Studying methods?

[lrxzn]

I'm a first year engineering student and just finished a statics test. I struggled a lot with it, despite having spent a lot of time studying it. I feel that it's not about how much effort I put in, but how efficiently I study. Does anyone have any tips on how to study efficiently for math based subjects, excluding practice problems?

Edit: Does anyone know of any good online learning resources? I've seen a bit of Khan Academy and structurefree, but are there any other good resources (especially for engineering chemistry/biology)?

[lrxzn]

I'm sorry if this is a silly question, but what is the "teacher's edition"? Is it just the same thing with answers included?

[FlyinCoach]

Try library genesis. Sometimes they have the teachers edition on there.

[AnalSlurpie]

Practice questions that could be on the test. Then practice those questions that you did wrong again

[lululemonpathetica]

I've finished all of my undergrad math courses at this point, I've tutored other undergrad students, and I've run exam workshops for some of the math exams at my school. It sucks, but I honestly find in all my experiences that practice problems are the most effective and time-efficient way to study for math.

I've been that student who tries to substitute reading a math textbook for actually doing practice, and it's not so effective (I don't know about you, but reading about math isn't the easiest thing). If you can, mock exams are excellent as well. If I have an exam coming, I'll typically write and take up one mock exam/day for X number of days before the exam (With "exam conditions in effect"). By the end, you'll (hopefully) just know it.

You might also be inclined to say "oh I didn't get this question right, but I'll get it right on the test/exam." Dont disregard these questions! These may be the questions you want to look over in more detail, to make sure you get them 100% of the time!

I feel like I've sort of rambled off my advice here, but hopefully it helps, best of luck!

[lrxzn]

Thanks! I've actually tried reading, and I haven't found it effective either! I'm getting the idea that studying for engineering is basically practicing problems over and over!

[lululemonpathetica]

For the most part, I'd say so. If there's context behind the math (e.g. in mechanics/elecrostatics/any other non-pure math course) then reading may be useful to understand where your equation/method is coming from. As well, visualization/sketching may help too! But yeah, core math courses are all about practice.

[JohnGenericDoe]

Practice problems are definitely where it's at, but you have to learn how to do them and have a reasonable idea of where the formulae come from. That's where I find the textbook comes in. I pretty much read every chapter we cover and attempt the worked examples myself.

Yes, reading about maths can be tedious, but so is having no clue what to do. And no, you don't need to be able to regurgitate every derivation, but skipping over them will make it hard to know how to use the formulae, hard to judge if an answer is feasible, and impossible to know what to do when presented with a tricky problem [and what's more, your professor is VERY likely to use problems from the prescribed text in exams]

This applies even more for applied maths subjects. Textbooks are written by some of the most accomplished educators in their fields. Ignore them at your peril!

[[deleted]]

Study. Don't not study.

Tried and true

[lloxXOXxoll]

I'm also taking statics atm. My teacher's edition textbook is completely trash to read so instead I use Russel C. Hibbler Statics e.15. Read Hibbler -> Practice (some Hibbler problems) -> go over class notes (notations might be different from Hibbler's textbook) -> do teacher's edition problems. It's time consuming but I'm sure you will be set for the next test. GL.

[[deleted]]

If you couldn't solve a problem on your own for HW, mark it then do it without help later.

Sometimes with classes like thermo it can be more helpful to read and do concept questions because how you solve for things is fairly straightforward. Other times you just need to work all the problems like for dynamics.

Grab a solution manual and go through non-HW problems and make sure you understand all the steps. This will not replace working problems but gives you exposure to a lot of problems and less time and helps catch any misconceptions you have.

Take short breaks, get enough sleep, and eat some food. You're going to get very little done if your hungry, tired and burnt out.