Physics is a notoriously difficult subject — and for good reason. Studying physics means learning a new way of understanding the world around us. To really excel on the AP Physics Exam, students must be tackling and following the material from the beginning. Everything taught in the Physics course builds on itself, so if a student hasn’t been able to ask their questions and really master the material from the start, by the months leading up to the AP test it will be too late. A common misconception is that strong math students will invariably excel in Physics. But while strong math skills can be useful, in some students this can even be a disadvantage. Strong math students may tend to treat physics problems like math problems and fail to see the physical parts of the problem.
To really succeed in Physics, all students need to be able to ask questions and dig into the material until they’ve trained their brains to see the world like a physicist.