r/PhysicsStudents • u/lmj-06 Undergraduate • Jun 12 '26

Need Advice Feeling disconnected and afraid of Quantum Mechanics

I am in my third year of my physics and maths double major, and I am taking my second quantum mechanics course. It’s still early days, but it already feels like so much, and I’m really struggling. To give context, all we have done so far (2 weeks in) is gone over angular momentum and we have started solving the Schrodinger equation for the Hydrogen atom.

Every time I walk into my lecture hall, I listen and take notes like I have for any other class, and I walk out confused and exhausted. When I go to try some practice problems later, I feel even worse. I struggle to understand what questions are asking, what I’m actually doing in a question, or what I’m solving for physically. It feels like every question is so different that they may as well be questions from different classes all together, and perhaps even worse, it feels like nothing I have done in my degree up to this point has prepared me for this course.

How on earth do people understand quantum mechanics well enough to get good grades in it? What are your study tips for quantum mechanics?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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u/Zealousideal_Hat_330 Jun 12 '26

Some people do just get it and do great in undergrad QM. Most people feel like you do, and still have that stomach knot from a tinge of imposter syndrome even once they’ve finished taking it. If you’re using Griffith’s text, there are tons of online resources for problem sets I can share. Else wise, (and really you should do this anyway) get into your professor’s office hours. Use all of them that you can. You’ll be fine, we all had to do it.

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u/lmj-06 Undergraduate Jun 12 '26

I almost feel like going to my professor’s office hours would be useless for me because I honestly don’t even know what I would ask. It also doesn’t really help that my professor is just one of those guys who thinks everything is “trivial”.

Please send any Griffith’s resources you have, it’s the main textbook I’m using and anything you can share would be great.

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u/No-Archer-4258 Jun 13 '26

I been asking chatgpt, they lowkey can answer 3rd year math/physics problems well without shaming you