A study suggestion;

[doliest]

I've got two tests tomorrow; one over...trigonometry; several chapters of Trig actually with a teacher who long ago decided that tests that didn't rely on everything including what we just learned the day before the test are for wimps and a Quantum Mechanics test from a teacher who flat-out enjoys giving us difficult tests. If anyone could suggest a way to study for these tests in the next seven or so hours? Or how much sleep I should get; assuming that classes without tests can be slept through? I've been doing a good deal of reading here and there during dinner and I think I have the subjects in a comprehension area. Does anyone have a suggestion?

[Kallisti]

I've got two tests tomorrow; one over...trigonometry; several chapters of Trig actually with a teacher who long ago decided that tests that didn't rely on everything including what we just learned the day before the test are for wimps and a Quantum Mechanics test from a teacher who flat-out enjoys giving us difficult tests. If anyone could suggest a way to study for these tests in the next seven or so hours? Or how much sleep I should get; assuming that classes without tests can be slept through? I've been doing a good deal of reading here and there during dinner and I think I have the subjects in a comprehension area. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Sleep. If you don't sleep, you will be too tired to remember anything you learned while cramming. Go to bed by 10:30 your local time.

[doliest]

Sleep. If you don't sleep, you will be too tired to remember anything you learned while cramming. Go to bed by 10:30 your local time.

It's 12:30 my local time, so good suggestion but belated on my part.

[RS14]

Find an old problem you didn't understand how to do. Read the text until it makes sense. Repeat.

If your test may contain new material, find some exercises related to that and read your text until they make sense.

Where are you such that you learn Trig and Quantum at the same time. UK? :smallconfused:

[doliest]

Texas; I've been in advanced mathematics for a while.

[RS14]

Huh, I'm in the wrong time-zone. :smallsigh:

[alchemyprime]

Dude.

Get some rocking instrumental music or simple music. I suggest the Black Mages, Warmen, or some of the stuff from OCRemix.

Get some mints. Two flavors! One for Trig, one for QUant.

Study Trig while listening to one band and sucking on one flavor of mint.

Do the same with Quant, but use different band and flavor.

Before the test, bust out your mp3 player, listen to a song you studied to and pop that flavor of mint. Let the senses overwhelm you, reminding you of last night.

Suggestions: Clash on the Big Bridge by Black Mages for Trig
Why DOes The Sun SHine (I know it has words, hear me out) for Quant.

WDTSS has always been my science song. Every test I'd go "The sun is a mas of... O2 + C2 = CO2... incandecent gas a giagantic... 2 O2 + 1 C2 = 2 CO2... nuclear furnace..."

As for Clash, it rocks and has a fun tune.

Enjoy!

[doliest]

..That might actually work. Both the repeating the problem and the music-mint..or I've gone crazy with worry either's possible really. I'm also trying to figure out which I should be focusing on; The teacher for Q-Mech is INSANE to say the least and usually whips up tests that could quite literally kill a man; but on the other hand I have an easier time with the subject. Trig is usually a hard test, but the real problem is that we didn't really learn Geometry so I'm still trying to grab the Trig basics.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I second the "find a problem you don't understand and work on it" suggestion. My own unofficial stats: you do better if you learn stuff you don't understand at the expense of stuff you even vaguely understand than if you try to master certain parts and completely don't know the other parts.

[doliest]

Well I've been studying and I'm almost definitely ready for the Trig test; and the Quantum Mech review makes sense as do the answers I wrote down in class so that means that I think I'm ready for the test. I'd like to thank anyone who's made suggestions; you guys rock. If I don't fail this test than I'm defintely in-debt to the lot of you. Now if you'll excuse me I'll try to wind down for a bit and then get some sleep.

[The 7th Prelude]

If you can use a TI-83 or better, write formulaes in a program.

[doliest]

That IS something we're allowed; the policy is that we're always allowed calc's.

[Yoren]

First be careful of using the Ti-83 while many classes always allow calcs, in my experience most will not allow graphing calc.

Secondly how do you do Quantum Mechanics without knowing a boat load of Calc? My mind is officially boggled. Although it is possible what you call trig is something entirely different than what I call trig.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I'm guessing what he calls trig is stuff like sine waves and pi and radians instead of basic trig like tan=sin/cos. I did calculus perfectly fine without doing the first kind of trig, and frankly when I took it a year later, I honestly had no idea what was going on (compared to calc, which I understood pretty well).

However, Canadian system is different from the American one. We don't have math classes along the lines of "algebra" or "trigonometry," we have stuff like "math 9" or "math 11" which includes a bit of everything, like math 9 which has basic probability/stats, functions and graphing them, basic trigonometry, etc. Math 12 has exactly the same basic topics, just a lot more bells and whistles. Exception is calculus (which has math 11 as a prerequisite and there is no precalc course) and is exactly the same as calculus in US high schools.

What I am however interested in, is.. That must be a pretty hardcore high school that studies quantum mechanics (which I honestly know nothing about and from the stories I've heard, I'd be happy to keep it that way).

PS: TI-89 FTW. Seriously, that thing is very much worth the investment over a TI-83 and it's been paying me back to this day even though I'm a psych/biology major.

[doliest]

Actually our Trig stuff is more along the lines of Tan=sin/cos, Cos=X/R, and graphing all six functions; alongside some of the simpler stuff.

[xyzzy]

PS: TI-89 FTW. Seriously, that thing is very much worth the investment over a TI-83 and it's been paying me back to this day even though I'm a psych/biology major.

Agreed, sort of. It was extremely useful in high school, but now it's just a $150 piece of plastic. Granted, a $150 piece of plastic that can play Tetris and Mario, but not something I've ever needed for a math class. Then again, I am a math major, so there's not a whole lot of problems at this level where it helps; to a physics major, for instance, it's still probably going to be useful forever.

[Jarawara]

doliest, (interesting name, what does it mean?)

I have a possible answer to your query, but it depends upon the answer to another question, namely: "What is the (perceived or real) benefit of getting a high grade to these tests?"

I have believed for some time now that people put too high a priority to test scores, to the point of practicing poor study habits, overfocusing on the wrong information, and even risking their health and sanity (just look at the number of college students living on caffeine and stress).

Will high results on these tests simply provide a sense of accomplishment, a number to go on your record books? If so, go to sleep now. Take the test, figure out what you got wrong, and learn from it.

Now of course, it's possible these test results will later determine if you can advance to a better college, or get into that all important '___(fill in the blank)___'. If so, then I can understand your need to perform well.

But if not - don't stress over how to best take tests. You're there to learn. Focus on getting the education instead of the high scores. Trust me, you'll do better in life if you learn to focus on what's really important.

Also remember: You're probably already smarter than your instructor, maybe even better educated already. He's trying to keep ahead of you by ambushing you with the tests. Don't play his game. You're in command of your education. You can spend it trying to prove yourself over and over again to your instructor, or you can master the material and go on to a successful career at... whatever it is math geniouses like you do.

I'm being serious here - I know several people who were very proficient at getting good grades, but ended up with a mere shadow of an education, because they only ever learned the basic textbook materials, and never really focused on the whole of the field. Case in point, myself, with computers. In my final exam, we were free to choose from a list of programs to write, each one worth 10-30 pts. 130 pts total to choose from, 70 pts necessary to pass. I decided to expand upon the project, and ended up scoring somewhere in excess of 200 pts on the final exam, and the instructor then ran the program over the weekend to see what the program could actually do. I was the talk of the whole computer department.... but by the end of the course, I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO PROGRAM COMPUTERS! Everybody else did. I only knew how to score well on tests.

Since then, I've learned my lesson. I am there to learn the material, not to impress some instructor. Half the time, my questions are beyond his or her ability to answer. By the end of the course, I know the material better than the instructor, even if I flunked some of the tests along the way. I'm paying them to teach me, not to assign a score to my results. Grading my papers is just a necessary step to show me what I need to work on. Beyond that, I care little for what the actual grade was, and quite frankly, neither will your prospective employers. (They'll be impressed with you having a degree, they won't care much GPA you got along the way.)

If you're still in high school, then yeah, I can see you needing to score well on your tests - you're still trying to get into the college of your choice, and the college will look at your GPA. If so, disregard this advice until later, and get back to cramming for your test. Good luck.

[doliest]

It's a high school test so It's still rather important; espiecially considering it's one of two for this grading period in both classes.

[llamamushroom]

How'd it go? (He says, assuming that in the 18-or-so hours since the first post the tests have already transpired)

And Jarawara: as much as that might have been your experience, I don't know of a single teacher/instructor who has been less proficient in their subject matter than their students. In some specialised areas a student has showed them up (one of my friends takes pride in lasering in on some random Shakespeare factoid that my English teacher doesn't know, for instance), but the vast majority of them time they've known a lot less. Hence the teacher. Admittedly, you might have had some awful teachers, but I find it annoying when people say that. Mostly because English teacher is something I'm considering. :smallwink:

[doliest]

Quantum Mechanics went great; probably a high B or low A. Trig? I'm now intimately familiar with several euphemisms that I wasn't sure I knew. The positive point is that the Teach is giving us ten to fifteen minutes with the test tomorrow so I can specifically study the two chapters that I now know I have problems with.