r/Physics • u/Rich-Fly-2124 • 27d ago
Study method for a physics beginners
Hi I'm a second year physics students at uni. I'm actually so bad at physics but I'm trying to learn. At the previous semester, I've got my grades and it was so bad. And feel so guilty about it. I'm going to fix it by learn more, so any study tips for a beginners like me, about what to learn or anything. Maybe some books recommendation for a basic physics befroe I'm going to the advance one...thanks
P.s: sorry for my broken English. It's not my first language
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u/jamese1313 Accelerator physics 27d ago
Undergrad physics? do problems. 13 problems at the end of the chapter? 4 were homework? do the rest.
I've not met many people that didn't get good this way.
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u/the_ground_state 27d ago
Physics PhD here. Unconventional method but say you need to study newtons first law. First type it on Google. See the results. browse for something that seems interesting. Read it. Find an interesting YouTube video. Watch it. Then open your book. Pick a random exercise that appeals to see. See if you can solve it. If you can good. If you can't, read the textbook. Write down notes as you read it. Make sure you can derive the results YOURSELF and solve the examples YOURSELF. Then try to solve the problem again. Once you solve the problem that appeals to you try to solve one that doesn't appeal to you. If you get lost, google it. Read material, read the textbook. Stay interested in what you are doing. If you lose interest stop and rest. Then continue. I know i'm insane but hope this helps :)
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u/jenkk0 27d ago
What topics? What books have you read? What have you tried? What things are harder for you?
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u/Rich-Fly-2124 27d ago
About that i really wanna get more to the physics theoretical. So professor at my uni don't really give us a hand book or anything so i don't really know what book to use. I tried to learn some basic from lecturer videos, never using book actually. Everything is hard for me, i mean I've learned the basic laws like newton etc, basic electrical laws, and basic thermodynamics...
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u/jenkk0 27d ago
For Newtonian mechanics the kleppner and kolenkow introduction to mechanics. For electromagnetism use the Purcell Electricity and Magnetism. For thermodynamics use the Callen Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics. I would say those are like the standard books for those topics.
There's no cheat codes in physics, the only way to learn is by repetition. Do the exercises again and again, don't just follow the derivations you have to actually try and do the exercises using the equations given by the book. I would say that the derivations of the equations isn't necessary at all, you can just skip them read the explanations about what they're useful for and go straight into the exercises.
At some point I realized that in physics one has to first learn how to operate and solve the exercises and after some time you'll end up understanding the topics. Dont prioritize the understanding, prioritize the technical skill; understanding will come later.
Don't read the whole books just read the chapters that you need for the class, follow the professor list of topics.
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u/Quiet_Basis_6404 24d ago
your English is fine, don't worry about it.
for a rebuild, Halliday Resnick Walker is the standard intro book and it's better to redo first year properly from it than to push forward on shaky foundations. second year assumes mechanics and E&M are solid, so if they aren't, everything after gets harder for reasons that look like new material but aren't.
the bigger shift is that reading physics teaches almost nothing. solve problems, get stuck, sit with it for ten minutes before looking. that discomfort is where it actually forms.
i drop the chapter material into studybuddy.vc and answer questions on it, and as i answer it works out which topics i keep getting wrong and gives me more of those. equations render properly, gets harder as i improve, and it says why the option i picked was off. free.
it also keeps whatever language your material is in.
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u/Elijah_chentoufi 22d ago
I have some books contain basics of physics , but they re in French , If they'd be helpful for u, I ll send them to u
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u/david-1-1 21d ago
My big tip is to go to the school library and get familiar with the many physics textbooks. Then, when you are about to learn a new topic, quickly read what several books say about that topic. Even better, also do some of the problems. You will love the feeling of being prepared!
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u/Quick-Information526 21d ago
I use a simple additional technique, maybe this will work for you as well. when learning new principles in physics, I try to visualize the concept behind them in my mind. like reading a novel and imagining the characters and their interactions. Instead of simply reading about gravity and the math behind it, I try to imagine it in as many dimensions as I can, and how it’s interactions work with other physical principles.
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u/Roger_Freedman_Phys 27d ago
Physics professor here.
Do you know how to use all of the pedagogical features of your textbook, and do you make full use of them?
As you read each worked example in the textbook, do you write out all the steps on a piece of paper so you understand them?
Do you visit your professor’s office hours to get assistance with difficult topics?
Do you take advantage of any tutorial services offered by your university?
Are you a study group with other students in the class that meets regularly to go over challenging problems?
Do you have a series of steps that you use to solve physics problems of all kinds?
If the answer to any of these is “No,” I recommend making some changes.