Every person that goes to college or highschool has homework for physics or math. Now what I am asking you is what is the best way to solve problems that you don't realy know how to solve?

I spent a whole hour last night just solving one problem after reading the chapter. I read the section over and over looking for clues, but I ended up just guessing the formular of the problem after tring different things for a whole hour. I have 10 more left and they all are of the same difficulty, I can't be sitting there for 10 hours doing them I got to go and take the physics quiz online and I got to do the take home quiz too, and thats all of the homework only after the first class. How am I sopose to survive the rest of the year when the rest of the classes start like calc2 and a bunch of electives that I have. Help!

I know when you're in high school whenever the teacher gives assignment they teach it first. that's what happen if you didn't listen.
my solution is go to school early and copy assignment :D and do a group study it will help a lot

Work in groups! always alwyas always!! it should be easier to work in a group, since somebody's bound to be able to contribute a little, plus it should be less stressful knowing there are others to help

just grab 3 or 4 friends, hang at a deli, and work on it ther...and get LOADED on coffee!!

What happens if I don't drink coffe? XP jk
I was in class and I was listening the WHOLE time, but I DO NOT remmember him teaching us this, it was just a fast review and no problems soved. But yeh I guess I wall try and meet with peole from my class in groups.

Math and physics professors/teachers only teach you the basic concepts of a topic. Math/physics is just applying those the concepts you learn and using your logic and problem solving skills on your assignments. The best way to solve a problem is asking for help from someone else or if that's an option you go online and research that concept deeper.

In college, the majority of your learning WILL be independent. It's up to you to seek for help when you need it and researching outside sources besides the textbook.

I know your supposed to work in groups, but somehow its very hard for me to do so. I find it realy difficult to communicate about a complicated case. Because of that I somethimes find it easier to do it on myself in a quiet place where I can focus.

I'll talk about my own experience...

I had some problems to do physics problems too when I was at high school, and that's how I tried to solve the problem :

1. Try to read the course materia before class
2. Pay attention in class to all what the teacher says
3. Don't be afraid to ask questions in class
4. Review the course material and concepts and write in front of me all the formulas needed
5. Begin by some little practice exercises just to see how the formulas work and the cases on which they can or cannot be applied
6. Start doing harder exercises
7. Read the exercise twice
8. Write all the given facts in front of me (in numerical data if possible)
9. Construct the necessary sketches even if they are not asked because they help to see the problem from a different point (when the sketch is possible to do of course...)
10. Start answering the questions in a methodological way (going step by step without skipping things that might seem too easy to write down... everything helps in the process)
11. Try to find a match between the variable that is asked and the formulas I have in front of me
12. Applying the formulas and concepts
13. If a question can be solved using two manners or more, do it, you might find some differences that will give you a wrong answer
14. Do the same for all the questions
15. Review for consistency

This method helped me, because I was always lost on problems...

Working in groups is also a good thing, but I was not able to do it... I don't like it...

Byakuya-sama's advice is rather good. I'd recomend the same as him. Do you have tutorials? try to ask the lecturer for clues after the lecture or at their office. At least they might tell you if you're on the right path. What course are you doing BTW?

Sometimes it helps me to look for similar problems on the internet. But i've never tried this for physics, only for chemistry.

I either ask a friend that had a ridcously high mark or ask my other prof's to give me some help on it =)

WELL! physics is nice hahaha.but more importantly.....i think you should try.even if the answer is wrong and the formulae you use is totally different and out of the question.learn and approach the teacher and see your mistakes.or you can just grab a good buddy which is physics psycho and just do some sums with him/her.

Single I take myself a little while from meditation

Personally I hate working in groups so I always try to give it a go alone. But if I get stuck I usually rely on someone else for insight. Asking a friend for an explanation may put it in terms you can grasp. I actually tend to do something similar to what Trebors is saying. Copy down someone elses answer (assuming you can verify that it's correct) then backtrack through the equation to figure out their approach.

I don't know how your college works, but all the ones I've been to, each professor has office hours for student's questions. If it's a big class a TA may be able to help you out as well.

Math has to be one of the few topics I struggle with. It's a language o0f numbers and symbols, and you have to translate one form to another. Listening to the instructor and taking notes won't save you; that, group studying, and removing distractions will.

In my recent Business Calculus class, I got a B, but by the seat of my pants. My teacher was lenient, and he told me in writing to not get overconfident next time. And I had to retake this class after going for it on the first try and getting a 30/100 on the first exam. That traumatized me for most of that first seemster fresh out of transferring from my JC, save for not getting the professors I wanted, as well as the classes I wanted.

First, i try to solve it by myself, if i can't solve it, i disscuss it with my friends ... you know, two or more heads are better than one :) ...

if we still can't solve it ... i go to google or asking in forums over the internet . . . .

Hahaha i hate Physics so i never ever do my homeworks, you see i usually copy them from someone in school, who would bother with something like that...