Physics is an important subject to learn; although many students eventually choose non-physics majors in the college. Here are things that students should do to make sure that they can become more successful:
- Create a study group: Physics is a challenging subject and it is important for students to prepare the best way to improve the performance with physics. Study groups should allow students to understand physics better. In this case, they will be able to excel. Study groups shouldn’t be too big or too small. The interaction between students should be just enough to improve the quality of learning process.
- Evaluate previous test papers: Students should get the feel of actual physics exam by browsing past exams. They will know patterns that appear on these exams. As an example, there could be some topics that always appear on these exams. It would be much easier for students to identify weak and strong points by looking closely at these exams. By evaluating past exams, they should be able to understand performance. In this case, students will know how much time they typically spend on a single test item. They will know things that they understand more easily. As an example, there are conceptual questions that can be easier or more difficult to understand; depending on the student.
- Be proficient in math: It is clear that we won’t be successful in physics if we fail in math. Physics calculation can be quite complex and this can’t be achieved if students don’t have good math skills. Physics can be explained mathematically with equations. Instead of only memorizing formulas, students should understand the basic concept behind the formula. As an example, they should know why force is equal to mass multiplied with acceleration. Just memorizing the formula will result in much more limited understanding on physics. Obviously, physics is more than just about memorizing formulas. Often, after understanding the underlying concept, students have an entirely new level of understanding. In fact, it should feel scary to work on math problems if we don’t know what those formulas mean.
- Enrich our physics vocabulary: Before we even attempt to understand equations; we also need to know about related terms. Again, a full understanding of the terms’ meaning is more important than remembering specific details and definition given by a textbook. In this case, we may need to take proper note.
- Try to have fun in lab sessions: Activities in laboratory should become quite inevitable, if we really want to fully understand about concepts in physics. We will have real life applications on things that may happen. In this case, we should try to properly understand all the physics concepts properly. During this opportunity, we should show curious attitude and we need to cooperate with our group. We will need to ask related questions on things that are being applied in the laboratory environment. In fact, we shouldn’t get bored at all.