The Student Room Group
fusionskd
Hi,
The title really says it all but what do you do to revise physics? Some people I know like to do past papers and some just read the textbook like a story book, but what is the best strategy?

Thank you

I think unless you have a photographic memory you can't beat doing questions. Physics is all about understanding and that's sometimes hard to pick up by merely reading. Saying that I personally like to read up on it, then do questions just so Im fairly familiar with what the question is asking of me.
Reply 2
Yes, I do have to say that you can't beat doing questions, however, that is really for when you're staring down the barrel of your exams.

We're not quite there yet? I must say I find reading a textbook really useful: I just read the tricky bits slowly or even out loud - great for when you are actually studdying the topic, or have some idea of what it's about....but it's got to be questions and lots of them.

On textbooks, it is really important to have a good one. My physics teahers gave us about 6, and i really only like one...but I do find it really helpfull to have a bit of a read of something that wasn't explained too well or when you weren't paying attention in class!
Reply 3
Papers, from the past...

:p:
Reply 4
Mr. Ed
Papers, from the past...

:p:



Or from the future if you had a time machine :biggrin:
Reply 5
Question, questions, questions, questions. As many as you can do without going mad. When you read a book, you might understand vaguely what's going on, but you won't be able to answer a complicated question on the topic. Doing problems makes you stop and think them through, and as well as finding out what the exam questions are likely to be like (and how to solve them), you gain a deeper understanding of the actual Physics involved.

I suppose the best way would be to read a certain section in the textbook, then do the question pertaining to that section. If you get stuck, have a look at the textbook again (looking at the answers is acceptable if you learn why they did what they did!). That way you're doing problems and essentially reading the textbook over and over (to check what that equation was....for example) so it all goes in properly.

If you read a textbook like a storybook, you'll have forgotten it all within a couple of days :p:

Questions? :p:
I find doing spider diarams/mind maps and the like useful.
Reply 7
Personally I just like to read through the book and toy around with ideas in my head. Then I do a past paper or two, but mostly reading. Of course this works for me, but you need to realise what works for you. If doing things while unicycling helps you remember then revise while unicycling. I think you see my point...
Reply 8
fusionskd
Or from the future if you had a time machine :biggrin:


Yeah that would be more useful :rolleyes:
Reply 9
Yeah, past papers and flashcards with formulas on.
Reply 10
Im kinda struggling in physics i read the text book but the problems are too difficult in the exam paper i try many questions and revise but still not gud results especially in phy 5 edexcel can anyone help?
Play Fifa
Reply 12
Original post by fusionskd
Hi,
The title really says it all but what do you do to revise physics? Some people I know like to do past papers and some just read the textbook like a story book, but what is the best strategy?

Thank you


As some others have said, the trick is to do LOADS, and I mean LOADS, of questions, preferably exam style. See the second post in this thread:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2312846&page=2

The questions there are great:biggrin:
(edited 11 years ago)
you/re welcome