Physics 2211 A & B Spring 2020

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.

Doing the assignments kept me in check throughout the class. Bonus's really have important concepts that are in the real test. And when a test came around I would do almost every practice test that the professor has given. I really emphasize showing up to class, and personally, I took notes. By the way, I found the first test to be my lowest grade even it would become basic stuff, so don't underestimate it. All in all, work out whatever [your instructor] throws at you, doing it by yourself and focusing on every tricky concept should help seal a good grade in the class.
-IN

Do the homework, read ahead, and pay attention in class and there is no reason that you can't pass this course with an A! You can get an A if you just do the work. If you think you might need extra help, Physics 2802 was a great way to get in extra practice and undoubtedly contributed to my A.
-CM

I'm doubting that my advice will be what [instructors would] like to hear, or encouraged by future students, but I'll give it a go anyway.

I zoned out in class; The book seemed to be more clear and physics seems easiest when you develop your own methods in regards to problem solving as opposed to assuming that your professor's works best for you.
Lab Breakout was not beneficial, but I attended. The questions seemed to be more of a strenuous jigsaw puzzle than an adequate representation of the types of problems seen on quizzes.
I always did my homework and I always did the bonus - This amounted to a homework average of 118, which ended up boosting my grade by 1.8 points.
When it came to test time I learned that stress and excessive studying resulted in lower grades than a brief overview of the material.
I'd look at the chapter summaries in the book, which summed up big ideas and important equations.
Doing the guided practice problems from the book was also extremely beneficial in regards to understanding as opposed to memorizing a process.
I went through the practice tests once or twice to make sure that I had a general understanding of the types of questions to look for and an approximate way of how to work through them. But again, not memorizing the process.

-HO

Dr. Jarrio comments: HO's first point might not seem like the sort of advice that you would expect US to want students to see–but note that one has to be IN class in order to zone out in class. HO missed ONE class lecture all Spring; although HO might not have explicitly credited this fact, the Class Participation points gained by being in class every day certainly made earning an 'A' significantly easier.

If you and your roommate can both take the same physics at the same time, do it. It creates a sort of competition that is beneficial to both of you in the long run.
DON'T FORGET MASTERING PHYSICS ASSIGNMENTS. (This also means DO THEM, you work through those problems and you learn some of the nasty little tricks that will probably hurt your grade if you see them for the first time on the test.)
Do the bonus as well, you get to see one or two more problems that will better prepare you for the test.
Following #s 2 and 3...do the practice tests. Even if you only have time to look over a couple of answer keys right before the test, do that. On one of the tests I just did that and one of the problems I looked over was on the test, and there had been a trick that if I didn't see it on the practice test I would've lost points.
ATTEND LECTURE. Forget about the 5% PRS it's worth; [the instructor] teaches the fundamental concepts that will be on the test. I personally missed about 5 or 6 lectures and once me and my roommate went over the final together afterwards every single multiple choice question I missed he looked at me and said 'that was one of the lectures you missed, idiot'. So yeah...don't sleep in, it's NOT worth it.

-PC

I thought the class is very straightforward and easy as long as lectures are attended. If you skip the lectures though, you have just a lot of work to do back home and you don't want that. Following the reading schedule and attending class basically guarantees you an A. Labs/Lab Breakouts are easy and are mere applications of concepts laid during the lectures.
-DS

My main piece of advice would be to get an early start on good grades. Studying really hard for the first test will make the class seem much easier in the long run if you get a good grade.
-AT

The best advice I would give students would be to do the homework on your own or in small groups rather than just finding the answers. Especially the doing the bonus homeworks helped a lot.
-BW

There is a four step plan I followed to get an A in Physics 2211 (therefore what I recommend you follow too).

Read the book before lecture: Notice the before lecture part. Reading the book is how you step into the new concepts during your vacation in physics land. Take notes on the readings, and make sure you understand the concepts being presented. If you read a section of the book, and cannot remember what it stated, reread it. Reading a physics textbook is not like reading your favorite novel while curled up by the fireplace. Sometimes you need to read it again (and again) to gain a suitable understanding of the material. Want a way to know if you really understand the section you are reading? The book has a great number of practice problems relating to each section. Give a go at a couple of them to gauge your understanding of the topics.
Go to lectures: Of course this means being mentally present in addition to being physically present. Use the lectures to solidify the topics you previously learned from the readings. The best way to make sure you are paying attention during lectures is to take notes. For some of us, just taking notes is not enough to keep our short attention span focused on the lecture. Therefore, try playing the beat the professor game. This is where you try and solve the problem being worked out on the board by the professor faster than the professor. You should be able to since you read the book (thus already have a good understanding of what is being covered in lecture). If you solve a really hard problem before the professor stand up, rip up your notes, and let the professor know you don't need him because you are the best and the world knows it. (Please do not take into consideration the previous sentence because if enacted you will fail the class even if all other mentioned steps are followed.)
Do the homework: The homework is what truly tests how well you know the topics you learned from the reading and lecture. With that in mind, you need to be the one that does the homework. We know there are answers out there to the problems, and yes, we know where to find them. On the topic on bonus homework assignments, do them...all. The bonus homework assignments are great for testing your knowledge. They are similar to test questions (though admittedly easier), so do them. On the topic of hints, they are the greatest things in the world, and the worst things in the world depending on how you use them. They are bad because they can literally do the assignment without you even firing off a neuron in your brain (meaning you have not gained anything). They are great because when you have no idea where to even start with a problem, they will provide a map. However, you must only use the hints when you are completely clueless where to go with a problem. I'm talking about swallowing bottles of lithium pills, on the phone with your psychologist insane clueless. That previous statement was a little extreme, but if you let the hints do the problems, you gain nothing.
Practice Exams: The practice exams (posted on the class website) are old exams, so they are the ultimate tool to get you ready for an upcoming exam. Do all of them. Once you can comfortably answer each problem on each practice exam, you are in a good spot for any upcoming exam you have.

-LB

Actually I am a student who took high school in [my home country] where the study can be strict and hard. It's hard to say whether I got a good way to comprehend physics, but one thing is sure: Practice makes perfect. I believe I have a talent that not different to almost anyone that I knew, it is the hard work that makes me a little better than others in this class. I have at least solved 100 similar questions on each physics-model, the motion and momentum and velocity and displacement and anything else is known in such model, then I have nothing confused and the problem does not existed. Maybe that sounds a little arrogance and not smart, but the fact is even the talents make great effort to achieve knowledge and we must contribute as we can and practice till perfect.
-DZ

Besides going to class, I read the book. Whatever was assigned to us, I read. I didn't even do most of the bonus homework but the reading was essential.
-DM

Don't cheat yourself out of homework. Stay on top of your homework assignments and take them seriously. Completing and understanding your homework will improve your scores in every other part of the class, especially tests.
-ST

Attend all the lectures, and make a legitimate attempt to understand the day's material. Do all the homework, especially the bonus homework. If you don't understand a concept, look it up in both the book as well as use the internet. Physics forums can really help. Study and practice in advance of a test; cramming does not help. Study smart, looking over things you don't understand rather than studying long and inefficiently.
-JC

Be sure to keep up with the readings during the course of the semester as it helps with answering the PRS questions. This is essential so that you don't cram everything in right before the test. The way I studied for the exams is to first try to answer all the questions from past exams. Also, it is important to review all related Lab Breakout problems as they help with some important concepts that are presented in the free response on multiple choice. Be sure to finish all the homework as well as the bonus problems. I found that by doing the bonus problems, I understood concepts a lot better and generally perform well on the exams. In terms of the multiple choice questions, be sure to examine each choice carefully as it can sometimes be tricky.

Good luck in the class!
-CC

Reviewing the material in the book, homework assignments, and Lab Breakout really helped me understand what was going on in the class. Going through the practice exams is also the main thing that helped me prepare for the tests; if you can understand the practice exams, you can understand the real tests. Also, treat the bonus assignments as regular homework. Though they are not mandatory, the bonus problems provide extra help in understanding how to solve problems and they give you a little grade boost at the end. Basically, if you go to class, participate, and do your part to understand the concepts you will do well in this class.
-TS

To receive an A in Intro to Physics I, I studied by focusing more on the concepts of physics than particular formulas. I reworked problems that included multiple concepts to fully understand how the big picture would work. I found that these types of questions were generally closer to test problems. Furthermore, I worked all of the bonus homework and paid attention to how I solved each one.
-MD

Go to every class. Even if you don't get much out of lecture, the PRS is definitely worth it. Often, grades come down to a few percentages between grades and you will need as many points as possible in the end. It also shows that you care about the class which definitely important!
Don't be afraid to go to office hours. I went a few times to get extra help on some topics I did not understand at all. [Being] able to discuss the topic one-on-one is really helpful and can really help to clear up any issues you might have.
Look over your test once you get back. After getting back all my tests I always looked them over with the solutions online. I did this for two reasons: To see what I missed and what I did wrong and to see if any mistakes were made grading. A few points here and there might not seem important, but like I said before, every bit helps. But just don't go begging for points, thats never going to work and it will just tick off the professor, actually go in with a legitimate reason.
Study for the tests at least a few days in advance. Physics I is a huge time commitment if you want to do well. Basically here's what I did. First I did the odd problems in the back of each chapter. These have the answers in the back and really help you out a lot. Secondly, I went through all the old practice tests. They're there for a reason. Don't focus on memorizing formula's, but how to manipulate the given information to get what you want.
Don't give up! One or two bad tests are not going to sink you. Just make you put in the time and effort required for this class. Don't underestimate or it will eat your GPA.

-IH

One piece of advice I can give is to do the bonus problems because they are more challenging than the homework problems, and if you can do well on the bonus then you shouldn't have trouble on the quiz. Another thing is, always remember that there is always more to a quiz problem than it seems and if a problem seems way too easy, you're probably doing it wrong.
-LC

In order to help those in the future, I would suggest the best things to do are to go to class, do the homework and bonuses that are assigned (and actually work through them!) and review the previous quizzes that are available online. This was my basic approach to the course and it seemed to work perfectly!
-DW

Do the bonus homework and the practice tests! Only by getting your hands dirty and doing as many problems as possible will you learn how to solve different types of problems, not only the specific ones that you did on the homework. And think about the whole problem and how you will solve it before you begin so you do not get stuck on the specificities of that particular problem.
-SC

My main piece of advice would be to do all the Mastering Physics' Bonus Homeworks and check out the previous tests posted on the class website. The class is not designed to make everyone struggle, but you do have to work hard for a good grade.
-JR