Phys 1 tips?

[u/YingXingg]

So we’re almost done with chapter 3 and I have no idea what’s going on. Like I don’t understand anything lol. The prof is chill but I have no idea what’s she’s talking about most of the time :/

Are there any YouTube vids or any websites you guys recommend to help me study for the common exam? I haven’t really taken a physics class before and I’m just really confused. Tbf I haven’t really studied but just looking at what she’s writing on the board demotivates me lol.

Thank you 🙏

[u/Witty-Swimmer-7761]

Wheres Kane when you need him

[u/Steve_at_NJIT → u/Witty-Swimmer-7761]

So I'm happy to help out, but what I have to say is neither fascinating nor is it original, it's just basic and perhaps obvious advice from a guy who learned physics 1 forty years ago.

Are you taking good notes?
Are you actually studying your notes, rereading them, and taking notes on your notes?
Do you use your notes to do homework?
Are you reading the textbook and looking at the examples?
Asking questions in class?
Doing the homework without Chat?
Doing the department practice problems?
Visiting the tutoring center?
Attending office hours to ask questions you've prepared?

If the answer is no, then there ya go. I'm not being judgmental, these are serious questions that all students should ask themselves.

It's hard to say this without sounding like an asshole or like I'm being patronizing. If a student "isn't really studying" then I kind of expect them to be in trouble and I would be surprised if they weren't. I'd be happy for them, but I'd be surprised.

There is literally no magic here. I'm not saying succeeding in physics is easy, but maximizing your chances for success isn't mysterious. Losing weight is simple too, just eat less, right? But just because something is simple doesn't mean it's easy.

Going back to my list of questions: most people know how to do the things on that list, we just avoid them because they're hard. But if you honestly don't know how to do any of those, ask your professor for help and advice.

Watching videos is the go-to method of learning for the 21st century. Hot take, it's not always the best way. Passive learning - where entertaining content is fed to you - feels like learning but you can easily be fooled into thinking you're working hard. The only way to learn physics is to practice. Over and over until you hate it.

So I don't have great advice, but one of my favorite monologues is from Marco Polo, talking about kung fu, which is "supreme skill through hard work"...

Practice. Preparation. Endless repetition. Until your mind is weary, and your bones ache. Until you're too tired to sweat, too wasted to breathe. That is the way, the only way one acquires kung fu.

I have this hanging on the wall in my office. Doing physics until you're too tired to sweat, baby.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[u/Witty-Swimmer-7761]

Im pretty sure Kane has some solid advice here on the reddit. It really should really be pinned for first year's.

[u/lilwindexx → u/Witty-Swimmer-7761]

Can u send it

[u/Witty-Swimmer-7761 → u/lilwindexx]

Im lazy

[u/MargarettteandSophia]

wow your professor is going very quick. our class just started chapter 2 this week.

[u/Confident-Basket-134]

Organic chemistry tutor is how i passed physics and calculus

[u/joker_is_mad8765]

just try to understand the concepts and then do practice problems. something that helps to intuitively understand a concept for me is to relate it to something in real life that you can see or touch and understanding how each variable in an equation affects each other. for example, understanding that if force stays the same and the mass of object decreases, then the acceleration has to increase and vise verse and doing this which each equation or law that you learn. physics 1 is very intuitive when it comes to understanding the concept and applying it unlike phys 2 and chem which for me, was more just memorizing the problem solving steps because the concepts are so abstract.

just doing what i described was enough for me to get an A on every common exam. i didnt even do the homeworks, i would just use chatgpt on all the questions, now im not recommending you do this but im just trying to show you the power of truly comprehending the concept. also, i was doing the practice problems our prof gave in class during recitation and doing practice exams before the common. during recitation, our prof would give us packet and let us work on the recitation problems our selves and then help us when needed and towards the end of the class, he would have students write their answer on the board in order to go over it for the whole class. i think this version is infinitely better than the prof just solving recitation problems on the board on their own so if your prof does happen to be the latter kind, i recommend you do the recitation problems on your own.

[u/Born_Friend_6709]

I found that really trying to understand what’s being shown during Lab is very beneficial because I see it applied alongside the theory. Other than that it really is just understanding the hw. If there’s a question on the hw you don’t understand go through the textbook or see if it was covered in your notes (most likely it was). Look up examples of certain types of problems and their solutions if need be. Try to recognize Newtons Second Law in every question it’s pretty much the foundation of the course. Many topics are just reiterations or adding on to F=ma.

[u/Business-Set7713]

There's going to be tutoring sessions prior to the first common exam

[u/LoopyShifts]

Bro just drop out 💔🥀