Tips to help my brother in Ib physics

[Kamen rider baron]

So I'm pretty sure we all know the effects of lack of sleep on grade perfomance. I bring this up because my brother is really struggling with physics and he said the he is going to study even harder and stay up till 12 and we both have to wake up around 5. I worry he might not get enough sleep and that's going to make him do even worse.  Whats a way he can improve without making such an extreme decision?

[Award Winning Boss]

Improve his study habits.

 

Revising longer doesn't equal better retention of knowledge. If he's so tired he's staring at the page doing nothing, then he's going to get bad grades, be stressed and think he was just unlucky. Even if it did you have to take into account that it's an extremely stressful thing to do. 

 

Since Physics is a technical subject, the main thing he needs to focus on is problem solving and understanding the concepts put before him.

 

There are a few ways to do this: 

 

1. Problem solving

 

This is a bit obvious. Spend time focusing on problems and how to answer them without any help. When he gets stuck, try a bit more then get a hint of some sort. But don't regard that as a completed question because it wasn't done without any help. Otherwise you get the common phrase 'Oh I knew that!' when in fact, you just read it. 

 

2. Backwards problem solving

 

Start with the answer and question and figure out how the answer was reached. This can be useful if you're stuck on a concept. Seeing what an answer should look like gives much needed direction. 

 

3. Make step by step notes of the problem. 

 

In lectures, when the teacher is explaining a problem (if he doesn't but you get confused, ask) your notes should be a journey through the problem rather than just taking down every word they say. That way, when you get home, you have a framework for what you've learnt in the lesson. 

 

4. Aim to know why not just how. 

 

This leans towards improving understanding rather than just memory. If you understand the principle behind a problem, you'll 1) remember it more because it's intertwined with other material and 2) you'll do better at similar problems. The best revision material often gives intuitive explanations of complex problems. Usually, after this, you don't just see numbers but a story or image to go with the problem. 

 

Then there's the normal advice of studying without distractions, have many breaks and sleep. 

[Djsporting]

I've been in your brother's position. Remember its not Quantity, but Quality. I think the source of the problem here is that he is trying to do several problems without learning all of the thory inside out first. He should produce his own notes for each topic, and sub-topic, write them up, use different sources, books etc. Then, when he knows the theory inside out he should do all questions and clarify all doubts. Wish him the best of luck, if he/you need anything regarding Physics feel free to P.M, and i'll give you my email so your brother can message me if he needs any help 

[El :3]

Hey

 

I find myself a bit like your brother in that I average about 4-5 hours sleep per night, as I have a lot of homework to try to get through. I guess it's slightly different for me, because I am used to such little sleep, and I struggle to get more than 6 hours normally anyway.

 

With physics, the best way to improve is to do heaps of practice questions - particularly past exam papers. I've found that there's also some amazing YouTube channels that help explain some of the topics:

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU_4LajnXERILx6XViGCIXA

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/CampbellMitch

 

Feel free to message me if you need any further help - physics is my favourite subject, and one of my best

[Hassan76]

Look

1) Let him feel free to contact me if needs an explanation for any concept or question in the past papers. I''ve gone through every single mcq physics question that exists; from 1998-  2016 specimen. My email is [email protected] btw

2) Before planning or intending to do any kind of hard work, let's just start by doing a small thing and testing whether it works or not. 

3) Studying smarter rather than harder in IB physics simply means: not leaving any question without grasping the concept and understanding it. And you should practice physics problems regularly. Use Tsokos textbook.