How to Earn an A

At the end of Fall 2010, all students earning an A in PHYS 2212 G-J were invited to pass on any advice they might have for students in subsequent semesters. Here are their responses, for your benefit, in the order they were received. The only editing has been for spelling, and to remove material that was not advice to students (advice to instructors, for example).

Homework: Do the homework and try to understand it. It's ok to take a break after you just had your test, but go over it the next day to make sure you understand it so you don't get behind. Go through it before the tests. It can help for the multiple choice sometimes.
 
Extra homework: Do the extra homework they make available to you. They do this for a reason. Some teachers like to pull tests questions from the extra practice. Do it even if it does not count as extra credit.
 
Quizzes: The quizzes are hard. The 10 point multiple-choice are no fun. The extra homework and old quizzes can help for the free response. Reading the book also helps for the multiple choice. Do NOT rely on the practice tests to get you through. Especially if you are studying old tests by a DIFFERENT professor. A lot of people struggled with this because they expected the tests to be like the old tests, even though different instructors wrote the old tests. You should still do the practice tests and by do I do not mean glimpse over it before the test, I mean work through all the problems and make sure you understand them. Once again, this should not be the only thing you do to prepare.
 
Office hours: Go to them. Make an effort and your professor will help you succeed. This does not mean go to the office hours the day before the tests and expect your professor to teach you everything. Go to office hours to make sure you are clear on all the material, and to ask for help on either old tests or the extra homework a couple days before the test so you have time to review.
 
I worked really hard in the class, and still made a couple Cs on tests. But, I still tried my best on every test no matter how I did on the previous test and never gave up hope of making an A. Treat EVERY test (and the final) like this will be the test that makes the difference. Eventually, you will do well on one, even if success is delayed until the final. I made Bs and Cs on almost every test until the last test and the final where I made an As.

-IW

GO to class and DO the homework! Just as [your instructor] says on the first day. It's as simple as that. Sleeping through class doesn't count as going. Make sure to spend an appropriate amount of time on the homeworks. If you don't understand something, look into it. I never found myself unable to find problems to try; there are plenty of problems to practice on. Also, reading through the book helped me a lot more than I thought it would, especially when I did it when I was supposed to: before [my instructor] gave the lecture concerning the topic/material. Even if you don't understand it when you read it, i helps everything to click once you see it in lecture and do problems on it. Read it again if you have to!

-LHP

This class is definitely harder than Physics I since it involves a bit more complex calculus and tougher concepts but the key to success here is still the same - attend lectures, do the HW, and do the practice assignment. Everything that is assigned in this class is important make sure not to miss the opportunity. If you follow these basic steps of learning, and solving the practice tests to prepare for the actual test, you're pretty much guaranteed an A. It's just a matter of how well you can stick to plans that decides the toughness level of this class.

-DS

My advice would be to read the textbook. It is one of the best written textbooks I've used at Tech, and if you just read the chapter start to finish and work the problems, it helps a lot.
 
Another piece of advice would be to practice working problems quickly. This was one of my issues, and the result of low quiz grades (I knew the material -- just didn't finish the quizzes). Fortunately, [scoring a] 100 on the final sort of countered this, but I still think if I had practiced more problems with a time goal in mind I wouldn't haven't stressed about my grade so much.

-NM

Always complete the homework before it's due and complete assigned reading before class to ensure you get the PRS questions and can follow along in lecture. Write down everything you see [your instructor] write on the board especially his examples. To prepare for his tests, start studying 6 to 4 days before the test so you have time to:

1. For the love of God please memorize relevant formulas!!!-I cannot stress this point enough
2. Redo all relevant homework assignments including the practice assignments (make sure you understand how to do all of the problems!)
3. Reread the relevant chapters, you may find you missed something important the first time around. As you reread be sure to work out the books examples for yourself!
4. Work out the practice tests but be aware that they tend to be easier than the actual tests.
   (Dr. Jarrio comments: Oddly, we hear this remark every term...but you should be aware that the practice tests for THIS term include the actual tests from LAST term–which the students from last term considered to be harder than the practice tests...which were actual tests from the term before THAT–which were, according to students, harder than the practice tests from even earlier, and so on...)
5. If you complete 1-4, you may want to get some extra practice by working the odd problems in the chapter's review sections- this helps you recognize when to use certain formulas and concepts.

-PH

My advice:

1. Integrity: Doing the right thing when no one is looking. If you have unwavering integrity, you will make an A, its that simple.
2. Read the assigned sections before coming to class! I sincerely believe this was the most important strategy I used. Reading before class gave me a good idea of what was going to be covered. The lecture would then cement the ideas and concepts so that I could apply them to different scenarios.
3. Attend every lecture and take the best notes possible. Like I said, the lecture is crucial if you want to retain the knowledge you gain from reading.
4. Only sit next to friends that you trust will not distract you at all during the lecture. Pay attention and do not let your mind wonder, you will definitely miss an important idea.
5. Do not be overwhelmed by a really bad test grade! I made a 39 on the second test and still made an A in the class. The idea is to learn from your mistakes and never have self-pity, it is counter-productive.
6. Do every homework on time! You only hurt yourself by not doing them on time. Plus, I would say how well you did on the homweork is how well you have grasped the topic. If you did bad... study more.
7. Get your mind right. You need to realize that this is not high school, this is business. You are investing lots of your parents' and taxpayers' money into your future (this class costs approximately $1000 or $4000 depending on in or out of state tuition). You are here to learn, not socialize. Think of it this way: The higher grades you earn now means the higher pay you earn later. Get your mind right each time you come to class because during lecture, nothing else matters but physics. (Yes, you can have a social life just make sure your priorities are in the right place.)

-RF

I would seriously recommend doing the practices on mastering physics and going to recitation with the topics for the week already read from the book.

-AV

Make sure you understand the underlying concepts completely before you attempt any of the problems. Doing and understanding the homework on Mastering Physics and attending recitation is essential to your success. Don't waste your time memorizing equations or types of problems; the Physics department will be sure to come up with problems the likes of which you've never seen before on the exams. Above all else, take an interest in the subject matter; it makes doing the homework much more bearable.

-SK

Make sure to go to every class and pay attention, read the chapter before the class because it will make homework much easier and it will make it easier to pay attention in class, READ THE CHAPTER WHEN STUDYING AND TAKE NOTES (the most important thing that helped me), work out the book examples and check yourself, and work out the old tests after studying. I studied more than 70 hours for the final, but it got me an A on the final so it was worth it and was the time it took for me to make sure I understood everything. I would begin to study about 5 days prior to each quiz. The book is very user friendly and is the reason I got my A.

-MS

1. Read the sections that lecture will go over the next day.
2. Do the hw and the bonus hw on time.
3. Do the practice exams, not memorizing the problem, but know why and how to approach the problem.

-XD

1. The importance of studying the book in advance   You will be doing fine on the PRS questions if you read the book and have a few notes with you to class. Most of the PRS questions will be easy to answer if you only skim through the subject before class.
2. Getting ready for the test   You should finish up the practice assignments on time, or at most you have to complete them four or five days before a test day. After that, you can get started working on sample tests. And finally, you can always stop by the Physics Lab to get assistance with your problems.
3. Formulas  You will see tons of them in this course, so don't attempt to memorize them all. In fact, by practicing more problems you will eventually get over the important formulas. And don't forget; only memorizing a couple of formulas will not guarantee that you can even pass the tests! Always understand the physics behind each one of them, so you can use them, without confusion, in a different type of problem later on during the semester.

-DZ

The best recommendation that I can give is to come to class and pay attention. Despite classes often being held early in the morning, because I managed to stay alert and attend every class, I learned material that other students missed. Also, I would highly recommend actually doing the Mastering Physics and recitation problems. Do not just google the answers or ask a friend because you will not learn the necessary material. Finally, I think it is vital to do the practice tests online on paper. Merely looking at them, even if you study the solutions rigorously, is not the same as doing the problems yourself. Making sure to practice the problems personally by hand helped me immensely. It often made me realize I did not fully understand a concept I thought I had mastered.

-CB

I just had some advice to share: 2212 is very different from 2211 in that it is a lot more conceptual. They are not only more complicated, but also, they aren't very obvious to the naked eye. It's hard to understand some of these ideas and accept some of these facts because you don't always see them or notice them in everyday life.
 
Thus it's very important to go to class. It's very helpful when there's someone qualified to explain these things out loud, in front of you, is immensely helpful   as opposed to just reading out of a book. Continuing on this idea, if you don't get it in class (very common), don't give up   go to office hours, ask the TA's. Understanding the idea's is the most important thing. The math will follow through practice, but without the understanding, it's useless.

-GR

My best piece of advice for future students would be about the practice assignments:
 
Make sure you do all of the "optional" practice assignments. Don't be too discouraged if you can't get all of the correct answers; at least make an effort on each question. All that matters is that you get the problem solving process right, as this is what will help you on the tests and final. Also, know that test questions are rarely harder than the practice questions, and are, once in a while, very similar. Thus, if you know how to do the practice questions, you will get that extra edge that will help you get an A as opposed to a B, or a B as opposed to a C.

-SS

The most helpful things were:

1. reading the section of the textbook covered in class before the lecture where it was covered
2. doing the extra homework assignments
3. memorizing the list of equations relevant to the subjects of each quiz
4. taking the online practice quizzes before I looked at their solutions

-CS

See the remarkably similar advice from Summer 2010.