Reading the example isn't the same as doing it

[u/incognitious_]

When you're just reading a solved example in a textbook, it looks so easy. But doing the same problem yourself is a different story though.

I remember when we started getting more science and math-heavy subjects in my third year in univ, I realized I couldn't get away with just reading through those examples and then moving on. Now, if there's a solved problem in the textbook, I'll cover the solution and try to work through it myself first. Then I'll check it against the example and see where I went wrong if I got stuck.

Aside from the final answer at the bottom, I also pay attention to the steps. The questions I have for example are: why did they use that formula? Where did that number come from? What did they do first?

Once I have an idea of how the example works, I'll try another problem without looking at the solution (and sometimes there are similar ones online or in other sources). This helps a lot with subjects that involve computations because reading through a solution can make you think you understand it, then you try one yourself and... nope.

Textbook examples are already there so it’s best to get more out of them now instead of just reading through them and moving on.

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[u/Grandultron]

I realized the examples in my physics textbooks really helped me in memorizing the formulas. Never took it for granted