Why is intro physics difficult for me?

HeLiXe

Are you doing a lot of physics problems in your study time? I find that doing a lot of problems really helps.

csnoob

OP: Dude, welcome to the club.

As a CS major myself, calc-based physics 1 was the toughest academic ordeal I've endured to date. It forced me to completely change my study habits - no longer were rote memorization and mindless plug-and-chug repetition sufficient for doing well in that class; I actually had to understand on a conceptual level. I was stuck on a mid-high B the entire semester, and felt like the biggest idiot every time I stepped into office hours with yet another "I'm sorry Dr. _____, but I have no idea how to start this problem" question. I genuinely felt bad having to constantly pester my professor with my idiocy, but he was definitely a patient, patient guy.

By the grace of the gods (and literally hours and hours of reading and doing practice problems), I managed to pull off an A, by the skin of my teeth. The amount of time I put into studying for physics 1 dwarfed that of my time even in calculus 2. The sad thing is, not long after I'd taken the course, the university I plan on transferring to revised their requirements, and no longer wanted the physics series. Given that I'd already taken a different physical science course in the past, that semester of mental anguish was unnecessary. Haha...but in the grand scheme of things, it was definitely a worthwhile experience.

Seriously, just read the material and do practice problems until you're blue in the face, and ask your professor questions until he's had enough and tells you to go away. It's just one of those courses where you can't brute force through it. Good luck!