How to improve physics (1 Viewer)

[Deadinside]

How do you improve physics?

 

[TheShy]

Textbook --> past papers

 

[SplashJuice]

Textbook --> past papers

Can't get more simplified than this.

 

[Deadinside]

Can't get more simplified than this.

What about for preliminary

 

[Velocifire]

Same thing

 

[Deadinside]

Same thing

It’s harder to find past Papers for preliminary so unless you can find one...

 

[Velocifire]

THSC? Physics is one of the most supplied subjects with PP's and there's some from good schools on there JR, BHHS, Girraween and some other great schools which means that if you can do at least pretty good in them, you are pretty much set.

Past Papers are good because they show the PINNACLE of difficulty in said subject... and textbooks are great for the method and for the more faint of heart questions to get you started.

 

[tito981]

For physics the textbook questions are all fairly good to practice on and offer a wide variety of questions sets. Infocus, pearson's and jacaranda are all good from personal experience. The main difference between the textbooks and past papers is that there aren't as much multiple choice questions that would come up during an exam.

 

[JeydinNewWon]

For my Physics learning, I really didn't do too much work and focused heavily on understanding content as opposed to just remembering it. Physics is one of the most intuitive subjects I've come across, and there is no route learning that can just be applied. I suggest trying to really hone in on recognising Physics concepts and understanding the logic and thought behind them, rather than memorising set and done equations. Understand the fundamental principles behind things, and why things happen. Also, Physics should be a subject you are really passionate about. If you really like it, you'd be inclined to research videos on it and watch it on your own. This was what I did, and allowed me to basically absorb and know the syllabus so well without any need for writing summary notes.

That being said, Physics still needs some practice so you can effectively word out your ideas onto paper. You can have understanding, but it doesn't matter if you can't express it onto the exam. Buy a copy of STRIVE Physics by Oldum and Garner. It's a collection of HSC past papers and really helps to constantly practice your theory. (Be sure to buy the new 2020 version, however).

 

[Deadinside]

For my Physics learning, I really didn't do too much work and focused heavily on understanding content as opposed to just remembering it. Physics is one of the most intuitive subjects I've come across, and there is no route learning that can just be applied. I suggest trying to really hone in on recognising Physics concepts and understanding the logic and thought behind them, rather than memorising set and done equations. Understand the fundamental principles behind things, and why things happen. Also, Physics should be a subject you are really passionate about. If you really like it, you'd be inclined to research videos on it and watch it on your own. This was what I did, and allowed me to basically absorb and know the syllabus so well without any need for writing summary notes.

That being said, Physics still needs some practice so you can effectively word out your ideas onto paper. You can have understanding, but it doesn't matter if you can't express it onto the exam. Buy a copy of STRIVE Physics by Oldum and Garner. It's a collection of HSC past papers and really helps to constantly practice your theory. (Be sure to buy the new 2020 version, however).

What if i did not that good in year 11 will it afffect year 12 by any chance?

 

[idkkdi]

What if i did not that good in year 11 will it afffect year 12 by any chance?

there's a correlation and probably some effect since yr 12 builds upon yr 11 in quite a bit of areas. but you can probably learn y12 and make up those gaps as you go along.

 

[JeydinNewWon]

What if i did not that good in year 11 will it afffect year 12 by any chance?

No. It won’t. Year 11 marks don’t count at all. All you have to do is look toward that finish line and race to it. Don’t let anything hold you back. Your Year 11 marks just indicate how much you need to work or change things to improve. Strive for your very best, and that is all you can do. You will surprise yourself.

 

[sleepypanda232]

For my Physics learning, I really didn't do too much work and focused heavily on understanding content as opposed to just remembering it. Physics is one of the most intuitive subjects I've come across, and there is no route learning that can just be applied. I suggest trying to really hone in on recognising Physics concepts and understanding the logic and thought behind them, rather than memorising set and done equations. Understand the fundamental principles behind things, and why things happen. Also, Physics should be a subject you are really passionate about. If you really like it, you'd be inclined to research videos on it and watch it on your own. This was what I did, and allowed me to basically absorb and know the syllabus so well without any need for writing summary notes.

That being said, Physics still needs some practice so you can effectively word out your ideas onto paper. You can have understanding, but it doesn't matter if you can't express it onto the exam. Buy a copy of STRIVE Physics by Oldum and Garner. It's a collection of HSC past papers and really helps to constantly practice your theory. (Be sure to buy the new 2020 version, however).

This is definitely true. THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE IN PHYSICS IF YOU SIMPLY MEMORISE CONTENT. The new physics syllabus is heavily skewed towards applying your knowledge towards analysis, and HSC / trial papers (especially if you go to a selective school) but have questions that you cannot predict and spew pre-pared answers in.

The way I studied for physics is as follows:

1) Handwritten notes

I went to physics tuition (as my teacher was TERRIBLE, and we never had a textbook so), but this would work the same with regular classes and your textbook. After EACH LESSON, I would go over the content and summarise it on a scrap piece of paper. And then afterwards, I'd use those summary notes and make a very ~aesthetic~ page. This is obviously a matter of personal preference to make your notes aesthetic, but it helps me when I'm re-reading them during preparation. Be sure to use diagrams, and draw out elements / processes! (in the HSC you can definitely use diagrams to make your answers more concise)

2) Do HSC questions by topic

PhysicsHigh has a great resource with past HSC questions grouped into the modules. I find textbook questions to be quite useless as they are often very simple and definitely don't translate to what you'll be tested in the HSC. Also the sample HSC questions are very good!

If rote learning is still your jam, this is where you can memorise some of you short answers, for questions that come up regularly across the HSC and trial papers. Areas such as electromagnetic induction (I memorised a couple of sentences explaining eddy currents), etc.

3) Do practice papers

Pay close attention to how to answer the longer 7-9 marker short answers! This is likely where you will lose the most marks so be sure to do a fair amount of practice to understand how to structure and what knowledge you need to put into these answers, and give them to a teacher / ex-student / tutor to mark.

One of my biggest regrets when studying physics was not doing regular practice earlier throughout the year, forcing me to cram my study in the weeks before trials and hsc. IMO, physics is the most content heavy subject in the hsc, and doesn't give you much opportunity to cram (if you managed to do so, you're a legend, power to you) so regular practice and making sure you do summary notes and understand content throughout the terms is absolutely essential.

Another point to touch on: your Year 11 marks for any subject do not determine you Year 12 marks. They should be a refernce for which subjects you do well in, and which ones you don't, so don't sweat bad physics marks you got in Year 11, like @JeydinNewWon said. Improving in Year 12 will solely be dependent upon how much effort you put into studying, but make sure that it is consistent and (relatively) efficient.

Hope this helps! Contact me if you have any questions

 

[JeydinNewWon]

IMO, physics is the most content heavy subject in the hsc,

Lol, the reason I avoided humanities subjects was because of how content-heavy they are. I think Chemistry has much more content than Physics, but maybe that's because I just love the intuition Physics holds and its very nice 'flow-on' cascading effect it has. I definitely remember content better for Physics than the many rules Chemistry holds which at times feels unintuitive.

 

[Cherrybomb56]

This is definitely true. THERE IS NO WAY THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE IN PHYSICS IF YOU SIMPLY MEMORISE CONTENT. The new physics syllabus is heavily skewed towards applying your knowledge towards analysis, and HSC / trial papers (especially if you go to a selective school) but have questions that you cannot predict and spew pre-pared answers in.

The way I studied for physics is as follows:

1) Handwritten notes

I went to physics tuition (as my teacher was TERRIBLE, and we never had a textbook so), but this would work the same with regular classes and your textbook. After EACH LESSON, I would go over the content and summarise it on a scrap piece of paper. And then afterwards, I'd use those summary notes and make a very ~aesthetic~ page. This is obviously a matter of personal preference to make your notes aesthetic, but it helps me when I'm re-reading them during preparation. Be sure to use diagrams, and draw out elements / processes! (in the HSC you can definitely use diagrams to make your answers more concise)

2) Do HSC questions by topic

PhysicsHigh has a great resource with past HSC questions grouped into the modules. I find textbook questions to be quite useless as they are often very simple and definitely don't translate to what you'll be tested in the HSC. Also the sample HSC questions are very good!

If rote learning is still your jam, this is where you can memorise some of you short answers, for questions that come up regularly across the HSC and trial papers. Areas such as electromagnetic induction (I memorised a couple of sentences explaining eddy currents), etc.

3) Do practice papers

Pay close attention to how to answer the longer 7-9 marker short answers! This is likely where you will lose the most marks so be sure to do a fair amount of practice to understand how to structure and what knowledge you need to put into these answers, and give them to a teacher / ex-student / tutor to mark.

One of my biggest regrets when studying physics was not doing regular practice earlier throughout the year, forcing me to cram my study in the weeks before trials and hsc. IMO, physics is the most content heavy subject in the hsc, and doesn't give you much opportunity to cram (if you managed to do so, you're a legend, power to you) so regular practice and making sure you do summary notes and understand content throughout the terms is absolutely essential.

Another point to touch on: your Year 11 marks for any subject do not determine you Year 12 marks. They should be a refernce for which subjects you do well in, and which ones you don't, so don't sweat bad physics marks you got in Year 11, like @JeydinNewWon said. Improving in Year 12 will solely be dependent upon how much effort you put into studying, but make sure that it is consistent and (relatively) efficient.

Hope this helps! Contact me if you have any questions

what about ext math and chem?

 

[sleepypanda232]

the reason I avoided humanities subjects was because of how content-heavy they are

Lmao I'm going to have to disagree on this one (although everyone's experiences with subjects depends on a whole range of factors). I studied economics and as long as you pay attention to the news every week, it's really not that much of a drag to memorise and apply the content. I feel like a subject like economics has prolific connections between modules and topics, whereas physics not so much.

Anyways to reply to @Cherrybomb56 I didn't do chemistry, so I couldn't really give you advice on that, but ext math is just practice practice practice. Textbooks are extremely useful, try to space out and maintain regularly with completing the exercises but you could still sit down 2-3 weeks from an exam and just motor through multiple exercises.

I find for exam prep that copying and writing down (since it's easier writing all the symbols and stuff) hard questions was really useful, AND PRACTICE PERMS AND COMBS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. This one really got to me in the HSC and lowkey screwed everything up, so don't overlook it!

 

[Time&moretime]

What if i did not that good in year 11 will it afffect year 12 by any chance?

First and foremost you have to put a value on it. People tend to do well when they value what they do. Also Physics can be an "EXTREMELY' frustrating subject. That's the reason why you might hear students say to each other, "Hey, I found a really good explanation for this." And this help heaps ! And if you didn't do well in year 11 as you mentioned, I would say, seek out your teacher & discuss this with him. People tend to be more receptive before the Christmas season.

 

[JeydinNewWon]

Lmao I'm going to have to disagree on this one (although everyone's experiences with subjects depends on a whole range of factors). I studied economics and as long as you pay attention to the news every week, it's really not that much of a drag to memorise and apply the content. I feel like a subject like economics has prolific connections between modules and topics, whereas physics not so much.

Anyways to reply to @Cherrybomb56 I didn't do chemistry, so I couldn't really give you advice on that, but ext math is just practice practice practice. Textbooks are extremely useful, try to space out and maintain regularly with completing the exercises but you could still sit down 2-3 weeks from an exam and just motor through multiple exercises.

I find for exam prep that copying and writing down (since it's easier writing all the symbols and stuff) hard questions was really useful, AND PRACTICE PERMS AND COMBS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. This one really got to me in the HSC and lowkey screwed everything up, so don't overlook it!

LOL maybe just because I just love science more and humanities bores me...explains why I struggle to remember everything.

 

[JeydinNewWon]

what about ext math and chem?

For Chemistry, you can route learn some aspects but I HIGHLY recommend actually learning and understanding your subject. Make the connections between the dots for subjects and really hone in on the nitty gritty fundamental concepts. For example, later you learn about esterificarion; but I would always ask, why do we need to reflux in esterification? I come to understand that esterificarion as a chemical process has equilibrium favoured to the left, and heating increases the reaction rate, and a catalyst is used to lower the activation energy of the forward/backward reactions.

Regardless of what extension math. It’s all about practice. Literally that’s it. Consistent hard studying for maths and getting used to the exam format. Expose yourself to a range of resources, Textbooks, Trials, HSC. You need to consistently be practicing new techniques to really get it in. I recommend try for everyday ideally, but at least a few hours a week. I wish I had done this myself; I only ever studied coming close to exams and didn’t pick up on the strategies I needed and underperformed on Extension 2 trials. However, I practiced Extension 1 trials since Term 2 and leading into Term 4 for the trials, I was basically already set.