Most effective way to study for physics

[Guest Mo Rahman]

Hiiii

Okay, so I'm about to start my second year of the IB and I've realised that I need a better, more effective, way to study physics (after scratching a 4 in my exam).

Here's my current status: in lesson I understand most of what's going on and can comprehend the concepts fairly well. However, when it comes to answering exam questions, I am absolutely terrible. (Just quickly, here I'm going to assume that formula's are everything in a physics paper because that's how I see it. Feel free to show me otherwise.) In lesson, the practice questions are specific to what we're learning and the formula that needs to be used is usually the one we've just learnt in the lesson so its easy. When in a real exam though, one of two things happens:

1. I think I'm doing it right but when I get the results, most of what I did was wrong (as evident with my previous paper 1) or

2. I have no idea what formula to use or what I should do with the numbers.

My teacher has suggested I just do practice exam papers but honestly, I find it really boring and I just get fed up and stop after a while of trying. Another option I've been contemplating is just memorising every damn formula in the syllabus and working like that.

Please share any tips or other ways I could study physics in such a way that I can pass my exams.

Thank you.

[MR.AHM]

Well your teacher is correct and I know it is boring. But you should work on them. However, you should watch presentations on the topics. To make you more confident. And in the topic you find hard to study. You can use the Question bank to browse the questions from a specific topic....

Also I don't know if you heard about this website. But it is called GradeGorilla.

Google it because I don't know the exact URL.

Also before you do a test. don't just rush into the question. You need to revise and prepare and then do the past papers. You should use study guides books. They are very useful not for Physics only. But I have this book called:

IB Study Guides: PHYSICS, OXFORD by Tim Kirk.... Its very useful for everything and use examples

Also you need to make sure that you can derive equations. Because not all the formulae in your data booklet. Some of them must be derived. You need to practice more questions like that.

[The Filipino Limner]

I had the same problem with you! I also had a hard time working Math Problems (which is like physics, less the gravity), and I was getting pretty low scores, like 4 or 5, but what I did was just to devote more time to it. When I'd get bored, I would watch videos in YouTube talking about the topic. Oh, and just a tidbit, watching someone do problems, rather than reading something, is more beneficial in remembering the topic, as proven by many research.

Practice exams may be boring, but take your time, and read, read, read! Platy music while you study. Get something to munch on. Study with a group! Yes, it works! Studying with your friends is sometimes easier than just studying by yourself! These may be mundane, but this will help you in the future!

You can do it. You just have to believe in yourself. Go forth!