Inquisitive studying bad for short term success and good 4 long term?

[Vividly]

Im having a issue with studying physics. When I receive a HW problem I dive deep into the problem in a holistic way. I tend to start solving problems that are related to the HW problem but are not the HW problem itself. For instance, I received a pendulum problem and was asked to find its angular velocity at the lowest point. I found the distance the pendulum travels through the curved path (d) and also the distance from the starting point to the point directly across from it (A). I noticed that the distance (d) it greater than distance (A) through calculation. Instead of going back to the question the problem asked I wondered why that was because I thought curved paths were quicker to a destination than a straight one(My lack of knowing physics). I got this idea from a plane traveling from one destination to another. I did ask my professor and was told it’s different on a 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional plane. The main point is, I wondered off into thought to help me better understand my current understanding of the world. I spent a day and 1/2 on this one problem. I would like to know if I should ignore the gnawing feeling to understand more to do well on Test and HW given the time span we have to learn the material.

Side note: The distance from the highest point directly to the lowest point (c) would still be smaller than the curved path(from what I see).

 

[hutchphd]

When I receive a HW problem I dive deep into the problem in a holistic way

I would suggest that you

1. first try to supply the requested answer
2. If unable then study relevant notes and sections of the book and goto (1)
3. Now go back and dive deep as much as you want. Go to your Prof's office hours and ask questions. Remember you are paying his salary

It is very easy to drown while deep diving, because there are no depth markers.

 

[vela]

I'd say this is really an issue of time management. Get the work you need to done to succeed in your classes, and then explore more deeply in your free time. It's not really an either-or situation.

 

[romsofia]

It sounds like you have issues staying on task and a potential attention disorder. You had a task to do, and instead of finishing it, you pretend that you're doing something more fruitful that garners a "better" understanding of the world. Cool, then if that was the case, why would you be struggling in physics? Reality check: you're wasting time. Finish your assignments, explore after. It's not always fun, but that's school.

If you want to be successful in school, you focus on school.