can you go to their office hours? My school provides supplemental Instructors for introductory classes. It’s a formal thing that is provided by the school. </p>
<p>And there have been plenty of times I’ve worked hours on a homework problem/ assignment and then realized I made a mistake at step 2 and have to redo it all. It’s part of the college experience. </p>
<p>@Shipsarecool I’ll back up Seirsly and agree that two hours isn’t long, regardless of whether you’re making legitimate progress or you’re just staring at the sheet of paper (and yes, I stare at my engineering and math problem sets for a couple hours without progress every week- each problem set takes about 10-15 hours total weekly, which also isn’t that bad). STEM isn’t easy, so putting in/sacrificing time like that (and more) is something that you’re going to have to get used to if you genuinely wish to go into the field.</p>
<p>But yeah, never work alone. Working with other people lessens the chances of you sitting there clueless for hours on end. Go through sample problems you’ve been given and go through the steps- write down <em>why</em> that step works and how it relates to the bigger picture. It’s tedious, and it’s time-consuming, but it works. If you can’t do that, then you definitely need to see your professor (try asking for a 1 on 1 meeting, if possible), a TA, a tutor … somebody.</p>
<p>"um…with all due respect, to you 2 hours may not seem long but when you are sitting there for 2 hours figuring out a topic and then realizing you still didn’t learn anything and just wasted those 2 hours, it will seem like a while… #Justsaying… "</p>
<p>@Shipsarecool - I’ve spent months and months doing this. Avoid grad school. #Justsaying.</p>
<p>But seriously, I understand that you are frustrated, and it is clear that whatever you are doing is not working for you. Different things work for different people, and you need to change something up. Try working with a group of other students. Discussing and teaching problems can help you make the connections.</p>
<p>Here is a general method I sometimes use for solving problems when I am struggling:</p>
<p>First, you have to be able to identify the type of problem, based on the recent subject matter and the phrasing of the question. If you cannot tell that it is a kinematics problem, you are probably not going to figure out that you need to use a kinematics equation!</p>
<p>Second, since few professors are actively trying to trick you, try to identify all the numbers in the problem and figure out what variables they would represent. This is your component list for building a solution. Your formulae all use variable names, you need to be able to match them up. Note that this does require knowing what your formulae mean - don’t look for “x”, look for a measure of distance, for example.</p>
<p>Third, once you have that list of provided variables, compare it to your formulae and see which ones you can solve. There has to be an equation there that has N variables, N-1 of which are provided in the problem statement. See if that equation makes any sense in context, and if it does, solve it for that remaining variable.</p>
<p>Now that you have a NEW variable, go back to that third step and repeat it against your new and expanded list. Sometimes you will need to solve 2 or 3 “small” equations before you can reach the one that gives you the overall answer.</p>
<p>Do you know any older students in your major who have taken the class? Are there any tutoring sessions offered by the department, or do any tutors post for hire on bulletin board in the department area? It would be worth it to get that help, even if you have to pay for it. I will say, DO NOT underestimate the value of going to the professor’s office hours. Take a couple of problems you have having trouble with and ask her to walk through them step by step with you. Do not let her skip over things you don’t understand. You are paying her salary through tuition, you are paying for that help, so don’t feel uncomfortable asking for it. I also agree that a study group of your peers would be good.</p>
<p>@lldm21 you’re joking right ? Please tell me you’re joking. 10-15 hours on a single problem? Are you trying to scare me or what? OOMG i would die!! @cosmicfish yeah thanks for that advice but unfortunately it isn’t as easy as you think… #Justsaying… @intparent well umm since she teaches in another school and i have other class schedules, our availabilities don’t really match up very well, but i’ll take you up on that suggestion, maybe the problem is skipped steps that im getting lost on and confused about ? Or am I just dumb ? Cause Im starting to think of myself that way:(</p>
<p>You aren’t dumb, but you probably can’t get over this hump by yourself. You need to find someone to help. Most profs will meet outside office hours if you have a conflict and can’t make it to their usual hours. </p>
<p>A few comments:</p>
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<p>Actually, this isn’t true, or at least is barely true. Faculty salaries come from a whole bunch of sources, and in public universities, only about 27% of tuition money goes to cover instruction-related costs, which doesn’t necessarily mean faculty salaries. At private universities it is more like 33%. Faculty salaries instead come largely out of a combination of state appropriations and research grants. Private universities will tend to have more of faculty salaries coming from tuition since they generally charge more and don’t receive nearly as much government money, but they also usually have a lot higher endowments. The bottom line is that most money for professors’ salaries is coming form sources other than tuition. Tuition pays for other things.</p>
<p>So the moral here is that you should not go demanding time concessions from a professor on account of being entitled to that due to paying their salary, as a majority of their salary, particularly in engineering, is going to come from other sources. In fact, with that in mind, you might argue that a tenure-track professor “owes” more of his or her time to their research than to teaching if you are basing it on the source of salary alone.</p>
<p>Of course, most faculty are willing to help their students out and genuinely want their students to succeed provided those students make the effort to succeed and are polite about it. In other words, do not go demanding meetings outside of office hours as if you are entitled, because you are not. Many faculty are willing to do things like that provided you are polite and gracious about it. They have their own incredibly busy schedules to deal with as well, so if they are going to voluntarily cut into their time, they are a lot more likely to do it for someone who doesn’t come across as an entitled brat.</p>
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<p>No, he said each problem set takes that long. Now, I don’t know if he meant for a single class or if that is his weekly allotment, but both seem to be within the realm of the normal range of work time for people. It varies by person and by the assignment, but I certainly remember assignments that took upwards of 15 hours and I also remember entire weeks worth of assignments that took me less than 4 or 5 hours. It varies.</p>
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<p>It may not be as easy as he implies, but it makes it a whole lot easier if you aren’t shooting down most suggestions meant to help you and are instead actually willing to try and tackle the problem.</p>