Shilpa posted a question via the contact form available here:

“Can you suggest me some ways and books to make my physics better?”

She was considering the question as a silly one. But this is a serious question. Many of us do not ask many questions which come into our mind out of the thought that it may be silly or foolish.

“Only those questions are foolish which are not asked”

As the motto of our sister project “AskPhysics” goes.

How to make Physics better?

Here actually the question is not to make Physics better, but it is to make the performance and understanding in Physics better.

Making the fundamentals strong.

The basic principles of Physics must be grasped right from the grassroot level and must be assimilated through practice of related problems.  The wide range of phenomena and applications coming under Physics are all based on a handful of laws and principles.

Practice Problems:

Physics is basically a problem solving discipline and must be taken in that spirit. After learning a concept try to solve as much problems related to it as possible. This well help you to apply what you have learnt and will encourage you to think in multiple dimensions thereby developing your brain functioning. This will be of great help to solve problems of real help too. A person with strong problem solving ability in Physics will be successful in life too. (In handling and solving problems)

Visualize what you learn:

Do not try to learn things as mere “text”. Grasping Physics requires lot of imagination. When you learn something, try to visualize it. Draw diagrams to understand things better.

Ask Questions.

In learning (particularly Physics), “Questioning every answer is more important than answering every question“. Think deeply on whatever you learn and try to question the new knowledge. Dare asking doubts to your teachers. (If you cannot, post them at www.askphysics.com or http://physicsforum.plustwophysics.com)

Collect and solve previous question papers.

This is important to get a better score in exams.

Suggested Books

For developing a strong foundation in Physics.

• Conceptual Physics: Paul G Hewitt
• Fundamentals of Physics : Hallidey Resnick Krane

For Problem Solving

• Concepts of Physics: HC Verma
• Problems in Physics : IE Irodov

Here are some links to further exploring “How to Study Physics?”

• http://apphysicsb.homestead.com/study.html
• http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/chapman.htm
• http://webs.mn.catholic.edu.au/physics/emery/how%20to%20study%20physics.htm
• http://physics.tamu.edu/academics/HowToStudyPhysics.htm
• http://www.sfjohnson.com/acad/studying/studying.htm
• http://cc.pima.edu/~carem/PHYSICSS.html
• http://www.oberlin.edu/physics/dstyer/StudyTips.html