Question:I've got about twenty physics formulas to remember and about 2 weeks to remember them in, but I'm really bad at it [I got thirty nine percent last test]...but this is a really important one that if I fail I can't do my end of year exams so I have to pass it.
The formulas are the V=IR [voltage= current x time] or Power = Voltage squared over resistance, etc.
I'm usualy a visual learner but there's not much I can think of doing except writing them out a lot and colourfully which doesn't help me.
Does anyone have any ideas? I would be really grateful =]
The best way to remember formulas is to solve lots of problems where the formulas are used, and to write down the formula each time you use it. By seeing it repeatedly, you not only remember the formula, but also where to use it. Since you have two weeks left, you can still do this enough times for it to work.
Often, several formulas are related to each other, such as, your voltage, current, resistance and power formulas. Try to learn the relationships between the formulas, so that you need to remember only one or two, but can figure out the rest based on those. For instance, you mentioned V = IR. Remembering this formula helps you figure out other formulas. Suppose you need the formula for resistance instead of voltage - this means you need the formula to have just R on one side and everything else on the other side of the equation. But right now we have V = IR, where R is multiplied by I. How do I get R alone? Divide both sides of the formula by I!
V = IR
V / I = IR / I
The two I's on the right hand side cancel out and you are left with V / I = R - this is your formula for resistance!
If we take V = IR and divide both sides by R instead, we end up with V / R = I, which is your formula for current!
For power, start with P = VI and plug in one of the previous formulas in place of V or I to get the other power formulas:
P = VI
We know that V = IR, so if we put in IR in the above formula in place of V, we get
P = IR x I, or
P = I squared times R.
If we start with P = VI and replace I with V/R instead (since we know that I = V / R), we get
P = V squared over R.
If you learn your formulas in this way, even if you forget one of them while doing the test, you can just work it out based on the ones that you do remember.
Good luck on your test!
Navin Same way you would memorize anything else. I'm an actress, and I just memorize my textbook like I was memorizing lines in a play.