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Study tips
blue powder
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I have a Physics exam coming up in about a month, and I was wondering how you guys go about studying? How you lay out your desk etc. Do you drink anything during study to help concentrate, like red bull or something?
How do you prepare, do you use past exams or just summarize chapters of your text books? Thanks in advance guys!
How do you prepare, do you use past exams or just summarize chapters of your text books? Thanks in advance guys!
blue powder on
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Save all the problems that you do, that way you can study your solutions later.
I would recommend studying past exams for sure, depending on the professor they could be extremely similar to the exam you will be writing.
As far as drinking red bull and stuff like that... if it helps you, go for it. But I wouldn't assume these are some magical potions that will make you smarter or something.
Since you have a month to go, if you start now and keep all your notes in order you will be OK. If you get stuck or anything ask classmates, TA's, or the professor. Also, look at sample problems in the textbook for help.
Simply reading the textbook is a start, but remember that the end product you are dealing with in physics is problems. Remembering a paragraph won't do you much good if you don't know how to troubleshoot a problem using the proper tools (which are your equations).
I'd probably stay away from drinks like Red Bull for studying. Especially during crunch time with exams and assignments I prefer to keep my body relatively clean of additives. But it's up to you.
Now, this is gonna sound weird, but here me out. First, I shower up, dress semi bussiness casual, and head to the library. Why do i dress bussiness casual? Because looking good helps build up my overall confidence and helps motivate me to study. Second, going to the library allows me the opportunity to meet up with students who may be in the same boat as me, and its always a plus to study in groups - not so much that you guys can exchange notes, but it allows you the ability to focus primarily on the topics you have the most difficult grasping, while having someone else help guide you through the rest. Also, as a bus tutor for the althetics department, i can tell you first hand that verbally going over concepts with another person is one the best way to implant that material permenantly in your memory.
If you find yourself having to take an all nighter, then allow yourself a catnap between 1030 and 130 am, that way your brain can replenish a good amount of dopanines so you don't feel like crap throughout the next day. Also, refrain from carbs, and eat tuna instead. Amphetymines such as caffiene and adderall also help keeping your mind sharp, but I cannot advocate the latter unless you are legitimately prescribed it.
"I was born; six gun in my hand; behind the gun; I make my final stand"~Bad Company
Red Bull won't help you concentrate, but it will make you jittery and then have a caffeine crash. Don't do it.
Set up your desk so it's by your window, the light and the view will help you feel better about your current position (no-one likes to study). Get different coloured pens so you can highlight specific words or important things in your notes. Get a glass of water, and snacks if you're so inclined (but make it healthy, like grapes, unless you want to get fat).
I personally write my notes out on library index cards. This forces me to stay concise. I'm not making flash cards, just concisely summing up a topic. You'll never be taught anything that you can't divide into small topics and fit each one on one side of a library index card. If you run out of stuff to put on cards, then condense the stuff you've got on your cards into a notebook.
blanknogo is right, practice does make perfect. I'd split your time up into making notes one session, and then the next session do practice questions on the things you studied the session before.
Do 50 minutes study, 10 minutes break. Even 40 / 20. The break is important. It helps keep you focused when you are at your desk, and is sufficiently close to motivate you to push on through to it. When you do take a break, get out of the room, preferably out of the house for the air. Don't watch TV or play games, you're engaging your brain again, or worse, committing yourself to time you don't really have.
The lack of windows means that if you are in the room for 10 hours, you have no real sense of time. You may leave at 10 pm, but it really didnt feel different then when you entered a 2 when the sun was shining. As well it helps remove distractions like just people watching or something.
I find it is occasionally nice to study with others, but I do my best work on my own for pure studying. Assignments and going over old tests groups help, but just workin on my own is my favorite.
A)You're probably overthinking it
B)I only had one thing to say
Maybe like in all four years of college I studied at home like 10 times, go to your school's library, they usually have designated study areas, those private desks and stuff. No distractions that way. If you're a procastinator like me but force yourself to stay at school until completing something or reaching a certain point, you'll do it eventually!
Anyways, do everything. If you just work problems blindly all the prof has to do is put something slightly different on the test and your brain will crap itself, you need to understand the reasons you're using those equations, why they work, how they work, etc. It'll help you remember them, and some of them you can derive(if you know calculus you can derive them all and should know how to, even if you're not required to)
But also if you understand the material but haven't practiced problems, you're gonna make stupid mistakes. Also, when practicing problems, don't pick the ones that you look at and go "oh I can do this!"
Pick the ones that look hard that you don't know where to start! Asking for help should be the last resort(but DO ask for help when you're certain you can't solve)if you figure out a problem yourself, especially one that takes time and effort, you'll remember and understand it 34265876 times better than if you're walked through, or even given a hint. With your luxury of time this should be possible.
Other than that just assume that your memory will fail on the test and prepare accordingly. Assume that upon opening the test you forget everything, mind goes blank, IQ drops 30 points, and you piss yourself, and study with that in mind. If you can do it with considerable effort and thought while studying, you probably won't be able to do it on the test!