<p>Hi, I'm set to take take Physics 7A this fall with Speliotopoulos (he's the only person teaching it this semester), and I've heard his tests are unbelievably hard (avg. 25 on a midterm? lol)</p>
<p>I don't have much experience in physics. Apart from reviewing lectures online and self-studying this summer, does anyone have any suggestions on how to do well (A- or above) in Physics 7A? All tips are welcome.</p>
<p>You’re definitely at a SEVERE disadvantage because there are many people in the class (including me) who knew every topic covered before the class even began. This does not mean you can’t do well, it just means you have to work at least twice as hard as those people. I recommend working through as many previous exams as you possibly can. You will be given ~10 practice exams for each midterm on BSpace; you should be able to do all 10 completely, don’t stop studying until you can do that. If you do this, you will probably be able to relate a lot of the concepts on your midterm/final to concepts that you saw in reviewing the solutions to the practice exams.</p>
<p>The workbook/homework will be at a much lower level than the actual exams, so use those just to learn the basic concepts and save the practice exams for midterm/final studying.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>this sounds beyond painful.</p>
<p>it is. physics 7 ruined my GPA :(</p>
<p>^Thanks, what do you mean " given ~10 practice exams for each midterm on BSpace." Are these past mid-terms or are these fresh practice exams? Also, what do you foresee as the possible number of hours required each week on homework/studying/practice questions for someone in my situation? I’m starting to think an A is impossible ): lol</p>
<p>They’re past midterms. </p>
<p>An A isn’t impossible if you work really hard. I’d say when you’re far away from a midterm, 3-4 hours of hw/practice outside of class should be enough. But the week before a midterm I would recommend 20ish hours if you can manage that. Less would probably be fine, but 20 would be safe. And just keep running the material through your head all the time. It helps me just to think about the stuff a lot. There are only 2 midterms and a final though, so it’s not like you would be doing this all the time.</p>
<p>Have you even had regular high school physics?</p>
<p>I remember taking Physics 7A with basically just a year of regular high school physics and did not find it to be that hard. However, it did require going to class, reading the book, doing assignments and labs, and some studying for tests, as any worthwhile course would require.</p>
<p>Many of the curve busting physics aces will be in Physics H7A.</p>
<p>To be honest, I’ve taken AP Physics B, but I gained almost no knowledge from that class (partially because I was a senior). I do regret that somewhat now haha Thanks for the tips though. Additional input greatly welcome!</p>
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<p>In other words, probably like most people in the class or better (AP Physics B probably approximates an honors high school physics course). You might even find that Physics 7A makes more sense, since they can use calculus to explain things.</p>
<p>Yeah, after AP Physics B you should be fine for 7A. There’s a big difference between sleeping through AP Physics B and never having taken physics before.</p>
<p>If you feel 7A is daunting, check out some lectures online. Try [Academic</a> Earth | Online Courses | Academic Video Lectures](<a href=“http://www.academicearth.org%5DAcademic”>http://www.academicearth.org). Mechanics is actually pretty easy when it comes down to it as long as you understand vectors.</p>