How to Earn an A in Physics

For the past few terms, all students earning an A in PHYS 2211 were invited to pass on any advice they might have for students in subsequent semesters. Here are the responses from last Spring, in the order they were received. We hope that you will benefit from their suggestions. The only editing of these remarks has been for spelling, and to remove material that was not advice to students (advice to instructors, for example). At the bottom of the page, you will find links to similar advice from earlier semesters.
 
Bonus Homework is now called Practice Homework, to emphasize that its importance is in the practice, not in the bonus. PRS refers to an old in-class polling system, like the current TurningPoint system.

As for advice, I'd say to work and rework the posted past exams. I did each of those exams at least twice before every test, and it helped more than the book or the homework, in my opinion.
-JZ

Make sure to go to every Lab Breakout; Lab Breakouts are an invaluable way to learn how to approach and solve similar physics problems that appear on tests and the Mastering Physics homework.
-EJ

I cannot stress the importance of doing all of the available practice problems enough. While you may think you understand the concepts because of lectures, its practicing problems over and over that ensures you truly understand how to apply those concepts to your calculations. I did all of the bonus homework, purple box example problems in the book, and practice tests online and all of that work was definitely worth it in the end!
-KR

To be honest, it really helped that I took AP Physics B in high school and had a pretty thorough understanding of kinematics already. But that doesn't mean I didn't have to study. Before each test I printed out all the previous exams, crossed out all the problems that were on non-applicable material, and did the rest of the problems (while resisting the temptation to look up the answers). Overall, the most important thing is to to understand the material, not to mindlessly do problems. Also outside of class, don't get so swamped and sleep-deprived that you don't have anytime to study.
-WN

I would tell upcoming students to do the homework, and the bonus assignments! Also, paying attention to the PRS questions in lecture was really helpful because lots of not-so-obvious concepts were covered. More often than not those concepts came back in quizzes, especially in the multiple choice questions. When I prepared for the quizzes, I worked some of the problems from previous years, and went back through the homework and Lab Breakout problems.
-MM

Doing the MasteringPhysics problems regularly definitely helped me learn the material, especially the bonus problems. I would place higher importance on the homework then going to lecture even (I didn't go to lecture much, as I can't really focus in huge classes anyway). Also, use your resources in the past quizzes provided. If you can confidently complete the past quizzes on your own, you'll be well prepared for the actual quizzes.
-CH

I guess what helped me mostly was that I had a really good AP physics B teacher last year so about 80% of the material I already learned. I bet that a lot of students who come to tech already have taken some physics before so they think the class will be easy and they don't come to the lectures or do the bonus homework. I went to every lecture and did all the homework (usually a week before it was due) so I was refreshed on the material. As far as the tests go, I would read the chapters in the text book one more time a few days before the test, then I would do all the practice tests. While taking the test, I would always solve each problem twice. I would take the test then with my answers hidden, rework every problem. This helped minimize stupid mistakes and calculation errors.
-RI

[Dr. Jarrio comments: Both RI and WN (a few lines above) come from a background where they have already been exposed to physics in an AP course. This is a common situation for Tech students–but unfortunately, many students underestimate the step up that we will be asking you to make. Yes, the ideas are the same as they were in High School, but knowing the ideas is only the starting point for scientific analysis. WN and RI both had the good sense to realize that they couldn't just coast through the course–don't make the mistake of assuming that you can!]

The tests get progressively harder, so it is really important to do well on the first few tests so you have something to fall back on. Also, to do well on each new test, you have to understand concepts that you were previously tested on, so it is imperative that you don't forget/disregard concepts taught earlier in the semester. The practice tests are one of the BESt ways to study for the tests. If you can do well on the practice tests, you can probably do well on the actual test itself. You should also do the bonus homework! It is one of the most useful study tools for the tests, and it can also make a difference between letter grades at the end of the semester. Also, you MUST go to class. Even if you read the book, you may be tested on something taught only in lecture.
-AM

I think that the Mastering Physics assignments helped me keep up in the class more than anything else.
-JW

Keep up with Mastering Physics and study the practice tests. Also, take advantage of all the bonus opportunities!
-SU

One thing I can't stress enough is working the homework and test problems using variables not numbers. Half the time things will cancel which will make the problem easier, and you might learn something from it, like that certain equations are mass independent. Last but not least listen to your professor, seriously, they know what they're talking about.
-AR

If you're going to only read one comment, I stongly suggest you read this.
Physics is really hard and its difficult to pull off an A, but it's not impossible. At the beginning of the semester I did not know how to prepare for the quizzes. I made a 77 ad 67 on my first two quizzes. It is not until my 3rd quiz where I made a 96. This drastic improvement was due to a the following: (Long, but extremely valuable)

1. Go to all lectures
   - I took notes, but for some reason I never had to look over them. Just make sure you attend and do all of the PRS questions.
    
2. Read through the chapters covered, including ALL of the examples and ALL of the critical thinking questions.
   - Generally, it is difficult to grasp what the text means so the examples visually show you how to apply the ideas. They also give you an idea of the questions you can expect to be asked about that particular topic.
    
3. Do all of the Mastering Physics HW and BONUSES.
   - Keeping up with all of the hws is extremely difficult, especially when you have other hw to do. You must try your best to make time for physics. To make an A you have to set it as one of your highest priorities because you can fall behind extremely fast. Do all of the homework YOURSELF. Don't worry about your score, just make sure you learn it. He will drop a lot of them in the end. I STRONGLY advise you work them all out on paper in detail and put them into a binder. That way you dont have to go through and rework them when you're studying. This saves a lot of time, especially when looking over the bonuses.
    
4. Review all of the Lab Breakout problems.
   - Even if you cannot do the problems during Lab Breakout, go onto the homepage and print out the problems and see how they do them. Understand their steps and format because this is exactly what they want to see on the tests. Test questions will definitely resemble these problems.
    
5. Go through ALL of the old quizzes posted on the homepage.
   - This step is the most crucial step and is the reason why I went from a 67 to a 96. What I did was print out the most recent quiz without the solution and try to work them out on my own. Once I gave up, I looked at the solutions and made sure I understood each question. For the rest I only tried to do them on my own if I had time. I usually only have time to do these 2 hours before the quiz. If you do not have time to do them all, at least just go through the solutions for all of the test. By just having a general idea of what may be asked and know how to approach them is enough. Out of the 5 old quizzes, it is almost guaranteed that there will be at least 2 questions on the actual quiz.
    
6. Give yourself atleast 4 hours of sleep. All nighters never help.

After the first two quizzes, I realized that studying for Physics had to be structured. When I made the 96 I was still working out the kinks to the method. It is not until the 4th test when I had the structure perfected, resulting in my 100.

To wrap it all up, follow ALL of my 6 steps IN ORDER and I guarantee you will make an A. I'm not going to wish you luck because you won't need it :-)
-AT

The only advice I would give is related to problem-solving. It seems that every physics problem is based on some conservation principle, and those are always given in some form in the problem description. Before you start confusing yourself with equations you've memorized, write down what is constant (velocity components, momentum, energy, forces, etc.). Whenever you're stuck on a tricky question, it's usually because you've forgotten an obvious constant from the problem.
-NH

The best advice I could give to next years students would be to do every single homework and bonus assignment. By far the Mastering Physics problems were the best preperation for tests. Going to class is obviously very important because you get to see how to apply the equations. Reading the practice problems in the book is another good way to see how the equations can be applied.
-MS

My advice for the course would be to attend lecture everyday. You would most certainly miss something important even with just one day's absence (since each lecture builds on the previous one). Also, doing the homework is important (including bonus), as the questions are similar to the quizzes. And finally, practice doing questions quickly without having to think much about them because the quizzes have a lot of material on them. Lab Breakout gives a long time to do one problem, so the next time you do it (and there's a good chance it will show up on a quiz), you can do it quickly.
-NM

My advice to future students would be to just work hard and not give up even if you don't do as well as you would like on a test or two because there are plenty of opportunities to make up the points in bonus work.
-CQ

Physics is the easiest subject if your concepts are clear. I just did all my homework regularly and studied the practice tests posted online the night before the test and that made it an easy and smooth journey for me towards an A.
-JS

Most of the free response and about half of the multiple choice are from mastering physics and then the other half of the multiple choice are from lecture, all of the tests have a few questions that are just worded weird to mess with you so read it carefully. Don't worry if you screw up one test because it doesn't really matter and everyone does bad on the first test.
-SK

Homework is assigned to provide a recap of the lecture, however it is best to do the homework for the lecture before that lecture is given. The lecture proceeds at a breakneck pace, and having already learned the material makes it easier to understand the professor and his examples.
-NP

My Advice to future students taking your class is as follows:
 
Go. To. Lab Breakout.
-JF

My advice is to do all of the homework and bonus for maximum understanding, do the example problems in the book, and get enough sleep before each exam. In PHYS 2211 it is inherently essential to understand the basic principles in each chapter and to know when to apply them to a given problem. Practice! It will pay off in the end.
-PL

Pay close attention to listening during every lecture so the understanding sticks with you from the start. Also, reading over the chapters for conceptual details and special cases before the test is very helpful.
-CS

Here is my advice to next semester's students:

• Do the homework.
• Do the bonus assignments.
• Do the practice tests.
• If you're still not comfortable with the material, do the problems at the end of the chapters being covered on the test.

-anon.

Do the homework! Keep up with it and make sure you know what you are doing when you solve each problem. Take advantage of the bonus homework as well.
-MU

I would say what helped me to get an A in Physics 2211 would be the following things:

• Class attendance and PRS turns out to be more important than most people think.
• The Bonus homework assignments also significantly aid shortcomings in other areas.
• Study previous years tests and the concept questions at the end of each chapter.

-CC

Don't fret over grades and don't get disheartened too quickly. And most of all, don't get overconfident. Doing the bonus homework really does help your grade a significant amount as well as your understanding of the material, and it is a great way for preparing for the tests. Yes, Dr. Jarrio's bar-graphs do have some truth in them, and try and be at the good end of those graphs. For preparing for quizzes, redo some of the tough MP assignments, work through the Lab Breakout problems, and check out past exams.
-GM

It's important to do the Mastering Physics. Its really easy to get others to help you, but when you put your own effort into it, you learn so much more. I did most homework sets by myself, so learning the material for quizzes came really easily to me.
-KL

I believe that there are many small things that helped me to excel in physics this semester. One of the major factors was class attendance. If you do not attend class then there is no real way for you to learn physics, while the book is good for reinforcing the material you learn in class, it is not as good in teaching it to you. Second is the homework and bonus homework. First of all do all of the regular homework and all of the bonus homework. And when you are doing it take your time, don't rush through it to get it done and don't put it off until 1 hour before it is due. Take your time work through it and actually learn what you are doing. The third thing is studying for the tests. Read through the book and be sure to do all of the stop to thinks, go over all of the homework make sure you know how to do them, look over all notes, and be sure to spend enough time studying. One thing that I found that helped me was I not only studied but I would also help my friends learn the stuff they were having problems with that I knew how to do. I think that this teaching them really helped me in the long run. Overall I think those are the main contributors to my success in physics this semester.
-ET

All I would tell people is to do their homework. The Mastering Physics sucks but it teaches you a lot.
-MG

Take advantage of all the opportunities for extra credit. They add up.
-BD

• Attend class regularly. I never missed a lecture or Lab Breakout and I believe that it helped with my overall understanding of the material and my ability to perform well on quizzes.
   
• Do all of the assigned homework on your own, but don't be afraid to use the given hints. Occasionally I would be confused with problems and decided to use the hints, which turned out to give me better scores on the homeworks. They also do a good job of walking one through the problem so that they will be able to do that type of problem again.
   
• Make an effort to understand the theory on a conceptual basis. To me, physics can be broken down into two things: mathematics and common sense. The math part helps with solving quantitative problems, but many times the understanding of what is actually going on can be more beneficial than just crunching numbers. Thinking through a problem in terms of what might happen in a real life scenario can really help with both qualitative and quantitative understanding. This is much better than just memorizing formulas.
   
• Look over old quizzes. Even though the actual types of problems may vary over the years, it is a good idea to make sure that one can accomplish the problems on past exams. If one has trouble with them, then they know that their studying is not yet complete. They may even get lucky and see the same types of problems on the quiz they take.
   
• When in doubt, think of all the formulas for a certain topic and see if they can be put together to solve the problem. This method seems to contradict the conceptual understanding mentioned earlier, but it is nonetheless a decent last resort when taking a quiz. If one is clever enough with the math, it can be a good way to solve problems.
   

A few of these tips seem obvious, but it is surprising how powerful a few simple concepts can become. If anything, just remember that F = ma, which can solve just about any problem with the correct manipulation.
-ZS

[Dr. Jarrio comments: I have to say, I'm not entirely comfortable with that last remark. Certainly, ZS is correct that Newton's 2nd Law is a powerful idea–but as they say, the devil is in the details. Don't underestimate the amount of careful though and preparation that are subsumed by those two innocent-looking words, correct manipulation.]

Do all the Mastering Physics homework and bonuses on time. Not only does it help you understand the material, but it helps keep your grade up too. Go to class because it helps you learn the material and helps keep your grade up as well. To study for the tests, I found it helpful to do the chapter reviews in the book, review old Mastering Physics, and study the old tests on the website. As long as you stay on top of your work, study hard and make sure you really understand all the material, the class shouldn't be all that bad.
-BD

I guess the only advice i could give for future students is to slow down on tests and make sure they try the problem step by step
-AP

More advice is available, from students who earned an A in PHYS 2211 A & B during Fall 2008.