Revisiting Intro Physics: Retention and Preparation for Higher Levels

[confusedinMA]

I got A's in Intro Physics but after its now been a few years and I am reviewing this stuff so I will be better prepared. I am reading through an Intro Physics book but find that I have forgotten a lot of this stuff. I seemed to have retained a lot of the general ideas but am not doing incredible well solving problems. Is this normal? How well are you expected to retain this stuff, I'm scared that I'll be at a disadvantage in my higher level physics.

 

[Obis]

There is one simple rule - what has been understood well enough, is never forgotten. Try to understand the topic deeply - look for patterns, connect information, get a feeling of the whole picture. Our brain is smart - it erases information that's not useful, and that's the stuff that has been memorized.