Passing Physics Exam in 3-4 Months: Tips and Strategies

[Thenewguy2]

Hey guys, I am going to have an exam in physics in like 3-4 months because I failed my first exam. I was wondering if it is possible to go from have failed to an A in physics in 3-4 months (talking about the hardest physics possible to take at high school). The reason I failed is not because I am mentally stupid or got an below average IQ or anything like that, but because I did nothing, I didn't read a single word in the book (just barly), didn't pay attention in classes and didn't do any homework / studying at home.

My exam is going to contain a few chapters which include mechanics, electric fields, magnetic fields, momentum, gravity, induction, circular motion, quantum physics and theory of relativity. The book contains of 250 pages of reading material (not counting pages that's used up for tasks and questions)

Obviously the mechanics part is going to be questions on the exam where I have to be able to calculate with throws like a soccer ball with fricition and things like that so you kinda have to decompose the power of the ball in different direction and use vectors to solve it. (Just wrote this so you guys understand that it's not really the highest level of physics). Well it's a lot of different stuff.

So I was wondering if you guys had a plan for what I could do and if you have any opinions if my goal will be possible. What I'm struggling / wondering most about is how I should combine reading with solving problems.

I feel like I could've made a D on my exam but the part 1 killed me, on part 2 it would've been a D for sure. My biggest problem was when they connected circular motion with electric and magentic fields and just in general when they connected things, I think the major problem was that I didn't know enough about the specific part. Like when they connected magetic and electric fileds.. It would probably been easier if I knew more about each one seperatly, but these problems just seemed impossible to solve. The hardest thing in the entire book for me was when they connected magetic / electric fields with induction or just connected all 3 of them.

Thanks for reading this and thanks for answers I appreciate it :D

Sincerly,
Thenewguy2

 

[Drakkith]

Hey guys, I am going to have an exam in physics in like 3-4 months because I failed my first exam. I was wondering if it is possible to go from have failed to an A in physics in 3-4 months (talking about the hardest physics possible to take at high school). The reason I failed is not because I am mentally stupid or got an below average IQ or anything like that, but because I did nothing, I didn't read a single word in the book (just barly), didn't pay attention in classes and didn't do any homework / studying at home.

Sound like you simply need to read the book, do the homework, and pay attention in class.
If you're behind now because you don't understand the more basic material, then you need to spend extra time re-learning it. Start back at the beginning and read the book, do the homework, etc. Get a tutor if necessary.

 

[BrettJimison]

If you have a Physics Forums account, you will see they just partnered with Educator.com. This website is awesome, it has tons of lectures (on Highschool Level Physics) as well as many other courses. You get a free 1 year trial if you have an account. I suggest you get an account and watch the online lectures, it will help you tremendously (although obviously it will not take the place of your book and school lectures, those are the most important).

 

[Thenewguy2]

But how do a genius learn? How does he work.. like what is the best learning technique? When and how often do you guys think I should study (prepared to do it everyday)

Still would be nice with any opinions if it's possible to get an A for me...

 

[B4ssHunter]

But how do a genius learn? How does he work.. like what is the best learning technique? When and how often do you guys think I should study (prepared to do it everyday)

Still would be nice with any opinions if it's possible to get an A for me...

how does a genius learn ? they just scan books and bam they get noble prizes .
jk obviously , i know someone like tesla used to work on his inventions for 12 hours a day , he didn't have a girlfriend because of that , ofcourse you're not in his place so you are not obliged to study that much , but 6 hours a day is a minimum since it takes more time to understand a subject than to apply on it , because when you understand something you are just laying foundation bricks , which all your life of physics will be built upon , study well and start from the very beginning , don't ignore basic stuff because they are boring and you know them , sometimes what you don't understand in further physics is built on something you didn't give attention to in basic physics * don't know really about college but this mostly applies to high school *

 

[Vanadium 50]

But how do a genius learn?

The same way everybody else does: read the book, do the homework, and pay attention in class.

 

[B4ssHunter]

But how do a genius learn? How does he work.. like what is the best learning technique? When and how often do you guys think I should study (prepared to do it everyday)

Still would be nice with any opinions if it's possible to get an A for me...

a good way that works for me is that i lecture myself ,
i pretend that i am a college professor and that I am teaching phd's physics while I am actually studying something like current and easy stuff like that , live it and feel it and try to get an intuition of everything , for me the best teacher is my self

 

[wotanub]

You don't have to be a genius to do physics...

1. Read the chapter

2. Go to class and listen to the lecture. You also could watch video lecture on the internet.

3. Work on the problems. Re-read the parts of the chapter you don't understand if you don't understand the problems. If you still don't understand after re-reading, ask for help from friends/teacher/tutor/Physics Forums.

You can't skip the work on the problems part. Because if you never practice doing problems, you'll never be able to do them under time pressure during a real test.

 

[verty]

If you want to cram, divide the book into 4 parts or however many parts seems most comfortable and mark on the calendar when each part should be done. Start with part 1 and read ahead without doing the problems, read everything so you get an overview quickly (2 days). Then go back to the start and do each chapter in depth with nearly all the homework problems (one week). Don't move on unless you have mastered the current chapter. When you finish a part, take a few days off to recharge, no one likes to try too hard. But this should get you through the syllabus in a relatively short time. Of course take more breaks if you need them.

 

[Thenewguy2]

Ok ty for answers.