Six study secrets for Math and Science

Top 6 Study Tricks for Math & Science 1. Keep a 5x8” Notepad for Working Problems Fashion your own pads by cutting 8.5x11” printer-paper in-half and securing the sheets with a binder-clip. You’ll be surprised at how much more convenient it is to have a special place to work problems instead of cluttering your notebooks. I also found I tended to procrastinate less when a pad was readily available for algebraic exercises. 2. Ignore the Math Math-heavy subjects can feel overwhelming when they're first being learned. When dealing with a subject like Physics, read a chapter the first time ignoring the math, you can return to the chapter later with more confidence and interpret the math as it relates to what you already know. 3. Use Chapter Summaries as Daily Affirmations For example, most algebra textbooks have a chapter summary following every section. Reading the summary before digesting the entire chapter can enable your mind to anticipate what’s coming and prevent you from feeling lost or confused. Later, after you’ve learned the material, re-read the summaries regularly (daily if necessary) to keep your skills honed. These sections can also be extremely useful for quick reviews when preparing for a final exam. 4. Study-Aids and Pre-Solved Problems Go to the library and take out the biggest book of fully-solved problems you can find on the subject you’re studying. Never underestimate the wisdom of a book with the word Dummies printed on the front, the only way to become efficient at solving math problems is repetition and these books provide an easily digested learn-by-doing approach that can be invaluable. It may feel like cheating, but seeing many problems worked step-by-step is undoubtedly the quickest way to attain a comfort solving problems that would otherwise take years to develop. 5. Take Notes! This is obvious but seriously, manually writing an outline as you’re reading a chapter in a subject with convoluted terminology, like Organic Chemistry for example, not only provides a great resource to refer to later, but also engages your brain in a way that makes it easier to remember what you learn. Using a computer can be great for this too, but the permanence of an old fashion pen-and-paper forces you to be more conscious about what you’re writing. Its also an incredibly satisfying feeling when, after completing a chapter, you have several pages full of correlating definitions and factoids to commemorate your newly acquired knowledge! 6. Don’t Limit Yourself to a Single Textbook Just because a particular text was issued by your professor doesn’t mean its the only one available, all writers convey ideas differently and this can provide an advantage for students. While purchasing additional textbooks would be out of the question for most students, a surprising amount of them can be found posted free online with a simple Google search (e.g. ‘Modern Physics text PDF’). Often these books are OpenSource with the rights provided freely by the author under a Creative Commons license. This is a huge information resource that many students never tap into. Reading an alternative treatment of a subject by a second author can provide a massive edge when trying to grasp new and difficult concepts. Proceed to the Next Post: Introduction to Vectors for Physics Students Have suggestions about future content or need help solving a physics/math problem? 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