HowtoStudyforPhysics,Engineering,andMathematics

ClassesinCollege
Stevens F. Johnson
Askyourselfthisquestion."HowdoIstudyforaclass?Moreprecisely,howdoIgetanA,or
justagoodgrade(well,OK,apassinggrade)foraclass?"Hereisoneanswer:
"Studying?Whatstudying?AllIneedtodoiscommittomemoryeverythingtheInstructor
said in class, what is printed in the textbook, listed on the syllabus, outlined in the
handouts,attemptedinthelaboratoryexperiments,andrumoredtobeonoldexams(all
onthenightbeforeanexam).Ithenmerelyregurgitateitontherelevantexams.Wait.That's
toomucheffort,unlessI'mgoingforatopoftheclassA+(andwhoneedsthat?).ForanA,I
needonlyanA.That means I can reduce my effort by 10%, mostly on attendance of the
classlecture.Evenbetterwouldbea20%cut,thatwayIcanskiptheMondaymorningor
Fridayafternoonclasses,butmakeupforitbylaughingloudlyattheInstructor'sjokesand
storiesorvolunteeringwhatIthinkarecoherentandrelevantquestionsinclasswhenIdo
attend. A grade of B for the course is even easier, since then I can neglect to do a few
homeworkassignments,missalabortwo,nottomentionanexam,ortakeoffawholeweek
or more for deer hunting or that special October (February) vacation. And a B still looks
almostasgoodonatranscript,Ihear.Ontheotherhand,thatstillrequiresalotofeffort.AC
willletmecountthatclassfortheMajor,enoughtograduate.Anyway,it'sworkedbefore,it'll
workagain.Right?"
Allright,I'mexaggeratingabit,butyougettheidea.Evenso,ifIweretoreplytotheabove
paragraph,Iwouldsay...
"WRONG! Not in a Physics, Engineering, or Mathematics class (and a lot of other
courses,too),atleastnotiftheInstructorhasanyprofessionalintegritywithrespectto her
teaching and her evaluation of students' understanding of and skill in the subject. (I'm not
exaggeratingnow.)ThereisnotonethingcorrectinthatParagraphthatwouldhelpyou
getapassingGrade,letaloneacquireanUnderstandingoftheSubjectofthatClass."
Does my response come as a shock to you? It certainly would be a surprise to a lot of
college students today. (Note: I'm not talking about cheating or behavior unbecoming a
serious student. That is a question of Ethics, the topic of a different essay.) There are at
least eight Wrong Ideas about studying in that paragraph. I will address all of them, in no
particularorder.Along the way, I'll be addressing the most common Complaint that I, and
mostotherScienceInstructors, have received over the years from NonScience Majors
takingaLibEdScienceclass:"IgetA'sandB'sinallmyotherclasses,butI'mstrugglingto
getaCinthisclass,"or"ThisisthehardestclassI'veeverhad!"

Memorization?
Memorization will get you Nowhere in
Science, for several reasons. The most
obvious reason is there is simply too much to
memorizeAnyattemptatevenasmallfraction
ofitwilljustgetyouconfusedandwon'tleadto
Understanding anyway. Successful intimate
familiaritywillcomenaturallyfromPractice,not
fromrotememory.Afteradozenorsoattempts
atproblemsthatinvolvehavingtosolveforthe
roots of a Quadratic Equation, for example,

youwillhavedevelopedalevelofcomfortthat
willbe,for allpracticalpurposes, an Effective
Memorizationofthesolutiontothequadraticequation"axsquaredplusbxpluscequals
zero:" "x equals negativeb plusorminus the square root of b squared minus four a c, all
overtwoa."
An outright attempt to memorize this stuff will put
anyonetosleep.

Youmaythinking,"Yeah,right.That'seasyforyoutosay.You'vebeenusingthisformulafor
years, and it's your business to know it. I'm just an undergraduate hoping to graduate
someday."Ofcourseit'smybusiness(andit'sdecades,notyears).Butitisyour business,
too,ifyouwanttograduatewithadegreeinPhysics,Engineering,orMathematics.Moreto
thepoint,IhadtheformulaeffectivelymemorizedbeforetheendofmyJunioryearinHigh
School. It was the practical result of many hours of Practice at using it. What do we call
thosehoursofpracticing?Studying.LotsofStudying.HowmuchStudying?Thatisthenext
subjectIwilladdress.Butfirst...
IwanttomentionaCaveattomyinjunctionagainstrotememorization.Therearebranches
of the Natural Sciences that do require a level of memorization higher than for Physics,
Engineering, and Mathematics. Chemistry and the Life Sciences typically have a large
upfrontVocabularythatmustbemasteredearlybeforemovingdeeperintotheirrespective
fields.However,EffectiveMemorizationtechniquesarejustasgoodforthemasforPhysics.
Insteadofjustmemorizingalistoftheskeletalbonesofthehumanbody,drawtherelative
locationandsizeofeachbone,andlabelit,asyouverballylistallofthem,forexample.If
you have to peek at the text occasionally while doing this, that's OK. What you would be
doingisnotmemorization,butStudying.

Study Times Study Timing

StudyPlanning
Yes, Studying. There is no way to avoid it. What is
Studying? It is reading in detail with the intention of
learning (Webster's New World Dictionary of the
American Language). To read in detail implies you
must devote your Full Attention over extended
periodsofTime.Atraditionalandgenerallyaccepted
Ruleforstudyingatthecollegelevelistomultiplythe
numberofCreditsforwhichyouhaveenrolledbytwo
to four. The result is the number of Hours per week
you should study in addition to your Class and Lab
times.Forexample,foratypicalfulltimestudentwhoisenrolledfor16credits,sheshould
devoteanadditional32to64hourseveryweektoherstudies,foratotalof48to80hours
foreverysevendayperiod.Thatmeans,onaverage,sheshouldbestudyingaboutseven
toelevenhourseveryday,includingweekends.

Sleepingandreadingarebestdoneseparately.

"Holy smoke," you may be thinking, "I don't

have time for that much studying. And when
do I get to play?" Assuming eight hours of
Sleep and another three for Grooming and
Meals, that still leaves two to six hours for
Recreation and Relaxation every day. How
much more time for Fun do you need?
Personally, I need a break after six hours of
Playing.(Alternatively, if you wish to reserve
the weekends exclusively for Recreation,
you'll have to study about 10 to 16 hours

everydayMondaythroughFriday.Thatwould
bepushingthelimit,inmyopinion,andmayevenbecounterproductive.Moreonthatlater.)
Ofcourse,theseareaveragenumbers.Theyshouldbeadjustedtoaccountfortheleveland
ease(toyou)foreachclass.Still,theyareexcellentGuidelines.
This general Rule arose from the average amount of time college students studied during
the 1950's through most of the 1970's in the United States. Unfortunately, since the late
1980's, there has been a disastrous trend downwards for study time, almost down to no
studyingoutsideclassforsomestudents.Thistrendhasalsobeenseenatthehighschool
level.It is the basic reason why ACT and SAT scores have been falling for the last three
decades, and the fundamental source for the perceived need for Grade Inflation in the
CollegesandUniversities(andHighSchools).SeearecentAssociatedPressnewsarticle
onBadStudyHabitsandGradeInflationhere.
Hence,beingaFullTimeCollegeStudentistheEquivalenttoholdingaFullTime Job,
plus ten's of hours of Overtime every week. That means, of course, you really don't have
time for a significant job offcampus. "But how am I to afford the cost of college if I can't
work?" you ask. There are lots of ways, including Savings, Summer Jobs (which are
psychologically good for you, anyway, as a break from nine months of Intense Study),
Scholarships and Grants (of which there are many, but you have to go looking for them
yourself:UsetheInternet.Clickhereforashortpdflist.),andStudentLoans(whichhave
the lowest interest rates and best repayment conditions of all loans, and are available to
everyone).IfnoneoftheseOptionsareacceptabletoyou,eitheryoushouldbeaparttime
studentinstead,oryoushoulddropoutalltogetheruntilyoucanbeafulltimestudent.
ItshouldbeobviousbynowthatwaitinguntilthenightbeforeanExamtostudywon'tmake
theGrade,sotospeak.YoucannotcramseveralWeeksofStudy(hundredsofhours)into
oneAllNighter.Evenifyoucould,itwouldn'twork.Why? Because Understanding takes
Time,lotsofTime.AndlotsofPracticeoverthatTime.YourBrainneedstheTimetoform
thenewNeuralPathwaysandPatternsthatarearesultofnewUnderstandingandSkills.
LearningScienceissimilartolearningnewPlaysinFootballorBasketball,orlearningnew
MusiconthePiano,oranewPlayontheStage.IttakeslotsofPractice(orRehearsal)to
master something new, to establish the MuscleMemory (including Mental Muscles) that
makesthenewPlay(orPieceorSkillorUnderstanding)SecondNatureforyou.
ContinuousStudyforanygivenSubject(i.e.,
a bit of Study every day for each Class) also
can accommodate for those occasional but
inevitabletimeswhenyouhitaWall,aMental
Block. When the next Exam is still days or
weeks away, you have the Luxury of
temporarily giving up on the Topic of that
Mental Block, to go do something else
(anything else: Recreation, studying for
anotherClass,aMeal)forafewhoursoruntil
thenextday.WhenyoureturntotheProblem,
youwilllikelybesurprisedat why you thought
it was difficult in the first place. The reason is
your Subconscious works on a resolution to
your Mental Block while you are consciously
doing something different. It still astounds me
how a Good Night's Rest will solve a problem
thatadaybeforeseemedintractable.Toavoid
MentalBlocks,timeyourstudiesforanysingleClasssothatyoucanspendatleastanHour

but no more than two or three Hours at a time on that Class. That way, you move on to
somethingDifferentbeforeyougetmentallytiredofit,andyou'llstillfeelfreshtostudyfor
thenextclass.
Uptonow,IhaveonlytalkedabouthowmuchStudyingyoushoulddoandwhen,butnoton
specificTechniques.Onthispoint,IcanonlygiveyoubroadSuggestionsingeneral, and
specificExamplesthathaveworkedforothers.Youwillhavetoadaptthese Ideas to your
ownStrengthsandIdiosyncrasies(whichweallhave,solivewithit!).

Reading
Read the Textbook, a Chapter at a time. Read it more than once. I'm serious. Really.
Scout'sHonor.It is the single most important part of Studying, more so than attending the
Class.Ikidyounot.Truly.
Multiple Readings should be done on different Days and for different Purposes. For
example, the first Reading of a new Chapter can be a FastPassOverview, looking at all
theSectionHeadings,thePicturesandDiagrams,theExamples,andtheSummary.The
PurposehereistogetafeelforthetopicofthewholeChapter,theBigPicture,andtodoit
quicklyItshouldn'ttakemorethanhalfanhourorso.(IftheChapterisverylong,breakit
into smaller chunks at a time.) Don't worry about understanding the new Words and
Conceptsyet.YouareonlytryingtobecomevaguelyfamiliarwiththingsonthisFirstPass.
WhenthenewIdeasareintroducedintheLecture,itwillthenbeyourSecondExposureto
themandtheywillnot seem so new and alien. (Yes, that means you should complete the
FirstPass,atleast,beforetheChapterisstartedinClass.TheNightBeforewilldo.)
TheSecondandThirdPassReadings,withincreasingAttentiontoDetail,shouldbedone
whiletheChapterisaddressedintheLecture.TheThirdPassshouldbethefirstwhereyou
examinetheCalculationalExamples(alongwiththosefromtheLecture).Butdon'tjustlook
at the Examples. After close scrutiny of each, close the Book/Lecture Notes then try to
reproduce them on Fresh Paper. If you have to sneak a peek now and then, no problem.
You'llstillbelearningbydoing.

Even though this famous

book by Douglas Adams
is Science Fiction, the
emphasis is on fiction.
Readthisoranothernovel
quickly if you wish, but
not so a science
textbook.

A note of Caution: A textbook in Physics, Engineering, or

MathematicsisnotaNovel.Consequently,donotreadittheway
youwouldreadaNovel.Donottrytospeedreadit.Gothrougha
Chapter very slowly, because unlike a Novel (or news article, or
History textbook, or Legal Brief for that matter) every word and
sentenceisequallyimportant.Therearethreereasonsforthis.(1)
Technical textbooks have very little repetition in their Prose: They
generallystateaPrincipleorFactonceandonlyonce.Missitthe
firsttimeandyouwilllikelynotgetasecondchanceofseeingiton
thatReading.(2)BothFactsandReasoningarepresentedinthe
body of a Chapter. It is the Reasoning portion that requires your
slow and careful consideration. (3) There are a lot of Equations.
AnEquationismerelyabriefandconcisemnemonicforreminding
you of the relationships between various physical and
mathematicalattributes.IthasaveryhighDensityofInformation
percharacter.Thinkofitthisway:IfaPictureisconsideredwortha
thousand Words, then an Equation is worth a thousand
Pictures. That's a lot of Ink! So don't try to breeze your way
throughamillionwordsinaglance.
TextbookauthorsandEditorsareHuman,too.Therewillalwaysbe
errors in any Book. If you come across a sentence that simply

makesnosense,itmaysimplybeanerror.CheckwithanotherStudentortheInstructor,or
gototheequivalentsectionofadifferenttextbookfromtheLibrary.Ontheotherhand,don't
be too fast to assume an error. Read at least a paragraph or page further into the Book.
TheremaywellbeaclarifyingRestatementorExample.

HomeworkandProblemSolvingMathematics
This brings us to doing the Homework. In Physics, Engineering, and Mathematics, this
means doing Examples invented by the Instructor or the Text's Author that have not been
solvedforyou.YoumayormaynotknowwhattheAnswersare(fromthebackoftheBook),
but you still must plow through some ProblemSolving Methods that will lead you to the
Answers.ThemostimportantIngredienttosuccessfulProblemSolvingisFaithinYourself.
The second is Patience with Yourself. The Faith involves the Knowledge that you really
can solve a Problem given enough Patience and Time. The Patience involves being very
slow,careful,methodical, and (to Outsiders) boring.There is a Routine that will almost
alwaysdothetrick:
1. Read the Problem thoroughly and carefully. Take note of
everything that is stated, but do not make unnecessary
Assumptions.
2. Draw a Diagram of the Situation, with all the relevant facts
illustrated in some manner.(Use a pencil.) This is an extremely
important step because it forces you to take a look at the Full
PictureandtoconsiderallthegivenFactsoftheProblem.Ifyou
havesomeTroubleunderstandingwhattheProblemisaskingof
you or of some of its Facts, a Sketch or Diagram will help you
understand, because Inconsistencies or an incomplete set of
The famous "Splash is
FactswillbecomeveryobviousasyouattempttheDiagram.My heard 6 seconds later, how
GeneralRuleofProblemSolvingis"When in doubt, draw a deep is the well?" problem.
Picture.If you are not in doubt, draw one anyway, because The sketch contains all the
there'sastronglikelihoodthatyouareindoubtbutdon'tyet information needed to solve
knowit."GobacktoStep1ifnecessary.OneCaution,however. it. Note: The solution
requires solving a quadratic
It is not unusual for the statement of a Problem to seem not to equation.
have given you enough Information to solve it. Here, you may
havetobegindependingupontheFaithandPatienceImentionedearlier.
3.Writedownwhatyouknow,whatyoudon'tknow,andwhatyouneedtoknowaboutthe
Problem. This includes Equations (the more, the merrier), Initial Conditions, Final
Conditions (otherwise known as Boundary Conditions), Restrictions, and so on. This
and the previous step involves translating the "Word Problem" from a spoken language to
the language of Mathematics so that it can be solved by precise and logical manipulation.
Mistranslationisafrequentsourceofmisunderstandingofaproblemandaconsequential
incorrectAnswer.AbriefreturntoSteps1and2foraquickcheckofyourunderstandingof
theQuestionmightbegoodaftercompletingthisStep.(InthisStep,youwillalsodiscover
theimmaterialdetailsoftheProblem,suchastheColoroftheHatontheBlokewhodrops
theStonedowntheWell:ThereisnoKinematicEquationforHatColor.)
4.GivenwhatyouknowabouttheProblemrightnow,calculatesomethingthatyoudon'tyet
knowbutcanbefoundusingwhatyoudoknow.ItmaynotbetheAnswertheProblem is
askingofyou,butitwilllikelybeastepinthatDirection.
5. Review what you have accomplished so far. Return to Step 4 again, using the new
InformationyoufoundfromthepreviousapplicationofStep4.
6.RepeatStep5asmanytimesasnecessaryuntilcompletionoftheProblem.
7. Check your Solution. Review the whole Problem, including reading again the original
Questiontobesurethatyouhaven'tforgottensomethingormisconstruedtheFacts.Check
to make sure your Units are consistent. (That means, of course, writing the Units to your
Answer(s) immediately after the numerical Result. This is extremely important, because a

Naked Number is almost always worthless. For example, does 9.8 mean 9.8 chickens
(where did the 0.2 chicken go?), 9.8 miles (km?), 9.8 gold bricks (I'd settle for the 0.2
leftover),9.8kg(lbs?),...?(AmixuponunitsbetweenthemanufacturerandNASAiswhat
causedthelossofamultibilliondollarMarsprobe.)
8.ReviewyourAnswer.IsitareasonableAnswer,giventheFactswithwhichyoustarted?
Forthe"6SecondDeepWell"problem,doesanAnswerof1.6mseemreasonable?How
about16m,or1600m?Ifnot,recheckyourcalculations.
9.WhenyouaresatisfiedwithyourAnswer,indicateitassuchbydoubleunderliningit,or
drawingaboxaroundit.
Generally,performyourCalculationsalgebraicallyforasmuchoftheproblemaspossible.
Thatis,doyourmanipulationoftheEquationsinsymbolicformfromthestartoftheproblem
for as deep into the problemsolving procedure as you can go. Only then should you
substitute numerical values. The reason for delaying numerical substitutions is so that
Simplifications and Cancellations of Common Factors will occur while still in algebraic
form.ThiswillsaveyoumuchEffortonthewholeandwilltendtoreducecalculationaland
mathematical/logicalErrors(andhelpyoufindthemwhentheydooccur).
StillhavingTroubleinPhysics?ManystudentsbelievetheyarehavingTroublewithPhysics
whentherealSourceoftheirTroubleistheirrusty(perhapsunused)MathematicsSkills.
Sinceit is impossible to do Physics without Mathematics, you will need to polish up those
Skills. A good place to do that is in a Physics course, but you will have to be a bit more
careful for a while until you shine at it. (YoucanalwayspickupacheapReview Book to
assistyou.Shaum'sOutlinesandothersimilarBooksaregoodchoices.)
Don'tbeafraidofmakingMistakesinyourHomeworkorExams.BeinginSchoolisagood
safeplacetomakeMistakes.(NoBridgewillfalldownasaconsequence,forexample.)Just
makesureyoulearnfromyourMistakes(andfromthoseofOthers).Infact,welearnmore
fromourMistakesthanfromourSuccesses!Sowhentheyoccur,takeadvantageofthem:
Youmightaswell,becauseyouarestuckwiththeminanycase.
Asyoucansee,there
is little room for
Guessing.
The
closest a Physicist or
Engineer gets to
guessing is Informed
Estimation. That is
using
your
Experience and Skill
to assess a Situation
when
you
have
insufficient
Information
or
Opportunity to solve Just so you know, Einstein
a Problem correctly didhaveasenseofhumor.
andcompletely.ButtheExperiencecancomeonly
from complete ProblemSolving using methods
This is a popular cartoon about Einstein, but
the source of its humor is the deliberate similartoabove.
mischaracterization of his work. He did not
guess at his famous energy formula E=mc 2,
butwentthroughathoroughmathematicaland
theoretical derivation from known facts (i.e.,
problemsolving)toarriveatit.

Ingeneral,ProblemSolvinginvolvesaMultiStep
Process.Becauseof that,youwillprobably have
noclueastowhattheFinalAnswerisuntilyouget
there.Again,you'lljusthavetokeeptheFaithand
practicethePatience.Ihavefoundthatthesourceofmoststudent'sFrustrationwhenfirst

attempting Physics Homework is the unrealistic Expectation that the Answer to a Problem
canbefoundinonlyoneStep.OneStepSolutionstoPhysicsProblemsarerelativelyrare.
The same goes for Problems in the"Real World" of Checkbook Balancing, Trip Planning,
HouseRepairs,Disputes,etc.
TheProblemSolvingSkillsyoumasterduringaPhysicsClasscaneasilybecarriedoverto
Problems that have nothing to do with Physics. And you should carry them over, with
modificationsasneeded.Why?TheofficialLabelforProblemSolvingisCriticalThinking,a
LifeSkilleveryoneshouldmasteranduse.

StudyLocationandEnvironment
Whileyouarestudying,doitwhereandwhenyoucanfocusonyourstudying.Thatis,keep
theDistractions to a minimum. Any Calm Place will do obviously, but a quiet spot is not
required.Visual Distractions are much more disruptive of otherwise focused Attention than
areAcousticDistractions.So,theTelevisionshouldbeoff,buttheStereocanbeon.Infact,
Background Music is great for studying. It accomplishes two things. It tends to induce a
Calm Mind capable of intense Concentration as well as help to filter out any remaining
Distractions.ButtheMusicitselfcan'tbedistracting.
The best music for studying is Instrumental
Music in general and Classical Music in
particular: Generally, it does not have a heavy
beatandtherearenoLyricstointrudeuponyour
KCRB is MPR's Classical Music station in Thoughts.
Here
in
Bemidji,Minnesota.
Minnesota,we
have what is arguably the best network source for
ClassicalMusicintheCountry:MinnesotaPublicRadio.
It's Library of Music is among the largest in the World,
which means you won't hear the same Piece twice in a
Month.Forthoseofyousounfortunatetobeoutsidethe KAXEisanindependentPublicRadio
broadcast reception area of an MPR station, their Web station originating out of Grand
Site offers an audiostream Webcast at certain times of Rapids,Minnesota.
theday.Further,IunderstandsomeCableSystemscarryMPRinadditiontootherClassical
Music sources. A close second choice for Background Music is Instrumental Jazz. In our
neighborhood,KAXEisagoodsourceofarelativelyquiet,ifeclectic,mixofmusicifyouare
intolatenightstudying.(They,too,offeraudiostreaming.)Ofcourse,agoodCDcollection
ofClassicalMusicorJazzwillsuffice,butyouwillnotgetthevarietyasfromtheRadio.

MiscellaneousStudyTechniques
Take thorough Lecture Notes. They will become your Second Textbook, an Alternate
Perspective from your readings of the Class Textbook. If you have the Time, Fortitude, or
Stubbornness,rewritingyourNotesneatly,withoccasionalextrastufffromtheText,willhelp
cementtheIdeasandExamplesintoyourBrainaswellasprovideacoherentReviewofthe
Topic. I personally had little time to do this as a Student, but if you do, do it on a weekly
basisorso.Thatway,itwillstillbefreshinyourMindandyouwon'thavetoguessatwhat
youwrotetwomonthsearlier.Eitherway,useyouNotesasadetailedCribSheetforyour
lastminuteStudyjustbeforeanExam.
If you don't understand something an Instructor
has said during the Lecture, don't be afraid to
ask for a Clarification. Don't accept a simple
reiteration of the same confusing statement

(confusing to you, anyway). Most good

Instructors delight in Questions being asked in
class,butbebriefandconcise.Don'tdragitout.
Ifnecessary,pursueyourQuestionafterclassor
make an Appointment for a later time. Some
InstructorsmaypreferthistoinclassQuestions,
particularly for large classes, so be sure to
understand his Policy on this. But the Bottom
Line is, "There is no such thing as a dumb
question, except for the one that is not asked."
Keep in mind, though, any Question should be Should have asked the burning question that
wasonhismindwaybackinSurgery101,huh?
relevanttothetopicoftheday(orweek).
A lot of Students highlight or underline in
their Textbooks as they read it. That's OK. I
have done it, and still do. It is important to
highlight the right things, however, and also,
perhaps,attherighttime.Highlightingonthe
First Pass is inappropriate certainly, and
maybe even on the Second Pass. Whenever
youhighlightcertainSentencesorPhrases(I
likenonflourescentyellowmyself),makesure
itisapointyoudounderstand,notapointyou
don't understand. Reminding yourself of your
lackofunderstanding of something does you
nogoodandmaynegativelyreinforceit.Think
positive. You will get it eventually, just don't
highlightituntilyoudo.Gobackearlierinthe
sameSectionandrereadit.Dothesamewith
therelevantpartsofyourLectureNotes. Ask
a fellow Classmate. If you get really
desperate, ask the Instructor. Just don't give
up.IfitseemslikeyourjusthittingyourHead
against the proverbial Brick Wall, STOP. (If
you don't, you'll just get a headache.) Go do
Only the (positively) important passages are something else for a while to let your
highlighted. Notice there are two levels of
Subconscious work on it. A good way to test
highlighting here, the yellow, done on the first
detailed reading, and the red, on the second. Also, your Understanding of something is to try to
thetypicallywideoutsidemarginsgiveyouplentyof explain it to someone else. If you have no
room for notes to yourself. Click on the image for availableandwillingaudience,talktoyourself
thefullsizeversion.
out loud as you explain it. The mere
VerbalizationofanewConceptforcesyoutoorganizeyourThoughtssothatyourspoken
wordswillactuallyhelpyoulearnit.

PrioritiesSelfDisciplineRecreation
Set your Priorities as a College Student. One set of Priorities should be a listing of your
mostimportantCoursesdowntoyourleastimportant.YourClassesintheMajorshouldbe
atthetopoftheList.AnothersetofPrioritiesshouldbeaNoBrainer:YourClassescome
first, everything else second. (Of course, eating, sleeping (no more than eight hours), and
bathingtrumpevenyourMajorClasses.)Ifyouhaveto,setminimumdailyStudyGoalsthat
mustbemetbeforePlaying.Atanyrate,sticktoyourpriorities.It will be a good habit that
willdoyouwellaftergraduation,whenyouhavetoliveintheRealWorld.
There are no short cuts to Studying.

Deliberately skipping Classes and not doing

your Assignments create very noticeable
Effects that your Instructors easily see. You
can not cover up these Effects by asking
Questions in and out of class, or by repeating
memorized Phrases on an Exam. Your
Instructors are interested in how you arrived at
your Answers more than the Answers
themselves. It is the appropriate Reasoning,
theProblemSolvingSkills,thatyoudisplayto
your Instructors and will eventually master that
will make you a valuable Professional
Physicist, Engineer, or Mathematician upon
Graduation.AnditrequireslotsofStudyingand
Practicetogettothatpoint.

The proverbial Brick Wall. Bang your head

against this for a while and you will indeed get a
headache to remember (no memorization
needed.).

AfteryouhaveestablishedasetofgoodStudyHabitsandstarttoexperiencethebenefits,
you will begin to understand the statement "Talent alone won't get you where you want to
professionallygonearlyaswellasSelfDiscipline"(thatis,theDisciplineofgoodhabitsthat
you impose upon yourself). History is full of individuals who were smart and talented, and
had the Opportunities to take advantage of their Intelligence and Skill, but failed to
accomplishanything.TheyfailedbecausetheylackedtheSelfDisciplinerequiredtodevelop
theirTalentandmaintainthePatiencetoconstructively use it. Withrespecttostudyingfor
yourclasses,Iwillgosofarastosay"SelfDisciplineissomuchmoreimportantthatitcan
makeupforanylackofTalentyoubelieveyouhave!"
One more Caveat: Don't forget to have some Fun. You'll
needittokeepyourLifeinBalance,especiallyifyoudevote
a lot of Time and Effort to your Studies. There are two
Canonsthatapply.Theharderyouwork(thatis,study),the
harderyoumustplay,andThemoreintellectualyourWork,
thesimplershouldbeyourPlay.Just make sure your Play
doesn't get in the way of your Studies, and generally don't
letitbeonthespurofthemoment.
Now I can answer
the
"complaints"
mentioned earlier
about getting As
and Bs in other
classesbut not in these Science classes that seem
so much more difficult. Studying the Sciences
requires more than mere Scholarship. It also
requiresknowledgeofthe(scientificallyestablished)
Facts, how they are discovered, and how they
uniquelyfittogethertocreateaBigPicturethatmay
well be at odds with prior established conclusions. Mr. Spock when he was a mere Lieutenant
Although there is a lot of Creativity involved, the Commander in the original 1960's Star Trek
great bulk of the effort in Science is arriving at televisionseries.
logical,selfconsistent,anduniversalUnderstandingsthatincludeall the Facts. Academic
study outside the Sciences and Mathematics does not always require this level of
carefulnessanduniversality,althoughitcan(andfrequentlydoes).Simplysaid,youcannot
bullshit your way through Science: Faulty or incomplete "facts" or Assumptions, even if
subsequentlycoupledwithperfectLogicandScholarship,areworthlessinScience.(Captain
A fourway balance. Hard Work
must be balanced by Hard Play
while High Intellectual Thought
needs to be balanced by
IntellectuallySimplePlay.

SpocksaiditbestinStarTrekVI:TheUndiscoveredCountry:"Logicisonlythebeginning
of wisdom, not the end.") Guessing doesn't work either. Studying Science requires the
same quality of effort as doing Science. Hence, what might have worked before in a non
Scienceclasswon'tworknowinaScienceclass.Andbecauseoftheextraeffortneededto
achievethesameacademicgrades,ScienceclassesAREmoredifficult.
But it isn't all that bad. Why? In my opinion, I have yet to meet a college student who is
incapableofachievinganA+inaPhysicsclass(presuming,ofcourse,thatallprerequisites
andHighSchoolGraduationRequirementsweremetpriortotheclassinquestion).Theonly
reasonsastudentdoesnotsoreachtheA+areBadStudyHabits,LackofInterest,orLack
of Time. These reasons have nothing to do with Intellectual Capacity, however. So never
thinkofyourselfasnotbeingsmartenoughtodoPhysics.Rather,atworst,viewyourselfas
someonewithIntereststhatlieelsewhere.

Conclusion
IfyoufollowtheIdeaspresentedhere,andgetintothehabitofputtinginsufficientamounts
ofQualityStudying,youwilleventuallydiscoveritsDividendsarepriceless.TheDividends
willincludeEfficiencyofUnderstandingandSkill,anAutomaticViewoftheBigPicture
simultaneoustoAttentiontoDetailandtheRelationshipbetweenthem,andareputation
forbeingReliableandProductive.

MoreStuff
For other sources for Study Hints, use Google or some other Search Engine using
combinationsofthekeywordsstudy,studyhints,physics,engineering,andmathematics. A
very good article on how to study Physics, although a bit dated (and sans pictures), was
written more than 50 years ago by Seville Chapman. Donald Simanek of Lock Haven
Universityhascreatedaslightlyeditedpdfversionofit.Chapman'sarticle"HowtoStudy
Physics"isavailablehere.AnothergoodarticleonhowtostudyPhysicsthatisabitmore
recent (1977, revised 1997) is by David R. Hubin and Charles Riddell at the University of
Texas at Austin. Hubin's and Riddell's article (revised by Lawrence C. Shepley) "How to
StudyPhysics"ishere.
Iwon'twishyouGoodLuckbecauseyoualreadyhaveit.LuckfavorsthePrepared.
BacktoHomePage.
LastupdatedOctober3,2009
2009 Stevens F. Johnson and the Dept. of Physics/Science, Bemidji State University. All rights are reserved unless explicitly stated
otherwise.
Thankstotheanonymouscontributorsofmostofthefiguresandpictures.Yourcontributiontotheacademichealthofthosewhohaveread
thisarticleisgreatlyappreciated.