How many hours per day should I learn physics and maths

[riley4190]

Hello everyone, I'm a high school student, currently in 10th grade.
I'm going to major in physics, I'm interested in how many hours should I study physics and maths per day to do my best and to be as smart as possible? I don't only want to master high school materials, I also want to learn advanced physics and maths as early as possible.

 

[symbolipoint]

Hello everyone, I'm a high school student, currently in 10th grade.
I'm going to major in physics, I'm interested in how many hours should I study physics and maths per day to do my best and to be as smart as possible? I don't only want to master high school materials, I also want to learn advanced physics and maths as early as possible.

This depends on how much time you can or want to handle. Also important is how much time YOU need in order to remember what you study & learn. Be aware that some people can not simply assign themselves a certain quantity of time; but are best to study as much as needed and not check how much time.

 

[riley4190]

This depends on how much time you can or want to handle. Also important is how much time YOU need in order to remember what you study & learn. Be aware that some people can not simply assign themselves a certain quantity of time; but are best to study as much as needed and not check how much time.

Agree with you but sometimes I learn for five hours, sometimes for one hour, I think I should have a specific schedule and I was interested how many hours do the best students study.
I can remember what I study quite easily, and I'll spend as long time for studying as I have.
My question is how many hours do the best students study, but I assume that this won't change anything, I just need to know the appriximate amount of time which I should spend for studying physics in order to be prepared for undergraduate level science.

 

[fresh_42]

Hello everyone, I'm a high school student, currently in 10th grade.
I'm going to major in physics, I'm interested in how many hours should I study physics and maths per day to do my best and to be as smart as possible? I don't only want to master high school materials, I also want to learn advanced physics and maths as early as possible.

Karen E. Smith has a qualified answer to this:
http://www.ams.org/publications/journals/notices/201707/rnoti-p718.pdf

 

[symbolipoint]

Karen E. Smith has a qualified answer to this:
http://www.ams.org/publications/journals/notices/201707/rnoti-p718.pdf

I made a quick look at the article. I used the browser's word search feature to find keywords "hours" and "study" but found nothing. Obviously I did not read the article thoroughly. I in this manner did not find an answer to nataanidze's question.

 

[fresh_42]

I made a quick look at the article. I used the browser's word search feature to find keywords "hours" and "study" but found nothing. Obviously I did not read the article thoroughly. I in this manner did not find an answer to nataanidze's question.

I thought about this part pretty much at the end:

"What advice do you have for current graduate students in math? Smith: Start where you are at, and don’t compare yourself to others. Work hard, get help, and stay on the path. Sometimes you will fail. That’s OK. Enjoy what you are doing now, and don’t forget to play, mathematically and otherwise. Do lots of calculations and examples, be curious, be solid on the basics. Also, remember to take care of yourself. Take one day a week off work. Sleep well and exercise. Have a social life. Find advice and mentoring from many different people at different places in their careers and even in different careers. Take it all in carefully, but much will be contradictory, so sort out what feels right and best for you. You can soothe a lot of anxiety by helping others. So instead of looking around your graduate program and worrying about how many students are “better” than you, why not look around for someone you can help pull up?"

So an actual schedule is implicitly given by the restrictions of social life, exercises, sleep.
In the end, every individual has to find his own way and there is no rule which applies to all.

 

[symbolipoint]

Hello everyone, I'm a high school student, currently in 10th grade.
I'm going to major in physics, I'm interested in how many hours should I study physics and maths per day to do my best and to be as smart as possible? I don't only want to master high school materials, I also want to learn advanced physics and maths as early as possible.

Maybe that is the wrong question. More important is HOW you study and with what regularity. If you study well, the time will take care of itself. You need to study Mathematics and Physics EVERYDAY or nearly everyday. Read and re-read the textbook sections and their parts, also your classroom notes. Do the example exercises as you reach them in your book/s. Do your assigned problem exercises, and also more than what was assigned. Try to study ahead if possible.

Did I say the time should take care of itself? Check how much time you did use. Maybe 2 or 3 hours per day per course.

 

[kuruman]

The rule of thumb in the US system is "spend three times the credit hours per week" on each course. Most courses (without lab or recitation) are worth three credits, so this means nine hours per course studying and working in addition to the three contact hours. It is assumed that these nine hours are without breaks or other distractions and that they are a necessary but not a sufficient condition to do well. This means that you need to spend at least 9 hours per week on each course, more if you feel you are not getting it. So, if you have the standard 5-course load this means 45 hours per week working for your classes and 15 hours per week going to classes for a total of 60 hours per week or an average of 10 hours a day (allowing for moving between classes) devoted to course work. Assuming two hours a day for eating and personal hygiene and 8 hours a day sleeping, that's 20 hours. There are 4 hours a day for leisure. Moral: It's important to set your priorities.

 

[Stephen Tashi]

I don't only want to master high school materials, I also want to learn advanced physics and maths as early as possible.

You express the desire to "cover the material". Very few people succeed in such a goal working alone and if they do succeed, it takes them much longer than simply taking a course that covers the same topics. If you plan to study by youself, I suggest that you find better motivation than merely aiming to "master" certain topics.

Some people are motivated by competition. They are motivated to leran things that help them in mathematics competitions or aid in impressing their their friends. (e.g. read about the youth of Richard Feynman).

Some people are motivated by a practial goal such a building their own telescope, designing a better water sprinkler etc. That motivates them to learn anything useful in attaining that goal.

Some people are motivated by curiosity about a particular problem or topic. If they are wise, they study how textbooks treat the subject.

If you have strong motivation, you won't need to plan your study by budgeting hours. You'll think about the material day and night.

The type of planning where you set certain hours to study works best when you are taking a course and thus studying with a certain amount of guidance and help.

 

[gibberingmouther]

I'm just now getting good at studying math/mathematical science, probably because I'm more intellectually mature than when I started and I'm able to take my time. When I was taking 4 courses per semester I may have done alright, but with the exception of Calculus I or Discrete Math (my two favorite courses) I feel I wasn't learning the subject matter in a deep and connected way. For example now I see how cool linear algebra is, now that I take my time going through the text and try to be thorough.

If you're doing self study you might have more leisure to investigate how the math you're studying works. You don't have to just cram and memorize, which is never fun. Since you're starting early you have an advantage and you don't have to cram.

I wouldn't try to time yourself when you study. Sometimes you might need some discipline when motivation is lacking, but otherwise I would follow your interests. Also, caffeine can help, especially if you're me!

 

[MidgetDwarf]

Dont skimp on geometry. Oftentimes, in an introductory physics course (calculus based), I noticed that the majority of time classmates looked up solutions, was because they did not know geometry. Ie, problems involving an inclined plane. Most students memorize where the angle theta is, but not many know why. How about pendulums, gyroscopes etc?

 

[symbolipoint]

Dont skimp on geometry. Oftentimes, in an introductory physics course (calculus based), I noticed that the majority of time classmates looked up solutions, was because they did not know geometry. Ie, problems involving an inclined plane. Most students memorize where the angle theta is, but not many know why. How about pendulums, gyroscopes etc?

MidgetDwarf might really mean, don't skip on "trigonometry". Geometry as from high school is good to know; at least good to have studied once; but one really learns Trigonometry better in a regular Trigonometry course (either in high school or at a college or university). Otherwise, there are at least some things about (basic) Geometry which need to make sense in order to handle studying Physics. Much of that basic stuff can come from instruction outside of a regular high school Geometry course.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Thread locked OP is no longer active.