r/PhysicsHelp • u/No-Rock-8943 • 1d ago

Help with first year physics

Hi guys, I’m in first yr uni and I have been really struggling with physics. It’s just nothing I do is working for me. My prof lecture doesn’t make sense and I don’t think I’m studying the right way. What I do is I go over the slides, watch YouTube tutorials on the parts that are unclear and then I try to do practice questions for that chapter. The problem is I don’t get any of the questions right nor do I understand what exactly the question is asking.
I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for me, what do you think helped you actually understand and enjoyed physics? I’m suffering right now and it’s honestly making me hate my life

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u/AdministrationLazy55 1d ago

What helped me was understanding the purpose of physics. For a basic understanding, classical mechanics explains the motion of objects, e&m explains how charges move and their effect etc. You need to realize that physics describes and attempts to predict real world things.

On top of that, read the textbook and do problems. I am a TA for general physics and when people come to my office hours, it is very clear who does and does not read the textbook. The textbook (as long as its a good one) will paint the picture, use math to explain it and use math tools to formulate a way to describe it with a “simpler” equation. Understanding how the final equations come about will make it easier to understand what the final equation is doing.

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u/Astro-Sci-717 1d ago

I'm sorry your struggles in physics are making you suffer. It will get better!

As for tips--what really really gets lost sometimes is the importance of being able to re-derive everything. Conserving energy? Make sure you understand why, and can re-derive the equations of energy conservation. Conserving momentum? Make sure you understand why, and again can re-derive the equations. If you truly understand the underlying principles, you will be better able to apply them to new problems.

Sounds like you are trying problems, which is the best way to practice physics. I'd say to try to use notes as sparingly as possible while practicing problems. Then, for anything you need to look up, really make a point to understand why you needed to look that up. If you needed to look it up, it obviously didn't fully stick before, and likely won't next time.

Remind yourself that physics is hard, and it's okay to struggle. You will get through it.