<p>So I just found out a couple of days ago I basically failed my first Physics 7A midterm. Got a 65/100 and if there's a curve it'll probably hurt me because the mean score in my discussion section was in the mid-70s so it'll probably be about the same for the whole class.</p>
<p>I guess my question to other students who've taken 7A is this. Where do I go from here? To be honest, I probably should've gotten in the 70s on this exam; I missed 5 points just for neglecting to draw a couple of free-body diagrams (even though I got the question right) and missed 4 points on another question for accidentally skipping over one crucial sentence in the question (and thus not taking that into account when solving it >_<) . So I don't think it's a matter of me totally being clueless ... I understand the material by and large and I think I could've done better.</p>
<p>So should I be really worried? . . I think I'm going to step up my game a bit, make use of those office hours and maybe do some extra problems from the text. The next midterm is probably next month and by that time there will be a lot of new content that we'll have covered... but is there any chance for me to get a B in the class for the semester at this point? Even an A-? :/</p>
<p>I mean, midterm 1 was worth 20% of our grade, a very sizable portion. But HW is supposedly 15% and I have a very high percentage grade in that.. so is all hope not lost?</p>
<p>Basically I'm just hoping for some insight.</p>
<p>I haven't taken the course, but we all get the test blues when things don't turn out the way we want. Don't be so discouraged from the first test. Maybe what you should focus on is changing the way you approach the test since it seems like you know the material. It sucks in college that even as much as you study and participate, if you don't answer the questions they way your professors want, you suffer. Kill on the other tests and they'll make up for this one.</p>
<p>When I took the course long ago, I got one of those "1,000 physics problems" books, found it very useful just to look at (and work) lots and lots of problems where they offered complete solutions.</p>
<p>Which lecture section are you in? I'm taking the first lecture with Speliotolopous (Spelling). I got a 62/100. The mean score in my discussion was around 50 i think, but 3 ppl got over 80. You did better than me =).</p>
<p>You probably got ~ C on this midterm (wouldnt be surprised if it was a C+ or B-). That's 20 percent of your grade as a C. You do the math. I wouldn't be surprised if you got some kind of A judging by the fact that you aren't *****ing about it but trying to do something to improve.</p>
<p>This situation happened to me and I ended up with an A (7B). </p>
<p>And yes, everyone feels that they could have scored 5-10 pts higher :)</p>
<p>thanks everyone :) i appreciate your words of encouragement.</p>
<p>wtat - i am in lanzara's section actually; her test was notably easier.</p>
<p>and as for those 1000 physics problems .. i have a schaum's outline (college physics) that has a handful of supplementary problems; i should probably do some of those sometime.</p>
<p>I did not think Physics 7A was very easy either, but I ended up doing okay. My first physics midterm also happened to be my worst, so there's reason to think you'll be better prepared next time.</p>
<p>Here are some tips that I found helpful:</p>
<p>-Go purchase the recommended texts listed on your syllabus. Oftentimes, the problem sets from these texts are more challenging than Giancoli, and they show up on midterms more often.</p>
<p>-Don't spend too much time studying concepts that seem obvious. Midterms are difficult because they often test you on all the anomalous details of physics, not on the things everyone should know.</p>
<p>-As a physics major, I do not think it's particularly productive to have your heart set on getting an A, especially if you plan on taking more science and engineering classes in the future. Honestly, I think it's healthier to shoot for a B, which still requires a ton of work. But if you end up getting an A, hey, that's great!</p>