<p>I'm taking AP Physics C and it's a pretty hard class. On many of the tests I just sometimes blank out.(I hate free body diagrams) I'm in desperate need for help. I try so hard, I stay up until like 3 AM in the morning studying. Am I a failure? Can you guys give me some tips on how to study and your experiences.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I feel the same way about ap calculus ab. I know your pain. :(</p>
<p>Is this normal? Will I be a failure in college? I feel like an idiot compared to everyone around me</p>
<p>Well math has never been my forte...ever, but since I'm going to be a science major, I'll be taking plenty of it <em>sigh</em> I've always had good teachers...but my teacher now is of the sort that never really teaches + a crappy textbook=me not doing so hot. I feel like a failure, but it's just motivated me to prove to him and myself I'm not a failure.</p>
<p>Get a study book. I'm not sure about AP. I take IB Physics and I'm struggling in the class- although due to teacher failure. All of us bought the study guides and learned it on our own and doing much better. Something like that might help you. It summarizes everything in an easy to understand fashion. Check if they have something like that for AP. If not you could get the IB book- and see what parts match your syllabus.</p>
<p>don't stay up until 3 am.</p>
<p>that's a dumb idea. get sleep. it's more important than physics, and you'll do better anyway.</p>
<p>Contact the learning resource center at your college. Find a tutor through the department.....I am sure this is available. Get a group together for review. It is not unusual for students to not know how to study upon their arrival at college.</p>
<p>I feel like a complete retard here in college as well and I am doing horribly in Calculus. God, I hate that freaking class!!</p>
<p>you just need to talk to your teacher.</p>
<p>i get really frustrated with math--i understand everything and can do it, it just doesn't translate to tests. i got really frustrated in adv algebra a couple years ago because i knew how to do everything, but i would get B-/C+ on all the tests. my teacher realized that i knew how to do everything, through hw and in class stuff, so she started giving me extra time on my tests, and my grades went up to As. i really wish i would have talked to her sooner.</p>
<p>it really may be not a matter of comprehension but of text anxiety.</p>
<p>I am incredible at math (never gotten anything under an A in any math class) but totally suck at physics. I used to get C's in physics all the time. It's a subject I really like but is very difficult for me for some reason.</p>
<p>First, stop staying up until 3 am. Only going to make things worse.</p>
<p>Second, talk with your teacher if you haven't done so already. Just ask more questions during class and have the teacher go over some examples in detail or to do another example real quick.</p>
<p>Maybe he/she is a hard teacher... I was in the same situation as you are and i came out with a 4 on the exam which i was extremely surprised at... he/she might be overpreparing you so you will do better</p>
<p>I'm a shy kid though. I feel like my teacher will ridicule me in front of everyone for how stupid I am.</p>
<p>personally, AP scores are kind of useless. The grade is what counts since you dom't have to send the scores to colleges.</p>
<p>lord12, most people in there are probably just as confused as you about the subject.</p>
<p>
No teacher would make fun of you in front of the class. Chances are, if you have a question about something, there are 10 other kids in the class who have the same question, but are two afraid to ask.</p>
<p>
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No teacher would make fun of you in front of the class. Chances are, if you have a question about something, there are 10 other kids in the class who have the same question, but are two afraid to ask.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>LOL, believe it or not, it happend to me once (but don't worry, it was back then what I was in middle school, and I wasn't even in this country). I agree with joev however. One shouldn't be afraid to ask questions in the first place. Most students are not willing to ask questions, and it doesn't mean they necessarily know more than you do when they don't ask questions. But if you really are that shy to ask the teachers in class, ask them during their office hours. They have office hours not just because they have to.</p>
<p>"He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes. But he who never asks a question remains a fool forever." -Tom J. Connelly
Ahh don't worry, no one is going to make fun of you. Like joev said there are probably 10 other people who have the same question as you do. In fact some teachers like that you ask questions. Asking the teacher to explain it again is really helpful. I took AP physics B in high school and now i'm taking it again in college. It still is pretty hard the second time around for me. I still don't get it completely. But i go for tutoring at my college and its helping me. Maybe its because i have bad physic teachers, but i think physics in general is hard. You have to understand the big picture in order to understand the problems. I think it's too abstract for me. No you're not a failure, physics is just a hard subject. Now calc is so much easier compared to physics.</p>
<p>People may not make fun of you but they will start treating you disdain if you even hint that you're dumb.</p>
<p>The trick to math, foriegn languages, and other cumulative classes is to make sure you understand the material. Don't just memorize equations; don't just learn enough to get an A; actually comprehend everything well enough to be able to teach it to someone else.</p>
<p>Schaum's Outline of College Physics
" " " Calculus
" " " Advanced Mathematics for Engineers and<br>
Scientits</p>
<p>Problem(s) solved (literally, it explains the theory and solves typical problems in step-by-step detail).</p>
<p>Calculus for Dummies by Mark Ryan. This book is a lifesaver. Doesn't have practice problems, but the explanations are worth it.</p>
<p>What Calc book do you use? I have a James Stewart book. It's good for one thing and that is providing practice problems. The explanations are horrible--Jimmy Stewart should have kept up at what he was good at, and that was being an actor :-)</p>