Below are my comments after one of the relatively difficult tests. I believe that, many of my remarks are still applicable today.

I appreciate very much that a number of you took the time to come to talk to me about your test performance on the test you just took. I am glad that you gave me the opportunity to work with some of you on a one-on-one basis. This allows me to see students' thought processes in setting up a problem, and in working out the details toward solving a problem. I have some general advice, which I believe is applicable to, at least 50% of the students I spoke to. You need to develop a systematic way of solving a physics problem (or individual parts of a problem). Below I will suggest a systematic approach in doing physics problems which may be applicable in doing homework and in taking an exam. Among other things, the student must take into account his/her strengths and the nature and the level of individual problems involved to modify the approach so that it can be appropriate for him/herself.

Get organized: Work physics problems on blank sheets not on the printout of the problems. During an exam you are given a number of blank sheets. Divide them into two categories. For clarity I will refer to them as "scratch pages" and "work sheets". Similar division may also be desirable when doing your homework. Scratch pages are temporary "thinking pads". They will be trashed. Any worthwhile information should be transferred to your work sheet(s). The worksheet must have an organized layout. We suggest students only use one side of the worksheet. Each problem should begin with "givens" and "to finds" and the "sketch(es)", if needed. Problems in this course are sufficiently simple. It is unlikely that the solution to one problem would require more than one page. Whenever practical, avoid putting one problem on two worksheets. Label the pages of work sheets and problems on each page in an organized fashion.

1. Preliminary stage: Understand the question.

• Spend time to understand the question.
• Learn from the textbook a set of "generic symbols" used in labelling various quantities. It is important to memorize these generic symbols. So you can use them at ease. Use symbols as a short cut (e.g. often it is not necessary to write down the numerical values), to identity "the givens" and the "to find".
• Whenever applicable, sketch a diagram or diagrams and label them appropriately.
• Transfer all the key information for a given problem on to your worksheet. This is done so that you will be able to proceed to work on the problem with a minimal reference to the original Problem Printout, if at all.
• When doing your homework, if you are not able to understand a question, you should go back to: textbook, lecture notes, and/or the IQ questions which concern materials on similar topics.

2. Logical reasoning: Write down the correct physics equation(s)

• With the help of the course summary sheet, identify the physics principles and formulas which may be applicable to this problem. Incidentally, over half the students who came to talk to me did not come with their course summary sheet. I encourage you all to use the sheet as your study companion. It may help you to be more focused.
• Write down equations which correctly describe the "physics" of the present problem. From these equations, decide on a strategy to solve the present problem.

3. Analysis and results.

• Work out your answer.
• If your calculation is lengthy, see if you can try to shorten the steps. Usually there should only be 2-3 key steps. You need to spend time to check the key steps carefully. For instance in my comments on " This course requires rigorous discipline " those factors of sine, cosine, the inverse power laws and the change of potential energies are the key steps where one must go over the factors at least two or three times to ensure the correctness of the answers. I often use the analogy that one seldom makes a mistake on the first digit in one's bank account, since it is very important to the person. Students in physics should develop sensitivities in identifying the key steps in a calculation. These are the crown jewels of a problem. They should be handled with a great care.
• It is advisable to go through these 2-3 key steps toward the end of the exam. Some students told me that they had the correct answer but later on when they checked the problem again they changed from the correct answer to the wrong answer. This is not always the case. Physics has its objective reality. You are pursuing truth. I believe when physics is understood properly, the more you check the better it looks. As the quotation says: "Thou shalt know the truth. And the truth shalt set thou free."
• Check your answers by doing intuitive reasoning:
  • Visualize whether your answer is physically sensible.
  • Do the "extreme situation analysis" (the actual situation should be somewhere in between the two extreme cases.
  • Check the dimensional agreement, etc.

To sum up, I encourage you to develop and refine your approach in studying physics. The improvement of study habits, which you are going to acquire in this course could also have impact on your career. Please do come to see me if you need help. I am very interested in exploring with you how to improve your study habits.