Studying for Physics (in general) (1 Viewer)

[Zero Infinite]

My weakest subject right now is Physics by a long shot. So, is there any special way people study particularly for Physics? Right now I'm using Jacaranda and Excel as a backup to make notes based on the Syllabus. My school seems to have a habit of giving questions in a style that I haven't seen before. But the main problem is that when answering long response questions, I only get a few marks (suppose in a 6 mark question, I'll be lucky to get 4). The teachers seem quite picky and I'm not sure how to tackle that problem.

 

[dr baby beanie]

Depends on the teacher you have, my teacher for example you have to write absolutely everything on the marking criteria answer sheet they get, there's no le-way for an answer, like if you think of something creative and it makes sense in terms of criteria-a valid point, unless it's on the sheet you won't get the marks, which is different to my chem teacher who has diverse ideas and ways of thinking!

Although my rant doesn't express this: KNOW YOUR SYLLABUS BACK2FRONT and KCAB2TNORF/TNORF2KCAB! and you should so fine

 

[ianc]

okay i have noticed 2 main reasons why people screw up physics:


1. They just don't get it. The concepts - everything from projectile motion to induction - are impossible to grasp and apply in even simpler questions. If this is you, i recommend seeking extra help either from your teacher or a tutor - and get as many different text books as you can which explain things in different ways that you could find easier to understand. I know it took me a while to understand MRI in medical physics, and I had to do this. For calculations - practice, practice, practice!! Also, with the motors topic, make sure you get the basics right - like how to use the right hand rule, when to reverse it for electrons and all that sort of stuff. The more complicated things in motors like Lenz's law and induction build on the basics.


2. They understand everything perfectly, will get full marks in any calculation or technical questions but still seem to get like 60% despite being nerds. This is because they have not paid any attention to the syllabus and so miss easy marks. This is why I hate the HSC Physics course, because you have to do a lot of rote learning in order to get good marks. You need to diligently go through every dot point and write a signifcant amount of information and learn it.


Also the whole exam technique thing - if youve studied by the syllabus youll be able to work out which dot point(s) the question relates to and so will recall the correct information, and pay attention to like "Analyse" or "Describe" and those other directives.


The Jacaranda is an excellent text book - it explains concepts really well, and the Excel isnt bad for studying from. Just one thing - the excel contains pretty much the bare minimum amount of information, so when you're studying don't summarise it any more than it already is, otherwise you'll find yourself a little light on when it comes to longer response questions.


Hope this helps somehow.


Good luck with Year 12 and don't stress too much!!

 

[~shinigami~]

My weakest subject right now is Physics by a long shot. So, is there any special way people study particularly for Physics? Right now I'm using Jacaranda and Excel as a backup to make notes based on the Syllabus. My school seems to have a habit of giving questions in a style that I haven't seen before. But the main problem is that when answering long response questions, I only get a few marks (suppose in a 6 mark question, I'll be lucky to get 4). The teachers seem quite picky and I'm not sure how to tackle that problem.

Remember for those long answer questions, look at what the key words are. E.g. Assess, Evaluate, Outline etc.

 

[xclusv2bhung]

Yeah I always screw it up too, its annoying, when you've tried so hard and you just bomb out in it.
I use Jacaranda @ School , but use Phys Contexts as backup. Theyre both awesome xD

 

[dr baby beanie]

We get an Excel and a Mac.

Do practice papers and questions and get your teacher to mark them. However I don't kow if my physics teacher would mark mine for me though

 

[xclusv2bhung]

Why's that ? :s Doesn't favour you ?

 

[dr baby beanie]

I'm not sure he'd want to mark anyones, he's not one of thooooose teachers.

 

[Roobs]

Just to add to the good points already raised--when you're making notes, use as many sources as you can: for mine I used Jacaranda, excel, the Surfing series, CSU and two sets or summaries from other people (see stickied thread, I Used Fatmuscle's and William Kim's from memory)--make your summaries as concise as possible, while still being comprehensive (and if you use 5 sources, they will be comprehensive).

You need to know what the verbs are asking, download the glossary from the board of studies (or CSU website) and make flash cards-- eg. If you don’t make a clear and relevant judgment, based on a set of criteria in an evaluate question, that’s at least one mark gone. If you can ask your teacher for a set of "scaffolds" for the verbs, (I got them from my chem. teacher and they helped enormously.) do so

Also, for a 6 mark question, you need at minimum 6 pieces of information (YES you can answer in dot point form), more to be safe.

You can and will be asked questions relating to your pracs. -- I didn’t memorize things word for word for pracs, as once I do something hands on I generally remember it, but for the exam hall, be able to make up answers to the following, for any given Prac.: Aim, method, justification of method, equipment used, results (in a general sense only, i.e. no numerical values), conclusions, ways to improve the reliability, validity and accuracy. (May be more, can’t think of them now)

As mentioned earlier, yes in physics you do have to rote learn some things, (like the BS modern history dot points in ideas..), however for the rest, make sure you UNDERSTAND things, don’t be content with knowing that a satellite must lose altitude as it slows down, make sure you can explain WHY. Pester your teacher, and consult your multiple sources to get a good understanding of the concepts you’re presented with (especially in ideas to implementation)—if you want to really excel, go above and beyond what is required of the simple identify verbs—you’ll never miss out on those easy marks, and be much better positioned to answer the 3 mark explain type questions.

Just work ur Nads off and you'll be fine