How to Study Physics Effectively | Study With Me Physics Edition

There are two stages to studying physics effectively. The first stage is to actually learn the content and understand the subject, and the second stage is to use your new-found skills to prepare intelligently for your examinations. In this video, I talk about the first of the two stages. Don't worry though, the second stage will be coming soon!

So I know that a few of you have wanted me to make a video regarding what I do to study my subject. As it happens, I am getting back into re-learning a few of the courses I studied while I was a student at Cambridge. This is because I miss studying physics, but certainly not in an academic setting - I want to do it in my own time.

So I've devised a game plan to learn lots of physics topics over the next few months or so, and the tips / techniques I provide in this video will be really useful for those of you looking to learn more about the subject too. These tips all relate to the "understanding the subject" phase of your studies, as I mentioned earlier, and they consist of the following:

1) Flip-flop between topics you like, and topics you don't like. Do this on a day-to-day basis, so that the topics you like will keep you engaged and motivated, while the topics you don't like will push your boundaries and help you improve as a physicist.
2) Limit the amount of time you spend trying to figure out something that you don't understand. There needs to be a balance between giving something a good go, and maximising your learning in other areas. The key to this is, in my opinion, knowing when to stop. I recommend that as soon as you realise that something doesn't make sense, look at your watch. Set yourself an hour to figure it out. If you haven't understood it by the end of the hour, then MOVE ON!
3) So what do you do about the things that you don't understand at the end of the hour? Simple - talk to people about it. Teachers, colleagues, fellow students, parents, the internet, your dog, whatever! (OK maybe not the dog, as the whole point is having a two-way discussion). But talking about your problems is a very good way to see things in a new light.
4) Do lots of different problems and questions from the textbook / lecture notes / other sources. The only way to develop physics skills is to apply what you've learnt to unfamiliar situations, in order to gain a better understanding of the topic.
5) Don't put pressure on yourself to get through any quantity of work. Of course, this only applies when you don't have an exam coming up imminently, but I cannot stress how important it is to enjoy what you're studying as it will keep you coming back for more automatically. It won't feel like a chore.

So, thanks for watching guys, I hope these tips are useful. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel, and follow me on Instagram for 1 minute physics explanations, and Twitter for bad physics puns! Both are @parthvlogs

[TheRenegade]

I’m a tattoo artist been tattooing for 13 years I’m literally learning physics purely off of a love of science So thank you for teaching it

[orueom]

Parth is finding his own path with physics.

You're about to reach jedi master level of consciousness with physics

[drnick]

Parth is the coolest Physicist on Youtube

[poritoshnath]

Your 2nd point saved years. I literally spend 5 hours thinking about one problem

[pluscrazy]

Absolutely, we never get time to contemplate during our studies. I am learning physics (and chemistry) at 65 and your videos are very helpful 🙏

[ice]

This is a very interesting subject, I think most of the time physics students don't try to perfectionistically understand everything they're thrown at, likely because the material itself is not presented in a step-by-step manner especially in lectures. On the other hand, math students seem to be given more time to digest essentially every single step of proofs and aspects of equations in the lectures. This is why physics education feels harder to me than math.

[sanneaarts]

I currently study physics at an undergraduate level and am definitely running into the same struggle of not getting the time to conceptually understand the things we are taught as much as just understand them well enough to pass the course. So currently I’m just spending my summer break looking back at those courses and it’s honestly such an amazing feeling to now thoroughly get what’s going on and see the beauty of the math behind everything.

[davidc]

Great vids. I remember when I did my BSc Hons in Physics way back in 1992 there were two types of people in the class. Those who were there primarily because they were just good at maths and those who genuinely loved the wonder of the subject of Physics. Unfortunately the maths bods seemed to get the good grades but I wonder how many of them are watching physics youtube vids 28 years later :)

[susmitachakraborty]

I just wanna say ..I fall in love with your words.
"You sat down for reading bcz you love to learn it, not bcz you r in pressure to do it." ♥️

[ampersandampersand]

I agree with what you said on a personal level. I almost never actually practice problems before an exam because I spend all my time trying to deeply understand concepts, even if we have to work at fast pace. idk what to do else

[jawunderwood]

This is awesome and inspiring. I was genuinely sad when I graduated because I felt like I’d just gamed the system in order to optimize for grades, without ever developing a deep appreciation for the material. Now that I’ve got enough free time I’m in a position where I can set things right.

[MakingVidsBreh]

When I read "How to Study Physics Effectively." I was sure it was going to be generic and obvious advice. But this actually resonated with me so much. I'll some of these tips--thanks.

[shrabantideb]

Honestly you've changed my way to understand and learn physics. Thank you. It would be great help as my major in physics gonna starts in a month.

[The_Chosen_One]

I have been spending two hours a day, after work, studying physics at my own pace for fun. For no other reason than the fact that I am genuinely interested in the subject and curious about the topics that are in it. With each day that passes, as I continually expand my knowledge of the subject I feel like I’m getting smarter lol No really, it’s as if my intellect is growing. Also, it’s amazing when you begin to understand how the world around you functions. I am obsessed with physics.

[MrNicePotato]

A good advice for me would be to explain complicated subjects/concepts to others. By attempting to explain something, you force yourself to organize and simplify something, and it gives new insights to yourself because you are trying to look at something from a new point of view. It also reveals parts that you really struggle to understand or even misunderstand.

[CorbeeWong]

This has honestly resonated with me so much, as a physics undergrad during COVID times, the sheer pace at which topics are taught and how there's so much demand to perform academically (yet there's even less face-to-face support) made me start to loath physics. It was when I saw your "step 1" did I start to question myself and ask where did my spark and natural curiosity go? I was originally at Uni because I loved physics but being here has taught me to only look negatively at what I can't do, what topics I struggle with, what concepts I can't click with; my physics degree was about my progression as a *student* and not as a *physicist* who wanted to know more about the subject. I never took the time to stop and reflect on my own enjoyment. Looking beyond the deadlines, assessments, grades, and constant need to revise, lies a subject that answers the universe's toughest questions, and *I'm* doing this course! Physics is a fantastic subject and you've reminded me of this - thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for making me open my eyes so I can start *enjoying* what I learn instead of worrying about the academics.

[kshitijsantosh]

Tip 5 really worked on me as I used to burden myself with lots of expectations and finish the physics chapters fast but after I started feeling enjoying the subject it was wonderful

[WheelsGarage]

cars are what makes it fun for me, the most universal application for physics, school takes the fun out of it with their idealistic and pragmatic attachment to memorizing info

[AncientKepler]

This was incredibly helpful. I recently changed my major from Computer Science to what I truly enjoy which is Physics. Although the last time I took a physics course was the two years of college level physics in highschool, so I have a lot to catch up on and review before the Fall Semester so these techniques definitely make me feel so much more confident in my ability to catch up and fulfill my degree. Thanks and subbed!

[lewisleslie]

One thing that has surprised me since being at uni is what I enjoy learning from year to year. I started off dreading thermodynamics because I didn't like the real-world "messiness" of the subject but now I really like it because thermodynamics has given me many insights into how energy works in the real world, and tied together some concepts that I couldn't relate, like the gas laws and entropy/ reversibility of processes.
I guess it's relative (ba-dum-tss) to the other things I was studying at the time, I enjoyed thermo much more than I did quantum mechanics, so the dread of QM led to me looking forward to TD more. Funny how things change, innit