This is the most frequent gripe of students. Learning how to do physics is a lot like learning how to speak a foreign language. Beginners who study a language are tongue-tied when a native speaker asks a question although they understand exactly what is asked. Same with physics. Understanding the concepts is like understanding the foreign speaker. It is necessary but it cannot guarantee by itself that you will succeed in solving a problem. Problem solving is like answering the native speaker. It requires you to do physics, not to show the extent of your understanding. You must use underlying tools and rules to do physics just as you must use vocabulary, grammar and syntax to speak a language. If you are unaware that there are tool and rules in physics, if you forget them, or if you apply them incorrectly, you will not be able to do the problems, no matter how well you understand the concepts. The extra step that you must take after "understanding the concepts" is to abstract the use of tools and rules from the lecture material, from the textbook examples, from the student solutions manual and from the posted sample solutions. Use the weekly homework problems to test if you have correctly abstracted, understood and internalized the tools and rules.

I am not surprised. Exams test whether you can do physics, that is if you have made tools and rules your property and can use them correctly. Understanding the material is only a first step and you should not stop there when you study physics. Test your ability to remember and apply correctly the tools and rules developed in the course. If you find yourself lacking, you should resolve the difficulty either on your own or with the help of your recitation or course instructor.

Not quite. All exam problems are related to all homework problems through the same established tools and rules. Look for what is the same, not for what is different. The successful student first recognizes similarities in problems and then applies and adapts old solutions to the new situations.

This is indicative of insufficient mastery of tools and rules. Physics exams require you to apply the same tools and rules that have been applied to homework problems. What does "doing the homework problems" mean to you? Were you able to finish the problems from beginning to end, or did you get help? If you finished the problems, did you try to recognize how tools and rules were applied? If you received help, did you memorize the solutions and thought to yourself "Now I know how to do it"? Often students equate memorization of specific solutions with "doing the problem" and "understanding the material". Memorizing a solution to a particular problem without looking for the underlying structure is profitless because you "know" one thing and one thing only. Physics exams do not test your ability to memorize. As already stated, they test whether you have made tools and rules your property and whether you can apply them correctly.

I feel your pain. Students who label themselves "A students" often fail to realize that what worked well with other courses is not enough to guarantee an A in a physics course. Having a good brain and motivation, understanding the material and doing the required reading are necessary and sufficient for a high grade in most other courses. To get a high grade in physics, you will also need mastery of the underlying structure, the tools and rules. If you haven't mastered the tools and rules, it will show. Mastery means:

• Remembering all the tools and rules that you have seen since day one.
• Selecting the appropriate ones and adapting them correctly to a particular situation.
• Using them correctly and in the proper sequence.

Hard work and effort need to be properly directed to bring about the desired result. It's not like having a job flipping burgers: the more you flip the more money goes in your pocket. You may memorize the entire textbook cover to cover and still get a poor grade. Proper direction of your effort requires you to (are you ready for this?) discover, recognize and understand how tools and rules need to be applied. Your grade in a physics course is not a reward for hard work; it is an assessment of how well you can do physics, i.e. how well you bring tools and rules to bear in particular situations.

Tutors are a mixed blessing. Some students find them useful others do not. A tutor usually helps when the tutee has identified specific questions and problems that need addressing. If you go to a tutor and say "Please help me understand vectors", it is more probable that you will receive constructive help than if you say "I am, like, totally lost in this course". The adage "Buyer beware" applies to hiring tutors as well. Unless your tutor has taken the same course by the same instructor, he/she is unlikely to be attuned to the course's goals and expectations and will explain physics "differently" from the instructor. Thus, a tutor becomes a source of confusion rather than a resource for understanding. Before seeking help from anybody try to put your finger on exactly what it is that you don't understand. Next, try to understand it through your own efforts. If you do, you are well on your way to building confidence in your abilities. If you don't, get help. We are here to provide it.

You are not alone; many students do. As much as 50% of your grade on an exam may depend on your level of confidence. You build your confidence by trying to answer your own questions, by answering other students' questions, by being an active participant in class and by practice, practice, practice. The more you practice doing problems, the more confident you become you can solve anything that the course instructor may ask.

This is a common complaint of serious students who feel that they are unable to "show" what they know. There are two reasons why this happens. First, there is usually a lag from when students see the material until it becomes their property. For some students, this time lag may be as long as three weeks. Students learn at their own pace and should not expect to have instant understanding. Secondly, a physics problem always appears easy when someone else shows you how to do it. Instead of being upset with yourself, use this experience to your advantage. Ask yourself: Why was it not easy when I tried to do it?" What was it that prevented me from doing the problem at the time of the exam? What did I miss, what must I learn to make sure that this doesn't happen again? The answers will give you important clues on where to direct your efforts when you study for the next exam.

"Introductory" does not mean "easy". It means "no expectation of prior study in the discipline". An introductory physics course appears to be difficult by comparison with introductory courses in other disciplines. This happens because, unlike other courses, the additional step of mastering the tools and rules is expected from physics students. Do not approach your introductory physics course the same way you approached your other introductory courses. Remember: It is impossible to bluff your way through a physics exam.