The Student Room Group

I'm failing physics how can i succeed?

I'm getting a U if i don't pull my briny pants up and get smarter.

But how?

The teacher writes the answer and puts plenty of detail into them but i don't understand his answer, i don't understand WHY.

what can i do?

I can be ignorant and only remember so many answer and only so many way to do questions but i can't do it forever.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Ask your teacher for help! It's okay to ask if there's something you don't understand.

Also, try and do more independent work as you get taught the topics, make notes or flash cards, something to help you memorise and understand the principles behind the maths.
Reply 2
Original post by thefatone
I'm getting a U if i don't pull my briny pants up and get smarter.

But how?

The teacher writes the answer and puts plenty of detail into them but i don't understand his answer, i don't understand WHY.

what can i do?

I can be ignorant and only remember so many answer and only so many way to do questions but i can't do it forever.


Have an interest like Richard Feynman and Einstein did

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by thefatone
I'm getting a U if i don't pull my briny pants up and get smarter.

But how?

The teacher writes the answer and puts plenty of detail into them but i don't understand his answer, i don't understand WHY.

what can i do?

I can be ignorant and only remember so many answer and only so many way to do questions but i can't do it forever.


Are you good at maths? A lot of physics makes a lot more sense with the maths that is taken out at a level put back in, even if you only have a rough idea where stuff comes from it is still helpful
Think positively and spec read. Spec reading has helped me a lot.
Reply 5
Original post by thefatone
I'm getting a U if i don't pull my briny pants up and get smarter.

But how?

The teacher writes the answer and puts plenty of detail into them but i don't understand his answer, i don't understand WHY.

what can i do?

I can be ignorant and only remember so many answer and only so many way to do questions but i can't do it forever.


try to practice past paper question go to your science exam board eg AQA,EDEXCEL OCR

here is a youtube vid that helps me
https://www.youtube.com/user/MonkseatonPhysics

:smile:
Reply 6
Original post by aamirac
Ask your teacher for help! It's okay to ask if there's something you don't understand.

Also, try and do more independent work as you get taught the topics, make notes or flash cards, something to help you memorise and understand the principles behind the maths.

That's the problem, i've asked him for help so much he doesn't know how to make things any simpler for me to understand.
The applied physics bit is the problem here i can calculate super easy, i'm not too bad at maths.
Original post by Fish40
Have an interest like Richard Feynman and Einstein did

Posted from TSR Mobile

Unfortunately i'm not that into physics as they are :/

Original post by samb1234
Are you good at maths? A lot of physics makes a lot more sense with the maths that is taken out at a level put back in, even if you only have a rough idea where stuff comes from it is still helpful

Very. I'm aiming for 100% in C1 and 2 but i don't think i'll get it :/ i can consistently get A's almost every time though.
Again it's the physics bit which screws me over.
Original post by imaninja
Think positively and spec read. Spec reading has helped me a lot.

I don't think reading the spec will help me due to the fact that i'm okay with certain sections but i can't apply them in question.
In other words i know the material i can't use it well
Original post by geek567
try to practice past paper question go to your science exam board eg AQA,EDEXCEL OCR

here is a youtube vid that helps me
https://www.youtube.com/user/MonkseatonPhysics

:smile:


I can't do past papers since i'll get like 10/ max marks
i can't do some questions simply, i just don't know what it wants me to do.
To me it's all very vague.
Original post by thefatone
That's the problem, i've asked him for help so much he doesn't know how to make things any simpler for me to understand.
The applied physics bit is the problem here i can calculate super easy, i'm not too bad at maths.

Unfortunately i'm not that into physics as they are :/


Very. I'm aiming for 100% in C1 and 2 but i don't think i'll get it :/ i can consistently get A's almost every time though.
Again it's the physics bit which screws me over.

I don't think reading the spec will help me due to the fact that i'm okay with certain sections but i can't apply them in question.
In other words i know the material i can't use it well


I can't do past papers since i'll get like 10/ max marks
i can't do some questions simply, i just don't know what it wants me to do.
To me it's all very vague.


The thing with physics exams is that there are a very limited number of questions that they can ask you. This sounds counter intuitive as if you look at past papers you will see all manner of weird problems, which change every year and are completely different. These questions are, in reality, the same question over and over with a different disguise each year - the specification requires you to know how to deal with a pretty limited number of scenarios, so any 'weird' scenarios given is just a simple one in reality, you just need to work out which simple scenario is pretending to be a weird one this time around.
Reply 8
Original post by samb1234
The thing with physics exams is that there are a very limited number of questions that they can ask you. This sounds counter intuitive as if you look at past papers you will see all manner of weird problems, which change every year and are completely different. These questions are, in reality, the same question over and over with a different disguise each year - the specification requires you to know how to deal with a pretty limited number of scenarios, so any 'weird' scenarios given is just a simple one in reality, you just need to work out which simple scenario is pretending to be a weird one this time around.


I believe there is not .-.

This is the problem because (in mechanics for example) when they start moving away from seesaw's planks particle and vehicles and things like that and start moving towards anything on the spec such as nuclei other weird stuff, waterfalls and all that, that's is when i screw up, because more often than not they'll have some weird twist which i will be 100% susceptible to and i won't know about because i'm never done that type of question before.

Tis not... ._. i can't see how it's simple, they're all weird with a silly twist which gets me every single time and the twist is different every time too so i can never use that info of when i got caught out on that question and apply the same tactic to another because no other question will have something which requires me to use that tactic.
Original post by thefatone
I believe there is not .-.

This is the problem because (in mechanics for example) when they start moving away from seesaw's planks particle and vehicles and things like that and start moving towards anything on the spec such as nuclei other weird stuff, waterfalls and all that, that's is when i screw up, because more often than not they'll have some weird twist which i will be 100% susceptible to and i won't know about because i'm never done that type of question before.

Tis not... ._. i can't see how it's simple, they're all weird with a silly twist which gets me every single time and the twist is different every time too so i can never use that info of when i got caught out on that question and apply the same tactic to another because no other question will have something which requires me to use that tactic.


I never said that answering the question was simple. I said that ultimately every complex situation is a simple one, once you have worked out how to get from the complex to the simple one. The hard part of physics isn't the plugging numbers in at the end, it's working out what info you have and don't have and using that to come up with a simple model for the weird situation in the first place
here is what I would do. I would go through your notes & spec ASAP and highlight anything that you don't understand. then either email or visit your teacher when you can and let them know that you don't understand it! they are there to help you, i know asking for advice can sometimes be intimidating - but they will assist! if you need to, you can always message me and i can try and explain stuff that you don't understand? i am always happy to help :smile:


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by thefatone
That's the problem, i've asked him for help so much he doesn't know how to make things any simpler for me to understand.
The applied physics bit is the problem here i can calculate super easy, i'm not too bad at maths.

Unfortunately i'm not that into physics as they are :/


Very. I'm aiming for 100% in C1 and 2 but i don't think i'll get it :/ i can consistently get A's almost every time though.
Again it's the physics bit which screws me over.

I don't think reading the spec will help me due to the fact that i'm okay with certain sections but i can't apply them in question.
In other words i know the material i can't use it well


I can't do past papers since i'll get like 10/ max marks
i can't do some questions simply, i just don't know what it wants me to do.
To me it's all very vague.


look at the markscheme and see where you have gone wrong and when you mark your work see which one you don't know and revise that topics there is also another website which is really good if you learn from it
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/physics/
Reply 12
Original post by geek567
look at the markscheme and see where you have gone wrong and when you mark your work see which one you don't know and revise that topics there is also another website which is really good if you learn from it
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/physics/


And what do i do if i don't understand what the mark scheme's on about?
Go over basic theory, of why things happen.
You seem to be good at maths, so you should get mechanics ok with some of the tricky rules that you have to remember.
Apart from the rules, equations are the main thing. AS Physics is literally plug'n'chug with equations. Find this and that and free marks!
The explanations are the hardest bits, but again going back to basic theory will help with this. Understanding why something works in physics is worth alot
Original post by thefatone
And what do i do if i don't understand what the mark scheme's on about?


the markscheme is very clear on what you had to write
go to your science teacher and explain what u don't understand
i'm not good at physics at all (the highest i've got is a B) so i go do past exam question, mark it, and memorise what it is saying and if i don't understand then i'll go on youtube videos where it explains an topic and if i still do not get it then i go to my physics teacher but if your physics teacher is not very good then go to another physics etc teacher.
try to be confident in class when you do not understand something and ask for help.

https://getrevising.co.uk/resources?q=&sl=gcse%2Cphysics&filter_kind=&go=
this is really good and it is called "get revising" there is past paper for every subject and notes etc
i hope you will do well in physics:smile::borat:
Original post by thefatone
I'm getting a U if i don't pull my briny pants up and get smarter.

But how?

The teacher writes the answer and puts plenty of detail into them but i don't understand his answer, i don't understand WHY.

what can i do?

I can be ignorant and only remember so many answer and only so many way to do questions but i can't do it forever.


What exam board are you doing?
Original post by thefatone
That's the problem, i've asked him for help so much he doesn't know how to make things any simpler for me to understand.
The applied physics bit is the problem here i can calculate super easy, i'm not too bad at maths.


It might be that you are overthinking the question too much. It helps to underline/highlight key information and to gather an understanding on how toapproach the question. Even if it's the wordy ones.
Reply 17
Original post by geek567
the markscheme is very clear on what you had to write
go to your science teacher and explain what u don't understand
i'm not good at physics at all (the highest i've got is a B) so i go do past exam question, mark it, and memorise what it is saying and if i don't understand then i'll go on youtube videos where it explains an topic and if i still do not get it then i go to my physics teacher but if your physics teacher is not very good then go to another physics etc teacher.
try to be confident in class when you do not understand something and ask for help.

https://getrevising.co.uk/resources?q=&sl=gcse%2Cphysics&filter_kind=&go=
this is really good and it is called "get revising" there is past paper for every subject and notes etc
i hope you will do well in physics:smile::borat:

clear but doesn't clarify everything.
like i said before i do go to the teacher, they explain to me but i still don't understand it and they tell me they can't express the info in any simpler way, then they leave me to do more work on it.
what i'm trying to do but every question is almost different, to do the calculations is easy, to get the values for the calculation is difficult.
done this before and they pretty much said the same things as my physics teacher .-.
i have the balls i do ask, even when everyone laughs as me for being such a retarded simpleton i still ask but i never get it.
i'll have a look and hopefully i can give me a remedy to this problem i've been having...

BTW I'M DOING AS NOT GCSE(i've already done gcse xD)
Original post by *Alisha*
What exam board are you doing?

it's aqa i'm sure....

Original post by aamirac
It might be that you are overthinking the question too much. It helps to underline/highlight key information and to gather an understanding on how toapproach the question. Even if it's the wordy ones.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4054175&p=64536329#post64536329

I don't see the true way to do things, not that i don't understand the question i know what i have to do but i don't do it in the best most efficient way possible.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by thefatone
clear but doesn't clarify everything.
like i said before i do go to the teacher, they explain to me but i still don't understand it and they tell me they can't express the info in any simpler way, then they leave me to do more work on it.
what i'm trying to do but every question is almost different, to do the calculations is easy, to get the values for the calculation is difficult.
done this before and they pretty much said the same things as my physics teacher .-.
i have the balls i do ask, even when everyone laughs as me for being such a retarded simpleton i still ask but i never get it.
i'll have a look and hopefully i can give me a remedy to this problem i've been having...

BTW I'M DOING AS NOT GCSE(i've already done gcse xD)

it's aqa i'm sure....


http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=4054175&p=64536329#post64536329

I don't see the true way to do things, not that i don't understand the question i know what i have to do but i don't do it in the best most efficient way possible.


lol this is awkward i'm doing gcse
hahaha:colondollar:
o well from my experience i totally know what u mean. in an exam or when you are answering a question and you know what to write about just write out EVERYTHING you know and hope for the best .
moreover, it depends on a type of question. tbh i'm not doing A LEVEL but it kinda does not matter whether your answer are really complexed as you would rather give a very complexed ,well written answer than a simple one which will only give you a few marks.however it does depend on whether you are a fast writer as if you are writing too much for one question then you might miss out on the other. here is an A LEVEL revision web. Again i hope i helped you a little.try not to get too stressed as thing will just get worse,
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/as-and-a-level/physics-a-2450/subject-content

http://physicsnet.co.uk/a-level-physics-as-a2/
Reply 19
Original post by geek567
lol this is awkward i'm doing gcse
hahaha:colondollar:
o well from my experience i totally know what u mean. in an exam or when you are answering a question and you know what to write about just write out EVERYTHING you know and hope for the best .
moreover, it depends on a type of question. tbh i'm not doing A LEVEL but it kinda does not matter whether your answer are really complexed as you would rather give a very complexed ,well written answer than a simple one which will only give you a few marks.however it does depend on whether you are a fast writer as if you are writing too much for one question then you might miss out on the other. here is an A LEVEL revision web. Again i hope i helped you a little.try not to get too stressed as thing will just get worse,
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/as-and-a-level/physics-a-2450/subject-content

http://physicsnet.co.uk/a-level-physics-as-a2/


The problem is translating the question not so much as writing out what i know and calculating.

that's too late since i'm super stressed(i refuse to admit it even though i know i'm stressed) and all my other subject have suffered due to extended time working on physics
(edited 7 years ago)

Quick Reply

Latest