Good Study Habits for Memorizing & Applying Formulas

[TailTactics]

What are some good study habits to pick up in order to remember formulas and even better yet, how to apply them in the right situation.

 

[Tide]

What are some good study habits to pick up in order to remember formulas and even better yet, how to apply them in the right situation.

The best way to remember formulas is to use them and acquire full understanding of the concepts behind them.

 

[Mk]

A good way to remember a few, is to write them down on a tiny piece of paper, get a mechanical pencil with a transparent grip (black is best), and place the paper inside, between the grip and the pencil. I thought of it myself, but its probably been done. It works.

 

[Stephan Hoyer]

A good way to remember a few, is to write them down on a tiny piece of paper, get a mechanical pencil with a transparent grip (black is best), and place the paper inside, between the grip and the pencil. I thought of it myself, but its probably been done. It works.

That is horrible. Besides, even route memorization is easier.

The best way to learn formulas and how to apply them is simply to practice doing problems. Practice problems like those you expect to find on the tests. If you don't know what to expect, ask your professor for advice on what and how to study or simply do extra problems from your book.

 

[abszero]

The best best way to learn formulae and their application is to derive them from first principles. But without that, lots of practice is the best route.

 

[Cyrus]

A good way to remember a few, is to write them down on a tiny piece of paper, get a mechanical pencil with a transparent grip (black is best), and place the paper inside, between the grip and the pencil. I thought of it myself, but its probably been done. It works.

That's a nice and stupid way to get kicked out of college.

 

[TailTactics]

Thanks for the advice. Doing extra problems will help in further understanding of the subject and the formulas used to apply. My AP Physics instructor told me the same thing and I would usually just look over the notes and only do the review sheet. But extra problems from the textbook does seem like the place to go. I also found a "home" in physics on this forum. Its awsome to know that help is available online as well, but it is best to be independent especially when it comes to coursework like this.
Mk's advise wouldn't work because i want to know the formulas, besides my instructor puts the formulas on the tests because he wants us to know how to apply the formulas to the situations in the problems, let alone remember them. Thanx again for your responses and feel free to post if you have any more advise.

 

[kant]

What are some good study habits to pick up in order to remember formulas and even better yet, how to apply them in the right situation.

for studying Physic/math book

a easy 3 step process

1) Read the texts with the intention on details and understanding.

2) Read the text repetitively until to the point that you can generalized everything that is before you in the pages/section/chapter. You should be able to 'visual' the concepts.

3) Do the problem, concept derivation, etc in your notebook, 'by memory'.

 

[Homer Simpson]

I saw on TV that taking Meds designed for people with Attention Deficit Disorder will make normal people into super studiers. All you have to do is act like a scatter brain in the doctors office and its off to honors land! Of course I would never suggest this.

 

[neurocomp2003]

attempt to write all the formulas onto a 1-2 sided sheet(like a crib sheet...except its a study guide). This way you don'thave to go flipping through pages inorder to remmeber a forgotten eq'n...after a while eihter you become effiecient in doing questions...or you know exactly where the equation is on the crib sheet...obviously the former is better.
Also Study in the wee hours of the morning(2am-9am) either by sleeping late(heh not attending classes) or waking up early. Reason being is that ther should be less noise in these hours.

 

[Stephan Hoyer]

Also Study in the wee hours of the morning(2am-9am) either by sleeping late(heh not attending classes) or waking up early. Reason being is that ther should be less noise in these hours.

...or you could find a library. Come on now.

 

[neurocomp2003]

Library is distracting =]

 

[michealsmith]

yeah like every1 else said ,the best way to LEARN the formulae is to ..derive and to use them over and over again in different problems .u can memorize them ,but formulaes r only useful if u know how they to use them .get a book to stick all ur derivations so u can refer to them .and then practice practice until u know how to use them i.e u can apply them to any problem...btw what level is this university..higher or high school...i say the lower it is the less memorizing u shud do.

 

[michealsmith]

mind maps r useful...by the way they arent brainstorms if ur interested and don't alreADY KNOW ABOUT THEM ...TONY BUZANS BOOKS R GOOD

 

[TailTactics]

Another good method is to take notes of your notes, somewhat like highlighting your notes. That way you'll get to the basics and save confusion. It also comes in handy if you're a person who takes a lot of notes, like myself. Simplify everything along with understanding.

 

[Pseudo Statistic]

What are some good study habits to pick up in order to remember formulas and even better yet, how to apply them in the right situation.

With most formulas where your teacher covers the derivation of them... I guess it is just a matter of understanding the concepts and how it relates to the basic formulas that you can derive it from..

For those formulas your teacher never bothered deriving-- or those concepts that he/she just mentioned without any further proof for--, "Ohhh.. because it's too hard and it uses calculus...", store them on your calculator.

 

[leon1127]

Try to understand the formulation behind every formula.
You have to memorise definition and find out why and how it is defined.

And you should try to write out the known and unknown while you are solving a problem (units often show where it should be put in a formula, so you have to be familiar what units shall be used in all formulas). Thus you can apply the needed formula in every situation.