Success in everything in life isn’t built overnight. It’s built on consistent effort and hard work – and more so when it comes to difficult subjects and courses like physics.
Physics is a subject that relies a lot less on memorisation and more on logic, understanding, as well as the ability to deconstruct and solve problems.
To be good at physics, you need to learn the proper approach to solving problems.
Below are 5 tips and skills that students across all levels should utilize in order to do well in physics.
1. Study every day
Physics isn’t a subject that you can get good at in a day or two. Nor is it a subject that you can just cram and expect to score high marks. Instead of spending seven hours studying right before the exam, you might want to opt for studying way before. Spending an hour every day to recap and go through your notes weeks prior to your exam can truly make a difference between a pass and a distinction.
2. Pay attention in class
This should go without saying, but plenty of students still seem to attend physics tuition and not pay attention.
The result? The inability to understand the core concepts – which carry over into difficulties in application during homework and examinations. The solution? Show up, pay attention, and ask questions whenever you don’t understand something.
3. Talk to your professor
Whether you’re having difficulty in a particular area of physics, or simply want to stay ahead, it always pays to talk to your professor and ask for some tips.
The worst-case scenario is that they’ll give you sample problems to work on - meaning extra homework!
4. Study as a group
Two heads are always better than one, and when it comes to studying physics, that is definitely true.
Studying as a group benefits you for a lot of reasons. Case in point, an excellent way to know if you understand something well enough is to try and explain it to someone else. If you can’t explain it properly, then you might want to spend more time understanding the subject first.
5. Ask for help
Sometimes, it’s not always possible to get good in physics in one go, and that’s okay. Everybody needs help at some point.
If you think you have exhausted all your options and still need guidance, then enrolling in a physics tuition centre might be necessary.
In tuition centres, specialised course instructors can help break down complicated concepts and teach you the proper methodology. This will help you better approach any physics problems the next time around.
Of course, before instructors can help you, you should be willing to help yourself as well.
By following these tips, you’ll give yourself a better chance of improving your grades in physics and over time and effort, become good at it.
Remember, when it comes to physics, you’ll need to continually put in the work to become exceptional at it.
It’s not enough that you understand the concepts. It’s also critical that you know how to apply the ideas that you have learned to solve the problems. Otherwise, you’re really going to have a hard time passing the subject, let alone getting high grades.